Huntingdonshire Music School Association

Some of you might have watched the BBC Play It Again TV series on BBC1 on Sunday nights. In this series every week an adult celebrity personality is given the challenge of learning a musical instrument and culminates in a major public performance with professional musicians. The series featured the following:-

• Jo Brand - organ
• Frank Skinner - banjo
• Aled Jones - drums
• Robert Winston - saxophone
• Diane Abbott - piano
• Bill Oddie - electric guitar

As part of the campaign to encourage adult learners the BBC laid on a series of events around the country where anyone could turn up with their instrument of choice and have a go with a professional BBC orchestra at rehearsing and then performing a well known piece.

We were asked to provide a stand at the Cambridge event. We also got a brief listing on the BBC website. Myself and some very good folk spent all day taking to very enthused adults and children during the breaks between rehearsals. Some others from the music school took part in the event itself and learnt ‘Tonight’ from Bernstein’s West Side Story. The final performance involved something like 250 people (see below).

What a day! We had quite a lot of ‘bites’ and a lot of promises to turn up and see things on Saturday mornings. There were something like 600 people there. I think I managed to turn round one lady who wanted someone to coach for singing near her in Newmarket to coming to see us if there’s a possibility to join in with a sing with swing event. I have a definite taker who is coming purely for the theory lesson (but once inside I’m sure she’ll succumb!).

The Oud and Hurdy Gurdy attracted a lot of interest and did their job well - thought we had quite an eye-catching stall (but I would, wouldn’t I!). The soundtracks from the Sing with Swing and Big 4-0 were pretty good (although we did have some stiff competition on the noise front in the afternoon).

There were some strange instruments - concert ukalele, mandela (octave mandolin). Everyone taking part seemed to enjoy themselves and the BBC and the orchestra seemed to do a fantastic job at including and encouraging everyone. It concluded with a performance of ‘Tonight’ from the West Side Story - sounded pretty good from the balcony - see below. It’d be interesting to hear from the performers and also those that took pictures or video or captured sound on their phones.

In fact everyone seemed to be having such a good time that myself and my daughter decided to attend the event at the Watford Colliseum 2 weeks later (and recorded the same for the HUMS Aloud podcast…

External Links

• Play It Again on Wikipedia
• Play It Again with the BBC (Official Website)

Well done to the BBC - well worth the license fee for this one event alone. It was really good to see people so enthusiastic about learning to play an instrument.

At present, ensembles include group theory and aural lessons, 2 Orchestras, 5 Bands and 8 Ensembles. Other ensemble and group playing is encouraged and regular concerts are held in and out of College.

The current groups are:-

Ensembles

• Brass Ensemble
• Choir - Coming Soon (beginning 2010)
• Flute Choir
• Guitar Ensemble
• Intermediate Brass Ensemble
• Saxophone Ensemble
• Senior String Ensemble
• String Ensemble
• Woodwind Ensemble

Bands

• Bluegrass
• Intermediate Concert Band
• Junior Rock Band
• Preparatory Concert band
• Rock Band
• Senior Concert Band
• Big Band

Orchestras

• Junior Orchestra
• Senior Orchestra

The list is fairly fluid as we encourage those with a similar interest to start their own groups.

Students can enter for practical and theory exams from beginner to diploma lessons. Exams are held at Huntingdonshire College every term.

Everyone at the music school gets the opportunity to play in one or more groups whether they be an ensemble, band, or orchestra. These cover musical style ranging from classical, swing to rock. Depending on the enthusiasm of potential musicians, new ones are being added - for example the rock band(s) are new and permanent fixtures and this year saw the first performance of the flute choir.

Unlike most other musical institutes, there is no mandated minimum grade or level to attain before you are allowed to join in. This does not mean that the standard of playing is lowered - far from it (bands such as the Swing Band play in paying fixtures and are in great demand). Your music teacher will normally suggest when it is sensible for you to join in. When starting out you are not expected to be able to play every note - so long as you play the ones you do know at the right time and keep quiet at other times then others will be none the wiser;-)

Group work is an integral part of the day in addition to the music lessons and theory. In fact one of the real benefit of this college is that you do play in groups (almost impossible to get this sort of experience otherwise as an adult) as part of the package.

You can play in as many groups as you’ve the time and energy for, for the same small amount.

You don’t have to take lessons in order to join a group. We also have Associate Members who either take lessons elsewhere (or not at all!) and who simply join us for group playing. See the current set of ensemb;es, bands and orchestras...