Turner Sims have launched The Vibe Collective — an opportunity for 18-25s to join a new group which will work with industry professionals to plan and present gigs and events for young people at Turner Sims, the music venue at University of Southampton.
OperaUpClose in partnership with Chickenshed Theatre and Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs present Peace At Last, an opera for 3 – 5 year olds based on the picture book by Jill Murphy.
Girls Make Music is back again this month with another session to explore music production, recording, songwriting and live events!
Starting on Saturday 4 November 2023, FLOW sessions are back at MAST Music Studio.
Young rappers (or aspiring rappers) ages 11-16 can get support to tighten up their rhymes and improve their flow!
The Solent Shanty Sing project continued last week with performances taking place at Weston Shore on Wednesday 14th June and two performances on Friday 16th June
Singing groups from Weston Park Junior School and St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School joined us at Weston Shore on Wednesday 14th with lots of parents and family as we sang the Southampton Sea shanties and songs that were composed with ideas from the children out to the sea.
On Friday 16th at West Quay we set up in front of the walls and ran two workshop performances in the sometimes punishing heat! The afternoon session saw Mount Pleasant Junior School, Freemantle Primary, Highfield Infants and St John’s Primary take part with a large audience sitting in the steps enjoying the performances of shanties from the songbook.
After school we hosting another performance which featured three primary schools from the Hamwic Trust – Wordsworth, Hollybrook and Shirley Infant and Primary schools. The music leads in these schools have been using the whole songbook as a resource for their singing assemblies throughout the year so they had selected some songs from the other regions involved in the commission (Isle of Wight, Hampshire and Portsmouth).
All the groups were all entertained prior to the event by the fantastic Southampton Salty Sea Dogs lead by Pauline McWilliams.
Miranda Boakes-Clark Teacher and Music Lead Shirley & Hollybrook Infants
“The children absolutely LOVED doing it. I think it was really special being down at the city walls and something they’ll always remember ...it’s so lovely to collaborate and make special things happen for our children.”
Friday 23rd June saw the final event of the Solent Shanty Sing Project which has run throughout this academic year in celebration of Year of the Coast 2023 and in partnership between Southampton, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Portsmouth Music Hubs. This event was particularly special as it was the first time that children from all of the participating music hub areas had come together to sing!
The event took place at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which was the ideal setting, with it’s rich maritime history and incredible wealth of heritage sites and attractions to visit. 200 children from each hub area (800 in total) were treated to an entire day of visiting the attractions such as HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose Museum and Portsmouth Hub’s specially created treasure trail, before being treated to an incredible display from the Royal Marines Marching Band and a massed sing of the Shanty Songbook.
Musicians from Folk Active, Southampton Salty Sea Dogs, Hampshire Music Hub and the English Folk Dance and Song Society were also present throughout the day providing live music for the children to listen to and enjoy as well as providing live music for them to sing with during their performance.
The children sang all the pieces from the songbook the 4 music hubs jointly commissioned for this project from composer and sound artist Emily Peasgood plus two extra arranged by Chris Ricketts. Each hub area choir had two songs to sing on their own which were shanties originally collected in their regions or newly composed songs based on ideas from workshops the children took part in the Autumn term. All 800 voices joined together for the three joint songs during the programme to a large audience in the square outside the Mary Rose Museum to an audience of parents, families, VIPs and spectators.
Mel Thomas (Teacher St Patrick’s Primary School Southampton)
“….the best event our school choir has had the opportunity to take part in! Thank you for inviting us to be part of such a wonderful event. It has given the children great memories that will stay with them and it has really encouraged their love for singing, music and performing in a choir. The impact the day has had on them was great.”
On Pupil from St Patrick’s said:
“I just don’t know how I’m going to describe to my parents everything I’ve seen and done today!”
Southampton Music Hub has four exciting — free — music opportunities to share with you as part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) Programme!
Girls Make Music: Production Collective — a new, ten week, opportunity for girls aged 11–16 to explore music production, songwriting and live events
Music Production Collective — monthly music production group sessions providing space for collaboration between beatmakers, producers and songwriters aged 11-16
FLOW — Saturday rap group sessions for 11-16 year olds
Share and Shout About New Music — a chance for 13-25 year olds interested in music, social media, music journalism, blogging and live events to be part of a new team who will share new music and music opportunities with other young people
Young people, aged 13-25: Southampton Music Hub needs you!
We’re launching a new way to SHARE AND SHOUT ABOUT MUSIC!
Created by young people, for young people, we want to share new music, music events, and support opportunities for young musicians in the area.
If you’re interested in… social media… music promotion… music journalism… blogging… live Events… then this opportunity could be for you!
Join us at our kickstarter day to form a brand new team, start a brand new project, and design the future:
Saturday 13 May 2023 • 10am-3pm
Music Studio @ MAST Mayflower Studios. SO14 7DU
Free lunch included!
Trouble with transport, or getting to the sessions? We can help. Just let us know when you sign up.
Any questions? Get in touch
Girls Make Music is a new club for girls and young women to explore music production, recording, songwriting and organising live events: a safe space to share ideas and interests whilst building skills, confidence, and collaborating with other young creatives!
This opportunity will be running for ten weeks and those taking part will be able to help design the opportunities that come next.
Sessions are free and all abilities are welcome. Girls can try out a session or come along regularly!
Age group: 11-16 years.
Wednesdays at 4.30 - 6.00pm
Mast Mayflower Studios
For all young people aged 11-16 interested in music production, there is also a monthly music production collective, open to all.
From jazz to Led Zeppelin, Holst to the stage and screen, and everything in-between this concert had it all! Saturday 11th March saw the SYCS Spring Spectacular take place at Thornden Hall.
Clarinetist Katherine said 'We all relaxed into it and I really think we sound better when we work as a team like that. Mars was the most challenging, having to hit very high notes over a sustained period.
These sentiments were echoed by their conductor Kevin Withell. He said “Mars was absolutely fantastic to conduct but needed significant stamina from the orchestra to sustain all of the dramatic moments.”
This concert was Kevin's last as conductor of SYCS and the evening was a fitting send off with all involved in the orchestra eager to show their appreciation for all his hard work over the past eight and a half years. As Kevin himself said 'it's been a privilege to work with such a great team, and by that I mean a team of 80 young people and staff'.
As 2022 comes to an end, we’re highlighting some of the most memorable moments from the year:
On Friday 2 December 2022 two rappers from Bassett Green release their debut tracks, recorded at MAST Music Studio.
The first track, from Nathaniel, is called ‘Life is a Blessing’ and is about “inspiring people to keep trying hard, and to not give up on their dreams, no matter what happens to them.”
The second track, from Mckinley, is called ‘Took Me All These Years’ and is about “the past, and no matter what happens, to keep on trying”.
Nathaniel and Mckinley first took part in rap sessions at their school thanks to the Rap and Literacy Project, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. They have come to the MAST Music Studio as part of the DNA Programme which supports young musicians working in digital music genres.
Eliza Carthy sat down with FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) members last night to chat about her musical journey, advice for young musicians and her life as a touring artist.
Eliza is mid way though her sell out ‘Queen of the Whirl’ tour, celebrating 30 years as a professional musician; daughter of Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy she truly is folk music royalty, she is also the president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.
FAYE is run in partnership by Southamton Music Hub and FolkActive CIC.
FolkActive director Tom Gregory:
“It’s wonderful do be able to use our connections in the folk world to provide opportunities like this for these young musicians. It’s so exciting to see these young people developing not just as instrumentalists, but as artists within the local folk community. We’d like to thank Eliza for her time and passion for the next generation of folk musicians and also Turner Sims for their continuing support for FAYE.”
Find out about Hub partners FolkActive including FAYE and the Southamton Folk Orchestra:
Over the next two years, children and young people on the South West coast will have new opportunities to shape and lead the future of music-making due to an exciting project from the South West Coastal Music Hub Alliance, and all made possible thanks to funding from Youth Music.
The five music hubs in the alliance — Southampton; Isle of Wight; Portsmouth; Dorset; and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole — are working together to reach out to children and young people who are missing out on learning and making music because of their background or life circumstances.
With the support of “Youth Voice Engagement Workers”, the initiative will help these young people to shape and lead exciting “Action Research” projects: testing out new ideas and approaches which will enable more children and young people to access music in the future. The project will also be co-managed by a young person for the first time.
This initiative is supported by Youth Music, using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
“This is an amazing and exciting project, and we are so grateful to Youth Music for making it possible. We know that young people in our region have incredible ideas and ambitions for making music, and we want to make sure they can access the support they want and need to help make their aspirations and reality.”
— Matt Brombley, Project Manager
The South West Coastal Music Hub Alliance is recruiting for Youth Engagement Workers as well as a young co-project manager, find out more below:
Check out ‘This is Me"‘, the first track from J Digwa, who has been taking part in FLOW rap sessions with Southampton Music Hub.
FLOW sessions are part of the Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, are free to join, and support young rappers to tighten up their rhythms, sharpen their rhymes, and improve their flow.
On Monday 3 October 2022, Southampton Music Hub launches its online resource hub celebrating a vibrant local ecosystem of music, created by young people for young people.
Starting with three key areas — ways to experience the music of others, facilities to practice and record, and music as a career — the resource will continue to grow and develop with the interests, ambitions and needs of the city’s young people at its heart.
On Saturday 16 July Southampton Music Hub brought performances and workshops to Southampton Mela as part of Art Asia’s vibrant celebration of the city’s cultures and creativity.
With performances from Southampton Youth Wind Band, Harmony Junction, and FLOW rap workshops from the DNA Team, the Mela was a celebration of many of the themes of the year at Southampton Music Hub.
Southampton Youth Wind Band played a phenomenal set at the Mela, and they are just one of the hub’s many groups, bands and orchestras who have enjoyed performing live music this year. Since last September, the city and it’s young people have seen an exciting return of live music. We’ve seen performances for schools, at MAST and the community. We’ve seen performances from young people often alongside and supported by incredible established artists and groups, including rappers, orchestras and more.
Harmony Junction was a co-created by Southampton Music Hub and Art Asia and is a great example of the way Southampton Music Hub works in partnership with others to help support diverse and authentic expressions of music and music education. From our Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded Rap and Literacy project, to the Proud to Be events, to young people at the heart of the city’s cultural celebrations, this year has been all about partnership, and that will only continue to grow in the future,
Our freestyle workshop, with freestyle rapper Tenchoo, at the Mela, is a great example of how this year young people have increasingly been taking the lead in shaping the music offer that is available to them. Our DNA programme includes support for young people to find their voice with songwriting and production, and then use that voice to help pick the programme of masterclasses, groups and workshops to help them flourish. Young people are having an increasing voice in shaping the future of music-making and learning in the city.
As Southampton Music Hub closes one year, and looks ahead to the next, its clear to see that music education in the city is about to take another huge step forward following the announcement of the new National Plan for Music Education. Part Southampton' Music Hub’s response will be to grow and develop our support of the vibrant local ecosystem of music education which we saw on display at the Mela festival on Saturday. There is real excitement across the city — from schools, education settings, hub partners and beyond — to see music education in the city become more diverse, more inclusive and more accessible to all.
On Sunday 6 June young performers from 13 different schools in Southampton came together for a special performance at the Big Platinum Festival in Mayflower Park. They opened the festival to an audience of thousands with a rousing rendition of the hub's own Jubilee song, 'It's Our Jubilee' written by Jo Downs. They then drummed along with Forever Queen to the ever popular 'We Will Rock You'.
Kath Page, Hub Manager, says:
“We are thrilled to be a part of the Jubilee celebrations. This is a brand new festival choir that has been put together specially for this event, but thousands of children have been involved in singing the jubilee song in the run up to the Platinum Jubilee as part of our own Jubilee Celebrations. Huge congratulations to Unity Radio for putting together such a great party!”
One of the young performers says:
“ I can't believe there are so many people here!! It's a bit scary, but I'm so excited to be singing and to have made new friends with people. I'm going to carry on singing after this!”
On Saturday 21 May, young musicians from the FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) wowed audiences in St. Lawrence's Church with two gigs as part of the Winchester MayFest. They performed the entire set from memory, which included some smaller group performances and step dancing, led by the wonderful Jo Harmer.
In between gigs the ensemble got to enjoy the sights and sounds of MayFest, where the streets of Winchester are alive with different types of morris dance, sword dancing, clog dancing and Appalachian dancing.
Ensemble director Chris Nichols says:
“FAYE performed superbly on Saturday. Their joy and enthusiasm in both sets was infectious, and they left both audiences smiling and wanting more. I can't wait to get stuck into our final two sessions in preparation for the showcase gig in July.”
On Sunday 22 May the newly formed Music Hub Festival Choir performed at MAST Mayflower Studios’ big birthday bash. The choir performed 'It's Our Jubilee' , the hubs newly commissioned song to celebrate the queen's jubilee.
The choir was formed of community members and representatives from 14 schools across the city.
Composer Jo Downs, who also sang in the choir says:
“It was wonderful to see my song coming to life. I loved the inclusion of signing in the performance and I was blown away by the standard of singing after two rehearsals.”
Akindu, one of the singers, says:
“It was really good fun to sing at the concert. I really liked the jubilee song.”
Want to make, share and promote your own music? Our new Music Studio team have put together a set of tools to help.
The team have picked four common goals:
If we’re missing something from our list, or you have ideas for making it better, let us know!
