NEWS | Music House

How Yorkshire Choirs Are Coming Together To Create a Thriving Choral Scene

Feb 15, 2019

“Those of us in choirs are just the present trustees. When the time comes and we pass our choirs on to the next generation, we must ensure they are in excellent shape.” – Tim Knight

The brand new and exciting choral festival, Voices Yorkshire has been created for a number of reasons. The idea was the brainchild of our esteemed Principal, Tim Knight and it has developed into a festival that will help Yorkshire choirs grow, develop, reach new audiences, create new collaborations and attract new members. Music and singing together is incredibly powerful. As a team, we believe strongly in the power of music and how it has the ability to heal, to share joy, to inspire, to build bridges, to build community and friendships. That is why Voices Yorkshire was created. That is why it will always be more than just a choral festival.

We are delighted to confirm that the first event under the Voices Yorkshire banner, Sing Day Leeds, was a huge success. The team here at the college worked hard behind the scenes registering the interested choirs and securing the right venues and ultimately all the hard work paid off. It was a day when choirs came together to support each other; when the people of Leeds were treated to choral performances right across the city and when friendships were made, new collaborations were created and new audiences were delighted.

A big thank you to the wonderful, iconic and prestigious venues in Leeds who supported Sing Day Leeds and hosted a range of fabulous Yorkshire choirs. The Corn Exchange, The Victoria Centre, Temple Newsam, Marks and Spencer, Owlcotes, The Leeds City Museum, The Tiled Hall Cafe in the Art Gallery and The Old Fire Station at Gipton. All these amazing venues were enthusiastic supporters of our first event and helped set the bar high for future Sing Days across Yorkshire.

Leeds Male Voice Choir in The Corn Exchange

Sing Day Huddersfield Is Next!

On Saturday 30th March, venues across Huddersfield will be hosting a range of Yorkshire choirs and filling the air with the beautiful and joyous sound of people singing together.

Currently we have three venues confirmed: The Art Gallery, The Packhorse Shopping Centre and The Piazza Centre. We are in talks with several other venues and hope to make further announcements soon.

“Choirs need a constant supply of new audiences and new singers. We cannot expect them to magically appear, we must get out there and take our music to the people. We must share our love for choral music, we must respect other choirs and their choices of music and work with other choirs to support each other. If we come together, we will create an even bigger and brighter thriving choral scene across our region.” – Tim Knight

At Sing Day Leeds, we were delighted to see Tim’s vision come alive. Choirs were supporting one another and indeed, new collaborations and performances have been planned where several choirs are coming together to do joined-up events.

We’re looking forward to making Sing Day Huddersfield another rip-roaring success!

If you have yet to register your choir, then do so NOW. Email info@voicesyorkshire.co.uk or visit www.voicesyorkshire.co.uk for more information

Paul’s Signing Choir – Getting the audience involved

What You Might Not Know About “Jingle Bells”

Dec 14, 2018

Christmas is around the corner. Children in schools up and down the country are performing their Christmas nativities and singing their Christmas carols to proud parents and grandparents. Undoubtedly, amongst the songs belted out by enthusiastic kids will be Jingle Bells. A firm favourite for all, with the added bonus that even the smallest children can join in by shaking something that jingles.

Jingle Bells was apparently first written as a Thanksgiving song and didn’t become a song associated with Christmas until several decades later. It was published in 1857 and was originally written by James Lord Pierpont, who would very probably not have believed where his little tune would be performed just over 100 years later…..

Because, the thing you might not know is that Jingle Bells was the first piece of music to be played and broadcast from Space.

It was December, 1965 and Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 had just completed the first manned rendez-vous between spacecraft. Astronaut, Wally Schirrah, who was travelling in Gemini 6 informed Houston and Gemini 7 that he had spotted an object. Something, he stated that looked like a satellite that was travelling from North to South, “probably in a Polar orbit.”

He went on, “He’s in a very low trajectory, travelling from North to South and has a very high climbing ratio……. stand by…”

Schirrah then started to play “Jingle Bells” on an 8-note “Little Lady” harmonica while his colleagues in Gemini 7 and back on Earth in Houston chuckled away.

Wally Schirrah went on to become the pilot of the first successful Apollo mission, Apollo 7. He was the first astronaut to go into Space three times and the only astronaut to have flown in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programmes for NASA. He was also the first person to have played and broadcast a piece of music from Space.

And, that piece of music was Jingle Bells.

“Ho Ho Ho!”

5 Steps To Set Up Your Own Choir

Dec 5, 2018

Choirs are bang on trend. Over recent years we’ve had choral competitions on prime time television, Gareth Malone putting choirs together in work places, schools and communities and of course we’ve seen the success of the fabulous Military Wives Choir.

And, unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the past few months, you’ll be aware that there’s a new and fabulous Yorkshire choral festival launching in 2019 and we have been inundated with choirs from every corner of God’s country who want to get involved. We are also fortunate, here at the Yorkshire College of Music and Drama, to have a number of different choirs and singing groups who use our Victorian rooms with their high ceilings and thick walls to rehearse. Indeed, not to show off, but the hugely successful Leeds Male Voice Choir’s Musical Director is our very own Principal, Tim Knight.

Choirs are everywhere and that can only be a good thing.

But, what if you and a group of friends want to set up a new singing group, or a new choir? How should you go about it? What do you need to consider? What do you need to do first?

Well, as we are considered expert in the field of all things music, we have put a (fairly) simple 5-step guide together to help you set up your own choir

1. Define your Choir

Whether there is just one of you with the urge to get started, or there is a group of you wanting to embark on this journey together, the most important thing is to set out your purpose. You need to work out the answers to ‘What’, ‘Why’ and ‘How’.

What

What sort of choir or group you are going to be? Is it a closed group choir or is it a community choir? It’s important to get your ground rules agreed at the start to avoid any confusion in the future.

What is the purpose of the choir? Is it to raise money for local charities or a community cause? Is it to socialize and have fun? Is it to get into National competitions and aim for a performance at The Royal Albert Hall?

Whatever the answer to your ‘Why’, make sure you set some targets and goals. Get some performances booked in the diary – even if just for friends and family – so that you have something to aim for. This will give you a focus and ensure you keep on striving for improvement.

What style of music are you going to be singing? Are you wanting to set up a rock choir or a gospel choir? How about a folk singing group, or a chamber choir?

Your style will, of course, evolve as your skills improve and your members come and go, but it’s important to have a clear idea of the kind of choir you want to be before you start. If nothing else, it will mean you advertise for and recruit like-minded people for your choir.

2. The Logistics

So, the hard bit is done: You have a clear vision of your choir or singing group, you know the kind of music you are going to sing and you have set yourself goals. Now you need to start to tackle the practical, logistical issues, which means finding the answers to the ‘Where’ and ‘When’.

If you need rehearsal space, then research available local community rooms or speak to your local music college. Here at The Yorkshire College of Music and Drama we have plenty of rehearsal space, with the added benefit of musical instruments and experienced tutors and musicians on site. If you live locally to us, then please feel free to get in touch and see what space we have available.

If you’re not local to us, then ask around at your local music colleges and community centres. There is also the option, if you’re starting small, to start rehearsals at your house, but beware of it turning into a social, as opposed to a productive evening. And, hide the wine!

3. Recruit

By now, you should have your choir defined and your purpose set out. You should have your rehearsal venue and an idea of when you want to meet each week. Now you need to recruit some members. So, get busy on social media, speak to friends and family, speak to other parents at the school gates, speak to work colleagues and put a notice up in your local music college.

You could get some basic flyers printed and put them in your local library or hand them out in appropriate local businesses. Be clear in any communication about your choir’s purpose and style so you attract people who are of the same mindset.

4. Find a Choir Master

It would be lovely to think there was a Gareth Malone or (our very own) Tim Knight available for every choir out there, but there isn’t. That doesn’t mean you can’t find someone who is both inspirational and talented and perfect for the job.

Speak to your local music college and music departments at local schools. Speak to local universities and arts organisations. There may well be young students or even teachers who are wanting to get involved in a local choir or singing group. Alternatively, get on social media – so Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and advertise for the role. Make sure you are clear about the aims and purpose of the choir right from the start.

5. Start Singing!

No excuses now. You’ve got your venue, you’ve got your date booked in each week. You’ve got some keen members and an enthusiastic choir master. Get some music and lyrics organised and start singing. As Gareth Malone said, “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

Good Luck!

And……If you do get your choir started, don’t forget to sign up and join in with the massive choral festival Voices Yorkshire. For more information go to www.voicesyorkshire.co.uk

The Power Of Music

Nov 28, 2018

Music is incredibly powerful.

Listening to it, playing it, singing along to your favourite song can all have a hugely emotional and physical impact on us. The right piece of music has the ability to lift us when we’re down, but equally can help us to wallow in our melancholy when needed. Listening to music – for example, a live orchestra or the rich and multi-layered sound of a live choir – can make the hairs on our arms stand on end, jolt our tear-ducts awake or make our hearts beat faster.

But apart from being able to touch us emotionally and cause a physical response in our bodies, are there other things music can do for us?

To find out, we thought we ask the people in the know – our tutors, students, parents and visiting musicians. This is what we discovered:

Music helps to boost confidence

Putting the hours into learning something – accomplishing goals, sticking at something and dedicating yourself to improvement – can give you confidence in other areas of your life.

Self-confidence doesn’t come easy to everyone, but every day here at The Yorkshire College of Music and Drama, our tutors, musicians and choir masters see the positive impact music has on our students and the difference it can make to someone’s life. Indeed, over the years we have taught students who have battled with severe confidence issues and debilitating shyness. We are privileged to be able to watch our students grow as their love and passion for music and confidence in their ability and musicality transfers into other areas of their lives.

Music rewards perseverance and resilience

No one ever achieved anything worthwhile by giving up. Successful people tend to be resilient and will persevere, perhaps where others would have given up.

The problem is that effort, resilience and perseverance are hard graft and difficult skills to learn or to teach someone. But, with music they are lessons that happen naturally. Music rewards persistent efforts – it rewards you through your improvement and then inspires you to want to learn more. It teaches you that if you work hard at something in life, you can achieve your goals.

Thomas Eddison said:

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

And, our most famous pupil, Julie Andrews seems to agree, having once been quoted as saying:

“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.”

Music is sociable

One lady told us a story about her daughter, who when she was at school learnt both the piano and the clarinet.

“She’s in her thirties now,” she told us. “And some years ago, she decided to drop the piano and continue with the clarinet. I questioned her decision at the time, but now I know it was the best thing for her.”

The reason? This lady’s daughter joined an amateur orchestra a few years ago. She and her fellow musicians meet regularly, to chat, laugh, support one another and when all that is done, to play music. Over the past few years the orchestra has travelled to many cities and towns in Europe to play small concerts. It is, her mother explained such an important part of her daughter’s life. “Not only has she travelled to places she would never have even heard of, but she has made friendships that will last her entire life.”

The sociable side of music can be clearly seen here at the college, week in, week out. We have several choirs who rehearse within our beautiful Victoria walls, as well as a number of ensemble groups who learn together each week. These groups of people are doing more than learning music and singing together; they are creating and sharing memories and making lifelong friends.

If you have a story about how music has impacted your life, we’d love to hear about it. Please email admin.ycmd@btconnect.com.

The Real Story Behind One of Our Nation’s Favourite Carols

Nov 14, 2018

Silent Night frequently tops the polls as one of our Nation’s favourite Christmas carols. And, as this Christmas Eve will mark 200 years since its first ever performance, we decided to find out the real story behind the song.

Silent Night: The Fantastic Legend

Legend has it that the song was written on Christmas Eve, 1818 in St Nicholas’ church in Oberndorf, Austria. It was discovered that mice had destroyed the bellows of the church organ, so a young priest, Joseph Mohr, was tasked with writing a new hymn for that evening’s Midnight Mass. With no organ available, the priest wrote Silent Night with a guitar accompaniment and he saved the day. The song we all know and love today, was sung for the first time that Christmas Eve.

The truth is not quite so dramatic, but still remarkable.

Silent Night: The Fantastic Truth

The lyrics to Silent night were actually written two years earlier, in 1816 when Joseph Mohr was based in a pilgrimage church in Mariapfrr, Austria. He moved to Oberndorf a year later, in 1817 and developed a friendship with a school teacher named Franz Gruber. Where the legend and the real story marry up is that the lyrics were indeed written on December 24^th, 1818. Joseph Mohr asked his good friend, Franz Gruber to create lyrics to his music. The song was created using a guitar accompaniment and was first sung that very evening at Midnight Mass in St Nicholas’, Oberndorf.

Nobody really knows why the song was accompanied by a guitar. Perhaps, the organ was in disrepair, or perhaps it was a stroke of genius that would help to create one of the most enduring Christmas songs of all time.

Joseph Mohr died before his song achieved fame throughout Europe. Gruber was not credited for his part in creating the melody until 1994, when a long-lost arrangement, written in Mohr’s hand was found. On the top right-hand corner of the musical composition Mohr’s words stated “Melodie von Fr. Xav. Gruber.”

The surviving original music in Mohr’s hand – Carolino Augusteum, Salzburg

A Few ‘Silent Night’ Facts

Silent Night’s beautiful words of peace and love flowed from the soul of a young priest and its musical composition was created by an unremarkable, village school teacher.

Silent Night is a song that has stood the test of time for 200 years and which will continue to resound with so many around the world for many years to come.

Silent Night has been translated into an estimated 140 languages.

Silent Night was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011.

So, this year, when you Silent Night whilst out Christmas shopping, or if you’re at at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and you sing Silent Night, spare a thought for the two hundred-year anniversary of its creation and the two unlikely heroes of music history.

If you would love to be the next Joseph Mohr or Franz Gruber, then please get in touch with us at the college. With our expert guitar tuition or lessons in musical composition, you never know….someone could be embellishing stories about you in a few hundred years’ time.

Call 0113 243 1605

A Time of Remembrance 100 Years On – And How Our College Made a Difference

Nov 8, 2018

It is one of the most poignant dates of the year: Remembrance Sunday. And, this particular Remembrance Sunday will be even more poignant and even more important as the country comes together to mark 100 years since the end of WWI.

The day will be respectfully marked by moving ceremonies held at official war memorials in many villages, towns and cities across our Kingdom. It is a day where we remember and commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth civic and military service-men and women in both World Wars and in other conflicts since. It is an incredibly moving day and one that brings the past very much into our present.

Some months ago, whilst rummaging in a box of old programmes and college brochures found in the back of a dusty store cupboard, we discovered that our college played a significant part in supporting returning local war heroes from both world wars. The documents feel delicate and incredibly fragile, like old paper does. The first one is a concert programme dated 17^th March 1917, when our college organised an event in The Albert Hall, Leeds, to aid a local hostel that was helping to support blind soldiers and sailors.

The second one is dated July, 1944 and goes into great detail about concerts held that year to raise funds for Youth Welfare and The Merchant Navy. It tells us that In May 1944 our college held a concert in Leeds Town Hall and raised over £639 (the equivalent of around £27,000 in today’s money). Then a few months later, in July 1944, they held a second concert and raised a hugely impressive £2,437 (the equivalent of around £100,000 today).

Following the enormous success of these two concerts, where over 400 voices from “massed choirs of Leeds and district” came together, along with “solo artists of national reputation,” the college received urgent calls for help from two other local charities; The Leeds Wounded Warriors Welfare and The Leeds Forces’ Hospitality Fund.

So, our college rallied again and on the 23^rd and 24^th September 1944, it held two more concerts to support its local war heroes.

It is incredibly touching to discover the effort our college went to, to show its support, pride and patriotism for our local heroes. The original programme states:

“WE MUST DO MORE THAN OUR BEST FOR THE WOUNDED SOLDIERS.”

And, The Yorkshire College of Music and Drama – known back then as The Leeds College of Music – did just that.

We will be wearing our poppies with extra pride this year.

The Importance of Music in Education

Nov 1, 2018

Here at the Yorkshire College of Music and Drama, we know how important music in education can be. It is the main reason behind our Primary Schools Outreach programme – to make music available to as many children in our communities as possible. It would appear that music is no longer a priority in our education system. Gone are the days when every child would get a recorder home to torture their parents with. Gone are the days when music was regarded as an important part of a well-rounded education.

We firmly believe music should play an important role in a well-rounded education and that music should be for everyone and not just the few.

Why?

Well, one good reason is a link between learning music and higher IQ scores.

The study by E. Glenn Schellenberg at the University of Toronto (as published in a 2004 issue of Psychological Science), found a slight increase in the IQs of six-year-olds who were given weekly voice and piano lessons.

Schellenberg provided nine months of piano and voice lessons to a dozen six-year-olds, drama lessons (to see if exposure to the arts in general versus music on its own had an effect) to a second group of six-year-olds, and no lessons to a third group. The children’s IQ’s were tested before entering the first grade, then again before entering the second grade.

The results?

The children who were given music lessons over the school year tested on average three IQ points higher than the other groups. The drama group didn’t have the same increase in IQ, but did experience increased social behaviour benefits not seen in the music-only group.

Another study, published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy at the University of Kansas, found that pupils in primary schools with high-quality music education scored around 22% higher in English and 20% higher in mathematics in standardised tests. This is compared to primary schools with low-quality music education programmes.

And, of course it’s not all about test scores. Music helps children develop life skills they can go on and use in other areas of their lives, such as fine motor skills, self-discipline, fortitude, dedication and perseverance.

Isn’t it about time that, as a society we started to invest in music for our children again?

Isn’t it about time music benefitted all children and not just those who can afford it?

Isn’t it right that music was put back on our education agenda?

We think so.

If you know a primary school that would love to speak to us about our outreach programme, then please get in touch. We would love to get involved in more schools and in helping more children to reap the benefits of music education.

Get in touch to find out how we can help your primary school.

Our College, Julie Andrews and The Importance of Words

Oct 31, 2018

It’s amazing what can be found, when you’re rummaging in an old cupboard!

The dusty old box looked quite ordinary – nondescript even. It was hidden at the back of a storage cupboard, here at The Yorkshire College of Music and Drama and its contents turned out to be much more exciting than its drab and rickety outward appearance suggested.

Inside were faded old documents, photographs, 100-year old concert programmes and fragile newspaper clippings; treasures that offer a real insight into Leeds’ musical past.

But, as interesting as these documents were, it was one letter which stood out. A letter dated August 1965. A letter written by our former president, Madam Stiles-Allen, in which she offers a glimpse into her close relationship with her most famous pupil, Julie Andrews.

A reminder for those who need it:

Lilian Stiles-Allen, was a world-renowned British soprano who trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She achieved fame and critical acclaim in her early years and by the 1920’s was an established, leading concert soprano. But, her glittering stage career came to an end when war broke out and she moved to Leeds to escape the Blitz and start teaching. Her move North is widely documented and her relationship with the young Julie Andrews is also well known. So, finding an old photograph of the two of them together, though exciting, was not really news.

But, what was interesting was the letter. Her words, written in her own, looping, curling hand, casually describing a trip to California in 1964, when she:

….“stayed with Julie and coached her through her songs in Mary Poppins also for the Sound of Music.”

Hang on a moment! Our president coached the biggest movie star of the day through some of the most famous movie songs of all time. Now, that was fascinating to read!

The letter goes on:

….“she really is a lovely young person and is god mother to my grandson…. Julie is quite unspoiled and so grateful for her ‘gifts’.”

What a lovely insight into their relationship, which started when Julie was just 8 years old, when she would travel up to Leeds to spend weekends with Madam Stiles-Allen at Old Farm, Shire Oak Road.

Julie Andrews has been quite open in her admiration for our former president and was even quoted as saying, “(Madam Stiles-Allen) had an enormous influence on me. She was my third mother.”

And, when we listened back to an old recording of Madam Stiles-Allen on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs from 1971, this influence seemed to stand out. For, Julie has been quoted as saying “words come first, melody second,” and certainly her clear pronunciation of every syllable in her famous songs is impeccable. In the clip of Madam’s interview, (that can still be found on the BBC’s website) she was asked about the differences between her own generation and the younger generation. She answered:

“They are definitely better musicians,” she said. “But the voices….there is something missing,” she went on: “They don’t appreciate words.”

She then quoted Richard Wagner, who apparently said:

“You can all sing my beautiful music, but who will sing my beautiful words?”

Well, Julie sang words beautifully.

And, we’d love to think it was thanks to our very own Madam Stiles-Allen.

Guitar Lessons – Grade 1-8

Jun 29, 2018

Whatever Grade of guitar we can provide the lesson for you

At the YCMD, we have music lessons for all abilities, including all grades of guitar.

If you need tuition to further your guitar playing, then you need to contact us now at the YCMD to find out how we can help.

Saxophone Lessons

Jun 17, 2018

Saxophone lessons at the YCMD are for all ages and abilities.

Whether you want to begin to play the saxophone, or pursue the instrument to a higher level, we can provide the lesson for you. Whether your passion is is Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone or Bass Saxophone we have the right tuition for you.

As well as individual saxophone lessons we have some excellent group classes for the saxophone too. These can be far more cost effective, productive and also a lot more fun!

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