agata szymczewska barbican bbc proms bridge project bridge to the community cape festival charlotte bray debussy elena urioste jennifer pike jessop primary school lmm awards london contemporary orchestra london philharmonic orchestra london symphony orchestra lpo martin suckling royal academy of music royal college of music royal festival hall south africa southbank centre southbank sinfonia wigmore wigmore hall
The final day of the conference focused on laying the groundwork for future collaborations and looking at practical ways of implementing conclusions reached through discussions during the weekend.... read more
Day two brought a bit of mist and a slight breeze as well as our opportunity to present the work of London Music Masters and the specific UK context within which we operate. Victoria and I tag teamed around a slick (thanks Claire!) power point presentation (sorry Hannah!) which included dynamic photos of Bridge students eating hula hoops of the end of their bows (whoever thought Suzuki could be such fun?!). We also heard from the Hugo Lambrechts Music Centre , the phenomenal Busk Aid project and many others including the Certificate Programme of Stellenbosch University which facilitates the inclusion of gifted musicians who do not have the theoretical background to support them in the pursuit of a traditional BMus degree, in accessing preparatory music qualifications. Andre Dowell of the US based Sphinx Organization also presented aspects of the exciting work they are doing in the States.... read more
Day one of the conference started with a fascinating introduction to 'Deep Democracy', a facilitation methodology developed by Myrna Lewis in response to the struggle facing South African society as it emerged out of apartheid and was forced to confront the racism and fear that had been institutionalised for generations. Lewis maintains that the methodology is applicable in all situations where relationships are being formed. Investigating it at the start of the conference within the context of a discussion on collaboration helped get our minds in gear for the some meaningful conversations over lunch! We are a disparate collective seeking consensus on complex issues which affect us all differently, the investigation into Deep Democracy was valuable if only to remind us of the potential challenges we would face as we attempted to scale this "Table Mountain" of a question: how do we harness music as an agent for social change?... read more
London Music Masters' founder (Victoria Sharp) and Bridge Project Manager (Robert Adediran) attended the Cape Festival Music Development Forum in South Africa last week; the forum brings together representatives from leading international and South African music education intiatives for three days of showcase events, workshops, discussions, and debates, focusing on how participants can best make a social and aesthetic contribution to South Africa's previously disadvantaged communities through music. Robert writes about his first impressions below...... read more