News
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LMT Vocal Residential
The first LMT Vocal Residential took place on 4th - 6 May where 25 pupils and 3 vocal tutors spent an exciting weekend at Stanley Head outdoor pursuits centre from Friday 4 th May – Sunday 6 th May. The weekend was spent in fantastic accommodation set in the rolling Staffordshire countryside. The food was amazing and we spent half a day enjoying high ropes, climbing wall and archery activities. Whilst the sun shone down on us all weekend, we also learnt how to improvise, sing scat, beat-box, drum, rap and, of course, improve our vocal and choral skills.
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Cheshire East Music Education Conference 2018
On Wednesday 25th April, the second annual Cheshire East Music Education Conference was held at the Romero Conference Centre in Macclesfield. We were joined by delegates from across Cheshire East for a day of inspirational sessions on a variety of topics relating to music education.
Kicking off our day was keynote speaker Martin Fautley, Professor of Education at Birmingham City University. For the first session, delegates could choose between two workshops: one from Out of the Ark on developing lessons based on their primary singing resources; the other from percussionist Josh Savage giving an insight into looping stations and their application in the classroom. -
Barlines: The Half-Termly Newsletter From The LMT
The Newsletter from the Love Music Trust
Diary Dates
Wednesday 25th April
Cheshire East Music Education Conference
Romeo Centre
Friday 4th May
Vocal Residential
Stanley Head
Tuesday 19th June
Come and Play with the Halle
Bridgewater Hall
Wednesday 20th June
Cheshire Show
Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th June
Summer Celebration Weekend
Click here to see the full calendar
This month the Spotlight is on the LMT World Percussion Ensemble
The Love Music Trust World Percussion Ensemble is a new ensemble this year directed by Graham Proctor. The group was initially formed by invitation to the Key Stage 2 children who have had the experience of World Percussion Wider Opportunities last academic year. The group studied Samba drumming last term and he group had it's debut performance in December 2017 at St. Mary's Church, Sandbach. -
Battle of the Bands 2018
In 2018, the Love Music Trust run the inaugural Cheshire East Schools Battle of the Bands Competition. With entries submitted from schools across the borough and following visits to a number of schools, 5 groups were invited to perform at Crewe Lyceum on the evening of Thursday 29th March. On the night the following groups took to the stage;
Empire - All Hallows’ Catholic College
Good for Gordon - Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School and Sandbach School
Room Three - Wilmslow High School
Sound of Phoenix - Alsager School
The Unimaginativly named Year 9 Band - St Thomas More
For their 15 minute set, each group performed at least one cover song and set out to impress the two judges, Ollie Collins and Johnny Heyes, Bass Guitar and Guitar tutor on the RNCM Popular Music Course. -
Come and Play with Crewe Co-Op Wind Band
On Thursday 29th March, pupils from Wistaston Academy joined forces with hub partner ensemble Co-operative Youth Wind Band (Crewe) at Crewe Lyceum for our annual Come and Play concert. During the afternoon, pupils were treated to a full concert by the band, joining in for two pieces - Happy by Pharrell Williams and Eye of the Tiger from the ‘Rocky’ movies. The concert is part of the Trust’s Wider Opportunities programme and gave the pupils the chance to experience playing alongside a full ensemble for the very first time. Hopefully, some pupils will be inspired to carry on with their playing by joining one of the hub’s network of ensembles.
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Cheshire East Schools' Music Competition 2018
On the evening of Tuesday 27th March the finalists of the 2018 Cheshire East Primary School's Music competition took to the stage at Crewe Lyceum in front of a large and supportive crowd to showcase their considerable musical abilities and with the aim to catch the ear of the two judges, Mark Hall (Director of the CBSO Children's Chorus) and Robbie Gardiner (Assistant Head of Music Education at the RNCM). The finalists, Elworth Hall Primary School String Ensemble, Dingle Primary School Ensemble and the Elworth Hall School Band, Excalibur Primary School Choir, The Dingle School Choir and Elworth Hall Primary School Choir didn't disappoint. The standard on display during the evening was there for all to see and appreciated and was testament to the huge amount of dedication the pupils had clearly given in preparation for the competition.
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Singfest 2018
Forty primary and secondary schools from Cheshire East took part in Singfest 2018 over 3 days from 27th - 29th March at the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, in massed performances involving over 1200 children. The singing celebration consisted of 3 medleys, one Motown, one Musicals and one Singing Playgrounds theme, broken up by exciting games and warm-ups. Fantastic singing, dancing and actions raised the roof of the Lyceum and thrilled audiences over the 3-day culmination of the Love Music Trust Vocal project We're already looking forward to next year and our new repertoire of music through the decades!
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Barnaby Bear in Space
On Tuesday 27th March, 450 KS1 children from 12 different primary schools across Cheshire East took part in the Barnaby Bear Goes to Space concert at the Crewe Lyceum Theatre. The concert took the children on a journey through space where Barnaby Bear met aliens, saw meteors and built a rocket. The concert was a celebration of the work children had done as part of a six week project in school.
Look out for Betty Bear who next year will be venturing to the seaside. -
Percussion Workshop with Arthur Lipner
Arthur Lipner’s career has spanned three decades and is going stronger than ever since he began performing professionally at age 14. He has appeared in 25 countries, and has played on almost 50 albums, including 9 of his own projects. In 2016/17, he recorded seven solo albums. These are uniquely conceived interpretations of classic rock, jazz and pop releases performed on vibes, marimba and steel pans. During the three-hour workshop, Arthur demonstrated a number of techniques and gave a fantastic performance. The group played through one of his compositions, Lime Juice, and received very positive feedback. The session ended with the whole group playing together and learning more about jazz theory. In addition to the workshop, a number of our players were lucky enough to have an hour’s lesson with Arthur, in which they could receive advice on pieces they were working on.
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Keele University Fellowship
For the second consecutive year, the Love Music Trust has been pleased to be able to coordinate a Composer Fellowship programme with Keele University. The scheme has provided the opportunity for third year Keele University student Julian Liu to compose new music for the LMT String Sinfonia . Having attended rehearsals to both take part and to better understand the forces of the ensemble, Julian composed 'The Red Blossom Tree' for classical guitar and string orchestra. The 2017/18 Composer Fellowship programme concluded on Wednesday 21st March with a celebratory concert at Keele University, which included, alongside Julian's new work, Cinq Preludes by Villa - Lobos & Bach's Chaconne in D minor. The LMT String Sinfonia performed movements from Grieg's Holberg suite and also a duet by Mozart.