WMS Big Sing 2020 – Wakefield ONEVoice

Our Big Sing entered it’s 10th Anniversary this year and the celebrations were going to be even bigger. It became evident early on that things were going to be a little different this year. No beautiful Wakefield Cathedral, no appreciative live audience and no mass choir of 400 eager smiling young faces and voices. So what did we do? Move the whole thing online and celebrate it over a longer period with 3 virtual events! The response and engagement has been truly amazing and humbling with over 70 Wakefield schools registered and a multitude of lockdown families taking part from home.

So if you haven’t taken part so far, why not spend a good day at school, or a night with all the family, learning all the tunes and join us for the Grand Finale of WMS Big Sing on the 15th July when we will go live on Facebook at 10.30am. You can find more details by clicking here

Here’s a summary of all of our BIG SONGS…..

ONE

Here’s the full vocal version to the launch song ‘ONE’. A song about unity and coming together in harmony through Music. Potential future Eurovision entry for Wakefield! Big thanks to Mr Nick Park for producing the video. Get learning all the words and sign language! You can also find the backing track on our YouTube Channel. Written by Phil Needham.

RIGHT THERE WITH YOU

RIGHT THERE WITH YOU was a brand new song written on Thursday evening after clapping for the Nurses and launched on the 12th May at part 1 of the Big Sing – International Nurses Day. An upbeat song with an electronic 80s groove and dedicated to the NHS. Written by Phil Needham.

BIG WHEELS

BIG WHEELS was the key song for part 2 of of the WMS Big Sing on World Bicycle Day – June 3rd. Written by Phil Needham and dedicated to all the Teachers, Youth Workers and Professionals that keep the cogs turning and work together to keep things moving for our young people. The song has a message about working hard, keeping going and not always taking the easy route. It’s sometimes good to tackle the mountain, get to the top and see where you have come from and where you are heading – the rewards in life can be far greater. Keep Singing, Keep Cycling and Keep Smiling!

GOOD TO BE ME

1,2,3, GOOD TO BE ME! The first of 2 songs for the final instalment of the WMS Big Sing 2020 on the 15th July.

This is a favourite on the national ‘Sing Up’ site and was written by Geraldine Gaunt, Mel Barber and Phil Needham as part of the ‘SEAL Songs in Action’ resources which many schools use up and down the country. The song is easy to learn with really accessible sign language performed by ‘Music and the Deaf’. The song celebrates the individuality of every single person whatever their talents, abilities, background, colour or religion and should be performed with lot’s of smiles!

WE CAN BE KIND

WE CAN BE KIND is the final brilliant song for the Grand Finale of WMS Big Sing on the 15th July at 10.30am. A reflective song that basically says that ‘kindness’ is one of the greatest gifts we have to give to one another, especially in these times. The song is written by David Friedman and sung by Nancy LaMott. This version has beautiful British Sign Language created and performed by Dr Paul Whittaker OBE. You might also want to check out another performance on a previous post by our very own Zoe Dunphy – ManyVoices Choir and previously Wakefield Youth Choir. Look out for Paul’s sign language video tutorials too!

WMS Big Play 2020 – Ode To Joy

Here’s the brand new video of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy as part of the WMS Big Play 2020! The performance includes contributions from over 100 young musicians and teachers! Brought together from Manygates, Minsthorpe, Outwood, Pontefract and Horbury & Ossett Saturday morning Music Centres. A massive achievement and lots of hard work from all the young people and staff that took part. A couple of parents may have even snuck in too!

A special thanks to Mr Wood for arranging and coordinating all of the parts and Mr Park for mixing it (and remixing it) and putting it all together! The video features talented young musicians of all different levels and the team has worked hard to include every single contribution. #KeepMakingMusic

String Players! Make sure to check out Part 2 of the WMS Big Play – THAT STRING THING!

WMS Teachers in Lockdown!

A ‘Big Hello’ and ‘Missing You’ from all the talented teachers in Lockdown here at Wakefield Music Services. For an extra challenge, see how many teachers you can spot and how many tunes and instruments you can identify. Warning!! – Some may appear a little different to how you know them!

Many thanks to Mr Ellis at the start of the video for putting the whole thing together.

 

Updates & Response to COVID-19 – July 2020

We hope you are all keeping safe and are finding some time to play your instruments, sing and keep making music. With very recent announcements from the government about the full reopening of schools we are hoping that we will be able to shed some more light on the picture for September as regards music provision. I am so proud of the staff and teachers here at WMS, all the hard work they do and how they have adapted to continue to support our young musicians in the virtual world! Check out their video here. Here’s a few updates on how the great team at WMS can support you and things you can get involved with.

‘Keep In Touch’ Online Lessons

All WMS students should have received information with their annual reports about these free online tuition lessons with their teacher. We hope that as many of you as possible take up this opportunity. Our teachers may be able to deliver several lessons depending on the uptake. The feedback from those young people that have taken part so far has been really positive! If you need more information please email tgray@wakefield.gov.uk

Online Learning – Charanga

Our teachers have been working hard to create lessons and resources for students to continue learning which are available on Charanga, all primary school instrumental students should now have received a login. Resources have now been created and uploaded for secondary pupils and you should receive an email within the next few days. If you haven’t received anything then please email us at music@wakefield.gov.uk The same email can then be used if you want to send through anything for the teacher to listen to or comment on and reply to. We will continue to update resources throughout the coming weeks and are also busy putting lots more resources and ideas together to expand our remote learning support. Click here to see some great links to other fantastic online resources!

Big Sing 2020!

It’s 10 years since we began our annual Big Sing and this year we want as many schools, individuals, families, choirs and teachers to join together and celebrate! This is also ideal for our 4000 young musicians who take part in our weekly Whole Class First Access Lessons. You can find a summary and links to all the songs here. Please like and share our dedicated facebook page to keep up to date and look out for #BigSing2020  #KeepMakingMusic www.facebook.com/WMSBigSing2020

Virtual Music Centre – WMS Big Play 2020

Please click on the links to see how we have been supporting our ensemble and Music Centre members. We still have many things to develop but the first part of the Big Play (Ode To Joy) was a tremendous success. String Players can get involved with ‘That String Thing’ and look out for the forthcoming Lock Down Rock that budding rock and pop musicians can get involved with over the summer. Our dedicated Music Centre team are also piloting Virtual Music Ensembles so look out for these opportunities very soon.

Annual Pupils Reports

Our teachers have completed writing pupil reports for all those young people that have individual or small group instrumental lessons with WMS. Please email music@wakefield.gov.uk if you have not received yours by the beginning of July. If you could also please double check that we have the most up to date email address and mobile number that would be appreciated.

Social Media & Website

Our online platforms are often the easiest to keep everybody up to date. Using these platforms also helps with minimising usage on the council systems which are being heavily utilised at the moment and needed for critical services. We will continue to update these so please subscribe, follow us, like us and share!

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Best wishes

Phil and the WMS Team

 

Important Information – Response to Coronavirus

With the recent Coronavirus developments and announcements over the last few hours we have had to take local and national advice and make some hard decisions in order to help protect the health of both pupils, staff and families. Please see the updates below:

Ensembles & Music Centres & Central Teaching Cancelled
With our main base at Manygates now shut to the public and further direction from the government and council for people to only attend essential activities, we have regrettably had to cancel and suspend all groups and Music Centres until further notice. This also includes any centrally taught lessons in any of our centres. Lessons in schools will still be taught until further notice unless the school decides to cancel tuition from visiting teachers. We are currently further developing our online learning to support students through these unprecedented times.

Events – Regional Music for Youth & Hubalaboo
After recent announcements, these large scale events have been postponed/cancelled. The Music for Youth Festival at St Thomas a Becket on the 21st of March has been cancelled. Groups still have the opportunity to send in recorded entries and directors are aware of this. The Hubalaboo Music Hub Showcase Concerts has been moved to the 23rd of June. It is intended that all the same groups/schools will be involved in the event and any tickets already purchased will be valid.


Communication
Please follow, like and share any of our social media channels and subscribe to notifications from this website. Details below. If you could also double check that WMS emails are not landing in your junk email folder as this has been an issue in the past.
Twitter: @WakefieldMusHub
Facebook: @WakefieldMusicServices

On Line Learning and Support
As mentioned above we are working fast to further develop and promote our online learning and support through channels such as our Charanga site. If you are not aware of this then you can get to the site from our main website above.
 


If you have any concerns or queries then please don’t hesitate to email: music@wakefield.gov.uk

Many thanks for your continued support and best wishes through these challenging times.
Phil and the WMS Team

MUSIC FOR YOUTH REGIONAL FESTIVAL CANCELLED

Due to the recent government Coronavirus announcements this afternoon and confirmations from Wakefield Council, we have unfortunately had to cancel the Wakefield Regional Music for Youth Festival. The event was due to take place at St Thomas a Becket Catholic High School on Saturday 21st March. Groups taking part will still have the opportunity to enter through a recorded submission and all directors are aware of this.

We will be contacting families involved directly from tomorrow but please highlight and share this information with others. It would also be appreciated if you could encourage as many people as possible to subscribe to our website and like and follow our various Facebook and Twitter accounts so that we can keep everybody updated in these unprecedented times.

Thank you very much for your continued support.

Phil and the WMS team

 

Twitter @WakefieldMusHub

Facebook @WakefieldMusicServices

Full Time Instrumental String Teacher Needed

Instrumental String Teacher (Upper Strings Specialist)

£17,208.00 to £27,216.00 Unqualified Teacher Scale
Full Time Permanent
Closing Date: 3rd May 2019
Are you an excellent and enthusiastic strings teacher who can inspire and motivate children?

We are seeking to appoint an innovative, committed and inspirational teacher to further develop the work of Wakefield Music Services, Lead Organisation for Wakefield Music Education Hub. The service is highly regarded and has received the highest rating from Arts Council England for the last 6 years! We provide quality diverse instrumental tuition and musical ensemble opportunities to over 7,500 young people in a variety of primary and secondary schools, academies and vibrant Music Centres every week.

The post involves instrumental tuition in a variety of primary and secondary schools including the teaching of whole class First Access (Wider Opportunities) lessons. This exciting opportunity will involve joining our existing team of string teachers and applicants would need to demonstrate that they have the skills and qualities to deliver high quality instrumental tuition. The successful candidate would also be expected to teach lower strings to beginner students. In addition to instrumental teaching, the post also involves directing groups and ensembles at one of our vibrant Saturday morning Music Centres.

Instrumental teachers employed by the service benefit from a wealth of high quality support including CPD and mentoring and enjoy nationally agreed conditions of service and a casual car user allowance. The successful applicant will be required to complete a Disclosure and Barring Application Form and to provide any criminal conviction information. To find out more about Wakefield Music Services please visit www.wakefieldmusicservices.org

Wakefield Council is wholly committed to ensuring children and vulnerable adults are fully supported and safe. We are dedicated to the safeguarding of all children and vulnerable adults whilst promoting their welfare. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this responsibility

Please contact Amanda Spalding for further details – aspalding@wakefield.gov.uk or telephone 01924 303306

To apply for this post click here

 

What a Great Hubalaboo! 2019

Thank you to everybody that performed and supported the Hubalaboo Showcase Concert at the beautiful Theatre Royal Wakefield last Tuesday evening. What a great display of young musical talent and enthusiasm from pre-school mini musicians to the older more accomplished! The event was also testimony to the remarkable dedication to music education from schools, teachers, parents and partner organisations from across the district!

Here’s to the forthcoming summer term jam packed full of events! Click here to find out more.