The Colours of Music Orchestra 2015
In Summer 2015, Music4U and Spin Off Productions joined forces once again to provide exciting, creative opportunities to young people from Hull special schools. Over 50 young people from Tweendykes, Ganton and Frederick Holmes special schools came together to perform as part of the Colours of Music Orchestra on Friday 26 June 2015 at the Albemarle Music Centre, following several weeks of hands-on devising and rehearsing back at school.
The Colours of Music Orchestra: In Summer 2015, Music4U and Spin Off Productions joined forces once again to provide exciting, creative opportunities to young people from Hull special schools. Over 50 young people from Tweendykes, Ganton and Frederick Holmes special schools came together to perform as part of the Colours of Music Orchestra on Friday 26 June 2015 at the Albemarle Music Centre, following several weeks of hands-on devising and rehearsing back at school. The young people had been working with musicians, Gary Hammond and Emily Crossland, and a visual artist, Liz Dees, to create a soundscape and story, bringing together shadow puppetry, gamelan and other hand percussion. They brought to life the traditional Maori tale Maui Tames the Sun and performed it to family, friends, members of the public and invited guests, including the Lord Mayor of Hull.
Music Making Is For Everyone: The Colours of Music project started in 2010, as a collaboration between Music4U and Spin Off Productions, managed by Music4U core partner Ruth Drake (Hull City Council). It has grown to become an annual event, with each year bringing diverse new combinations of art forms, recently focusing particularly on world percussion and developing young people’s skills on the gamelan (bronze percussion from Indonesia). The resulting percussion orchestra for young people with special needs is a unique and innovative project and Music4U will continue to work with Spin Off and Hull City Arts as they continue to develop the ensemble for (and of) young people with disabilities, as well as ensuring sustainability through staff training and the building of shared resources for the special schools. Hull City Arts has secured further support from Youth Music to develop performance opportunities for this inclusive orchestra as part of the Amy Johnson Festival in 2016 and as part of a major event during Hull 2017. As part of this programme of work, there will be opportunities for emerging music leaders and role models, working as part of Music4U’s Youth Music Mentor’s ensemble Hull Rhythm Pixies, to develop their skills and broaden their experience of working with a diverse range of artists with and without disabilities. This builds on the support roles that individuals from Hull Rhythm Pixies have taken in previous Colours of Music performances.
What did the young people enjoy? Interacting with the different instruments as well as accessing the Albemarle Music Centre. Generally all aspects of the workshops and sheer ‘buzz’ of performing with other students in a great venue, as well as the ‘wow factor’ of the gamelan instruments.
What did the young people learn? They particularly learnt listening skills and working as part of a team. They also used concentration skills and learnt lots about sound sources and linking the auditory, visual and sound cues of a story together. Plus participation and responsibility and generally having fun together socially.
How did the participants develop their social and personal skills? The pupils felt they had really achieved something by performing in front of the public out of school. It was an excellent inclusive opportunity and chance for our students to engage with and see other students working towards the same aim. It was great being part of a ‘special event’.
Did staff develop their professional practice through this project and how? Staff benefitted from more access to outside facilities. They learned more essentials about planning issues and inclusive opportunities, as well an inspiration for future projects and use of resources.
Music4U is a key strand within the National Centre for Early Music's creative learning and participation programme, which seeks to build a more musically inclusive England. Music4U reaches across York, Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire and provides musical engagement and development opportunities for young people aged 0-25, particularly targeting those whose life circumstances make it difficult for them to otherwise access musical learning. The current Music4U project has developed from fourteen years of experience as a Youth Music Action Zone and subsequently a Musical Inclusion provider.
Spin Off Productions is a professional theatre company based in Hull for over twenty years. Its work is often focused on educational theatre which it delivers across the local region to children, young adults, and people with special needs. As well as theatre work, Spin Off Productions also supplies various different types of entertainment to private and public sector events.