LMM Internship programme launches!

Posted by Matthew Cherneski Eliades on 12 July 2010 | 0 Comments

Tags: Internship, Bridge Project, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bright Sparks

Read what Alice, Katherine and Matt have to say about their summer work experience at LMM...

 

MATT
(Matt was with LMM in the week of Elena Urioste's recital given at a private Kensington residence)

Monday 14 June

I just had my first day at London Music Masters, and not being too big headed but I think it went rather well.

So I arrived on time (always a good start) I checked in at the Citigate Dewe Rogerson/London Music Masters reception and then waited to be summoned or collected. After a few minutes Hannah arived and we made our way to the LMM office, where I was introduced to some of the team Charlotte, Rachel, Robert and then I was given a table of tasks and a structure of the days to come.

Now it was time to get down to my first task which was to look at classical music events that I may want to go to while at LMM. After looking through many different music events I settled on the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall on the 16th of June at 7.30pm. Next I created a table to take down email addresses and whether or not if anyone was interested in receiving the LMM news letter for the Elena recital on Thursday. I then started on one of my ongoing tasks of researching where classical and pop music have worked well. Afterwards, I sat down with Hannah to look at what needed to be budgeted for when organising an event, before leaving for the day.

Tuesday 15 June

I got into the LMM office with my newly acquired key, now looking like I had been working here for a while. I sat down at my newly assigned desk, before starting on today's tasks, which involved making adjustments to the table from yesterday. Once I had finished that, I started on creating name badges for the recital on Thursday before going for lunch.

After a great jalapeno chicken wrap I took down some more notes for my research task from yesterday of classical and pop music, before making up the information pack, which took a little longer than I thought.

Wednesday 16 June

Today was the earliest day for me; I had to meet Rachel at 8.45 at the Oval Tube Station to go to Ashmole Primary School to see the Bridge Project in action. We arrived at the school and made are way to the classroom to see and listen to how it works. It was weird for me to see year 2 students playing the violin THEY WERE REALLY AMAZING even with a couple of student disruptions. I found this experience fascinating, because I had never seen a music lesson in a primary school that was focused on one instrument, unless it was an after school event. So after listening to the music, it remained fresh in my head while I made my way back to LMM office.

I found myself back at the desk starting on today's tasks which was to create one more badge for the recital which didn't take to long. I also typed up the quotes from the Boris Johnson speech for Rachel. After my lunch I put the programmes in the information pack from yesterday, before writing down events for this blog and also finding information about the London Symphony Orchestra tonight.

Wednesday evening at the Barbican Hall

The London Symphony Orchestra was really amazing to watch and listen to. This was the first time I have ever been to a classical music event. The first piece was my favourite only because I loved the piano in it. But overall it was a fantastic experience and something I would definitely like to be going to again.

Thursday 17 June

By far the most challenging day; THE RECITAL.

I left the office with some of the LMM team at 3.00pm to begin on setting up and organising the food, drinks, flowers and anything else that needed sorting. Before helping transport everything to the recital.

I was set with the task of running the drinks table at the intervals which was slightly hectic at times, because drinks were going left, right and centre. The music I thought was really good, and that was easily seen from the audience response. Cleaning up seemed a bit daunting, but really wasn't at all especially with loads of the LMM team there which meant everyone was out just before 10.30pm, even if I had to make the journey home.

Friday 18 June

Where did all the time go? This was my last day at LMM.

I went to Ashmole Primary School with Hannah, Rachel and Rhuti (LMM Assistant) to attend the musicianship assembly. Which was really fun because I had sort of forgotten what primary school life was like. So I spent most of my time today writing up the rest of my blog to be put on the website. I had a debriefing of how yesterday went with the recital, just talking about what went well and what were areas of improvement. After that I got back to typing up my blog before getting some feedback from Hannah and Robert, which was really helpful to see the areas of improvement. I also found out that I'm interested in events management, so that is definitely an area of interest that I will have to look into when I get back home, so I'm really happy to have had such a good work experience, I'm also sad that I have to leave.

So thank you everyone at LMM for putting up with me.

 

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KATHERINE
(Katherine was with us when our Bridge Students and Elena Urioste performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as part of the BrightSparks Family Concerts)

Day 1
Monday 21 June Monday

My first day on the job. Unfortunately I got into the office a little late because the Circle Line was delayed that morning. But the day improved significantly. My first task was to look into some classical music events I might want to see during the week. I spent a while looking at different orchestras I might be able to hear.  Finally I came to operas. First on the list was Carmen, one of the most famous operas of all time.  After speaking to the team and calling the Box Office I had my £13 restricted view ticket.

The rest of the day was composed of doing odd jobs around the office. I helped out when I could and researched the differences and similarities between Musical Theatre and Opera. The day came to an amazing end. I left at 4 o'clock and made my way home. I only had time to change before I made my way to the Opera. I had always been more interested in Musical Theatre but I was pleasantly surprised when I came to realise that there were more similarities between the two than I had thought. While they have two different kinds of energy they still both require the same passion and devotion.

I was absolutely blown away by the performance of Carmen that night. When the opening music started I felt chills go up and down my spine. It was an all around amazing experience. Although the story is filled with tragedy and heartache the overwhelming sense of happiness and freedom was clearly shown.
That night I went home and knew that this week was going to be completely worth it.

Day 2
Tuesday 22 June

On Tuesday I met Hannah at Borough tube station (a place I had never been to or heard of). We walked to the LPO rehearsal hall where the sound of instruments tuning filled the space. At first there wasn't a lot to help out with but once the kids were getting ready to rehearse with the LPO, Hannah and I went up to the balcony to watch them perform. After watching the In Harmony children I was blown away by the Bridge Project students. They all stayed very focused and well behaved. As they walked out of the main rehearsal hall they were flooded with compliments and their little faces lit up.

After the kids had lunch and cleaned up I helped the teachers and other helpers take them back to school. It was a long and hot walk back from the bus and the kids were slowly fading. We dropped the kids off and Kate and I made our way back to the office.
When we finally escaped the hot air we were sitting back at the desk and getting on with the rest of the day.

Day 3
Wednesday 23 June

On Wednesday I met Rachel at Oval, another station I had never been to nor heard of. We went to see the children in their classes at Ashmole Primary School. It was really interesting to see the way the kids learn and the way they interact at school after seeing them at the rehearsal. They were in fact still very well behaved while in class. When I looked around the room I could see some children that were very devoted to impressing their teachers and getting all of the notes right. In the second class there were three kids who were so good that they were able to be the helpers at the beginning of the lesson.
When we went down stairs Agata, and LMM artist, played for the kids and they were so excited most of them couldn't hold it in. It was funny to see the way they reacted and remember when I used to be that age when things were so funny and so outrageous. It's nice to see though that these kids can in fact be so mature and focused on their music.

Day 4
Thursday 24 June

On Thursday I arrived at the Royal Festival Hall with my brother, who I asked to help film the performances. When I arrived that morning I met Charlotte at the Artists entrance. We got our passes and went to the stage where Brendan set up the camera. As I watched the parents it was clear they were thrilled to see their children up on the stage.

After the performances I went to the dressing rooms to help collect the t-shirts. In the dressing rooms the kids were very pleased with their performances and excited to talk about it. Along with the children another LMM artist, Elena Urioste, played along with the LPO. Elena was the soloist in for two songs that the LPO played. I had heard about her before the week but it was a whole other experience to see her play.

On the way back to the office Hannah and I tried to take the tube but of course it was closed. So we took a cab, there was a lot of traffic so we had to get out and walk. Hannah carried the t-shirts which was not as easy as it looked.

For the rest of the day I helped out around the office until the meeting about the upcoming events. From the outside it seemed like a simple task but as we sat around the table I realized how many factors there are when thinking about and planning these events.

Day 5
Friday 25 June

Today is my last day at the office. This day will be about reflecting on my week here at LMM. It has definitely been a great learning experience and one that I will always remember.

At first I thought this would be an office job, getting coffees and making photo copies. But I was pleasantly surprised when the job had me go to Carmen and the Royal Opera House and watch the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall. I really enjoyed watching the children play and knowing that they were happy doing that made everyone smile.

Even though this was the week that every one said would be the busiest it all seemed to pay off in the end because the children did a great job and everyone was very impressed.

 

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ALICE
(wih us when Agata Szymczewska played violin with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as part of the BrightSparks Family Concerts)

Day 1
Monday 28 June

Who ever said work experience was boring!? It’s only my first day here and I’ve already seen a concert at the Royal Festival Hall and met the amazing violinist Agata Szymczewska.

I started my day at the artist’s entrance of the Royal Festival Hall (Southbank Centre) at quarter past nine, and was followed by Rhuti and Charlotte who lead me to the reception to receive our backstage passes.

After finding our seats, the school children started to pile in and the atmosphere became very exciting. As the kids got more excited, so did the noise level ! However , throughout the concert they were transfixed with the music-making, and made a very appreciative audience.
The concert had a great selection of pieces to keep the young audience hooked; from ‘Hoedown’ by Copland to the 3rd movement of the fantastic Jean Sibelius violin concerto, played by Agata. It was also very impressive to see the year 2 pupils from St. Stephen’s Primary School in Lambeth up on stage and playing along with the orchestra in one of the pieces. They looked like they really enjoyed their moments of fame.

Overall, I found the concert very inspiring, and it was great to see LMM’s work in action.

After the concert, we all went into the maze of the backstage area to meet Agata in her dressing room. She was a genuinely lovely and bright person, and I know that she will be a huge success one day.

Day 2
Tuesday 29 June 

So, today I helped with various tasks; one of them consisting of researching London photography colleges who might be interested with helping LMM.

Later, Hannah suggested I should start a project on ‘Conductors’ as it has always been an area of the music world that has interested me.  So I started the research, and decided to look into whether conductors are really needed in orchestral playing or not. This was very interesting as most of my questions were answered, and it was very satisfying looking into a topic in detail. In this project, I discovered that in some music (like Mozart and Beethoven) conductors are not essential. This is mainly because the composers composed their pieces without a conductor in mind. However, for more romantic composers and opera, conductors are essential as the players have to change tempo or keep together with the singers.

After a leisurely lunch in the park, I returned to do some more of my project and to do this blog.
Overall, today has given me a real insight into doing an office job in the city. The tasks range from copying up meeting notes and shredding paper, to making promotional material using YouTube.  

Day 3
Wednesday 30 June

This morning I met Rachel at Oval tube station and we made our way to Ashmole primary school. When we arrived, a lesson had already started but we hadn’t missed much.
As I sat and watched, I was amazed at how quickly the children picked up the finger patterns, and how much enthusiasm they had.

After a taster of a typical violin teaching session, Rachel and I made our way back to the office. Even this was useful as I was able to talk to Rachel properly about the background of Bridge project. As we talked I became more and more fascinated with the project, and I became more aware of their promising plans for the future.   

The rest of the day was spent doing errands in the office, and my day finished with a detour to Kensington on my way home to drop off some important letters to Victoria Sharp (Chief Executive).

Day 4
Thursday 1 July

After a leisurely start to the day, Hannah and Robert invited me to a meeting they were about to have, discussing upcoming events. This was a chance for me to think creatively and realise just how much detail and factors are considered when planning an event.

The rest of the day was spent doing more errands around the office, and unfortunately I had to leave early, so sadly my day was cut short.

Final day
Friday 2 July

So, I ended my week at the same place I started; Southbank Centre. The LMM team were having a meeting about their progress and upcoming events. This was my first proper professional meeting, so it was a very exciting. To add to the experience, Hannah asked me to takes notes and write down the ‘action points’. At the start it was hard to follow what everyone was saying as the meeting was very fast moving; however I soon got into the swing of things and by the end of a busy two hours I had plenty of notes on hand.

After I returned to the office and had lunch, I started to copy up the meeting notes and do next week's agenda. It seemed a daunting task, but Hannah was very helpful with her feedback and soon the notes were completed. The rest of the day was spent finishing this blog and reflecting on my time at London Music Masters.

I have really enjoyed my week here, and am truly sad to see it come to an end. However, I have met some great people who have inspired me for the future and who have given me a great idea about what’s out there; which for me, is what work experience is all about.  On top of that, I have learned new skills and had fun.

So thank you to LMM for giving me this opportunity, and for giving me a fantastic work experience!