This concert is the first in a series of three, which will bring together Orchestra of the Swan with musical organisations across Northern Warwickshire.

These concerts are the culmination of plans for an innovative programme of classical music, called ‘Northern Notes’, funded by Arts Council England, Warwickshire County Council, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra, Bedworth Singers and sponsored by The Civic Hall in Bedworth.

The first concert went with a bang, with local music lovers in attendance alongside politicians to support the combination of high quality classical music and participants from local communities.

If you own and instrument, even is you haven’t used it in a while, you are welcome to join Orchestra of the Swan, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra and Warwickshire County Music Service on stage on 8th June for a performance of  Vaughan Williams’ “Concerto Grosso” composed by him to allow players of all levels to perform together.

Either turn up with your instrument at 2.30pm on 8th June, or come along to one of Bedworth Symphony Orchestra’s rehearsals, which take place on Monday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.50pm in the Phoenix Theatre at Nicholas Chamberlaine Technology College, Bulkington Road, Bedworth. CV12 9EA. For details contact Bob Phillip at liz.and.bob.phillip@talktalk.net or telephone 024 7632 6928.

Tickets for the two further concerts on 28th March and 8th June are now on sale at The Civic Hall Bedworth.

Tim Norton of the Civic Hall in Bedworth, ‘We’re really pleased to host classical music concerts here at The Civic Hall in Bedworth. An important aim of this programme is to support local music making. Existing musicians, members of other musical groups and societies, and those who are coming back to music after a break are all welcome to join in rehearsals and to perform at the public concerts.’
David Curtis from Orchestra of the Swan,

‘The opportunity for OOTS musician’s to work alongside musicians from the local community is invaluable and creates really dynamic performances and we’re looking forward to performing and working with musicians from the County Music Service, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra and local singers.’

-    This concert is part of a bigger programme to develop classical music across north Warwickshire
There is an opportunity for anyone with an instrument to come and perform on stage with Orchestra of the Swan at the final concert in the series on 8th June.

The choir led by Sheila Russell from the County Music Service is now a fifty strong group of singers of all ages, incorporating a number of families.

They were borne out of the Extended Services Initiative and are now supported by, and represent, eleven schools in the North Leamington Cluster.

On Sunday 22 January they performed in a free cluster concert supported by Stephen Steinhaus and his band, and by students from Trinity Catholic School.

Families and friends from all over North Leamington came to see them perform and they raised £250 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA).

They followed this up by auditioning for the BBC Choir of the Year Competition on Sunday January 29 at the Buxton Royal Opera House.

Sue Hollingworth, a former winner of the Choir of the Year; said she was ‘impressed by their homogeneity of sound across all the ages.’

Their successful performance earned them a ‘Choir of the Day’ certificate and a nomination for the next round of the competition in the Open Category.

The choir will be assessed against the other winners from the five other heats and are hoping to represent the North Leamington Cluster at the next stage of the competition in the Autumn.

Sheila Russell has enjoyed working with the choir and seeing them develop. She said: “They are an easy group to work with and show such great dedication”. Talking about the competition heat, she added: “They were a real credit to North Leamington; performing to a very high standard with such confidence.”

Musical organisations across northern Warwickshire have developed plans for an innovative programme of classical music, called ‘Northern Notes’, funded by Arts Council England, Warwickshire County Council, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra, Bedworth Singers and sponsored by The Civic Hall in Bedworth.

Orchestra of the Swan, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra and The County Music Service are collaborating to hold a special workshop day on Saturday 26 May at Etone School, Leicester Road, Nuneaton, CV11 6AA.

The workshop opens at 11am with the opportunity for all string players of any grade – or none at all – to rehearse and perform a work by Vaughan Williams, his “Concerto Grosso” composed by him to allow players of all levels to perform together.

Musicians, including children from schools across the north of the county, will form sections of the extended orchestra suitable to their skills and will join tuition sessions on the piece with professional players.  Participants will then have the opportunity to play the piece as part of a concert at The Civic Hall, Bedworth, on Friday June 8. 

The workshop will continue at 12.45pm with a rehearsal of Rimsky Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” – a thrilling musical interpretation of a ship’s voyage on the sea. This second part of the workshop is open to players of any orchestral instrument from Grade 6, or equivalent, and above.  Again, sectional tuition sessions will be held with professional guidance through the afternoon, culminating in a concert performance of the piece in the evening with an audience.

This workshop day is a wonderful chance for anyone who used to play an instrument to get it out of storage and have a go again!  The cost of the workshop is subsidised by funders and sponsors, with prices at £10 per person for the full day or £5 per person for the morning session or the afternoon/evening concert session, payable on entry, and includes two tickets to the evening’s performance.

Bob Phillip from Bedworth Symphony Orchestra, said: ‘We are very pleased to be working with Orchestra of the Swan and the County Music Service to offer this workshop to fellow musicians.

“It’s exciting that string players of any standard will be able to practice a special piece alongside Orchestra of the Swan professionals and later perform it at an Orchestra of the Swan Concert at the Civic Hall, Bedworth.”

Because music for the day will have to be obtained in advance, it is necessary for anyone interested to register their interest and instrument in advance by Thursday 26 April with Bob Phillip at liz.and.bob.phillip@talktalk.net or telephone 024 7632 6928.

This opportunity is part of Northern Notes a bigger programme to develop classical music across north Warwickshire

The event is being jointly organised by the County Music Service and the Rotary Clubs of Stratford& Shipston on Stour, and is open to young persons 10-18 years in full time education in South Warwickshire, who can perform to a minimum of Grade 2 standard.

The focus of the event is the development of team working skills and will consist of vocal, instrumental and dance routines from teams of 3-6 participants.

Performers will receive a critique from professional musicians and a participation certificate , and following a full assessment there will be an award for the best overall performance. Additional coaching events will take place prior to the main event. For more details contact Caroline Powell-Brett at CMS 01926 742630, or Stewart Band at Stratford Rotary 01789 294045.

Entry Forms are available from CMS instrumental teachers, school, South Warwickshire Music centre and from cms@warwickshire.gov.uk.

Funded by Arts Council England, Warwickshire County Council, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra, Bedworth Singers and sponsored by The Civic Hall in Bedworth, this is unique opportunity for local people to join voices and be part of a community event.

As part of this programme, Bedworth Singers will be throwing open the doors to their regular weekly rehearsals to anyone and everyone who would like to participate in a performance of Vivaldi “Gloria” on stage with the Orchestra of the Swan on Saturday 24 February at The Civic Hall in Bedworth.  The local choir are especially keen to hear from local men who enjoy singing, as their current membership is predominantly female.

Hilary Griffiths, Musical Director from Bedworth Singers, is amongst the organisers encouraging people to get involved, she said: “If you have never sung the piece before, but are interested in taking part you will need to start coming along to rehearsals starting Thursday 5 January, although anybody is welcome to start coming at any time.”

“As well as the usual Thursday rehearsals, there will be an additional workshop / rehearsal on Saturday 4 February.  The cost of all this? Not a penny!”

Rehearsals take place at Canon Maggs C of E School, Derwent Rd, Bedworth, CV12 8RT. every Thursday from 7.30pm – 9.30pm (term time). Come along on a Thursday, or contact Vicky Woodward on 07875 373029 for more details.

Funded by Arts Council England, Warwickshire County Council, Bedworth Symphony Orchestra, Bedworth Singers and sponsored by The Civic Hall in Bedworth, this is unique opportunity for local people to join voices and be part of a community event. 

As part of this programme, Bedworth Singers will be throwing open the doors to their regular weekly rehearsals to anyone and everyone who would like to participate in a performance of Vivaldi “Gloria” on stage with the Orchestra of the Swan on Saturday 24 February at The Civic Hall in Bedworth.  The local choir are especially keen to hear from local men who enjoy singing, as their current membership is predominantly female. 

Kate Barnard, Arts & Culture Development Manager from Warwickshire County Council, is amongst the organisers encouraging people to get involved, she said: “If you have never sung the piece before, but are interested in taking part you will need to start coming along to rehearsals starting Thursday 5 January, although anybody is welcome to start coming at any time.

“As well as the usual Thursday rehearsals, there will be an additional workshop / rehearsal on Saturday 4 February. The cost of all this? Not a penny!”

Rehearsals take place at Canon Maggs C of E School, Derwent Rd, Bedworth, CV12 8RT. every Thursday from 7.30pm – 9.30pm (term time). Come along on a Thursday, or contact Vicky Woodward on 07875 373029 for more details. 

The British rock band The Enid are joining forces with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for a once in a lifetime performance of their album Journeys End.

The choirs of Warwickshire County Music Service will be providing the choral backing to this extraordinary event and they would like to invite other young singers aged 10 and over from around the county to take part with them. The concert is being recorded by the famous Abbey Road studios and will be released as an album in 2012. 

Anyone interested in taking part should contact Warwickshire County Music Service on 01926 742630 for further information.

Since the announcement of County Music Service cuts in October 2010 there has been much speculation over the future of music making opportunities in the county.

Throughout this period of uncertainty the service has always stressed the importance of participation and pledged to continue to make arrangements for youngsters to perform on a regular basis.

The reorganisation of the service to accommodate significant reduction in budget (£850K) is still underway but decisions have now been made about the future of the county’s various performance groups.

There will be little or no change to most groups in the forthcoming academic year, however the Rock and Pop Institute will operate on a course basis and applications should be made to Gigzone.

From September, the County Youth Orchestra, along with the Wind Band, and Strings Orchestra will see some changes to their structure and rehearsal arrangements. Full orchestra members will take part in three intensive annual rehearsal courses which replace weekly sessions throughout the year and membership between the three groups will become more fluid.

By running the full symphony orchestra three times a year past students and those not able to commit to weekly rehearsals will have a greater chance to take part.

The string orchestra, wind band and area orchestras will still provide opportunities for weekly meetings and County Youth Orchestra players are welcome to join these groups.

The orchestra will still make three public performances each year and the amount of practice time for members has not been reduced.

County Music Service Director Andrew Atkins said: “We are pleased that we can continue to offer high quality musical experiences to our highest level young musicians through the County Groups Programme.

“Inevitably we have had to make changes to reduce our costs but have tried to do this in a way to increase our offer, provide greater opportunities for all, and at the same time maintain high quality of teaching and performance.

“It is with regret that we have not been able to retain the of the orchestra’s excellent director Colin Touchin but we hope to draw on his expertise in future collaborations and performances.”

Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families said: “Our county groups have forged a great national reputation and we want to build on these successes not take away the opportunity. The changes to rehearsal schedules have been necessary to allow the groups to continue, but there are other benefits as the longer sessions will allow students to really focus on the music and hone their talents.”

Existing members of the county groups need not reapply or audition this year. New applicants will be invited to the first rehearsal of their chosen group which will take place in September. They will be given the opportunity to play with the ensemble and to have a short audition where they will be asked to play two contrasting pieces unaccompanied, play scales and sight read.

Annual membership for county groups is £125 per year (£30 for County Brass) and the first County Youth Orchestra course in October will be £50. All county groups will continue to be subsidised by the service and membership is free for eligible pupils under the County Music Service remissions scheme.

To find out more about the County Music Service or to enquire about auditions please contact the County Music Service on 01926 742630 or visit www.musicforlife.net.

To follow the latest developments from the County Music Service you can also become a friend of the service on Facebook.

A new Facebook page offers a wide range of information on musical tuition opportunities and music service events around the county.

The latest addition to the growing number of social media sites managed by Warwickshire County Council features a list of events, with a link to the events page of the county’s website ensuring they are fully current.

News stories about musical people in Warwickshire – such as the service’s keyboard teacher appearing on ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ – will be readily available as and when they happen.

Andrew Atkins, head of the County Music Service said:  “This is another means for parents and teachers to find out about musical opportunities for young people whether that is the availability of a trombone tutor in their area or when a gospel choir might be performing.

“We have limited the site to adults which will mean that it is more streamlined and will allow followers to share information that is probably more useful to them than to their children or pupils.”

Search for Warwickshire County Music Service on Facebook to become a friend of the service.