Joined-up Culture Needs more than Good Intentions. Julian Lloyd Webber on Children & the Arts

Posted 12th March 2008 16:55 pm | Permalink

From the column “Music on a Thursday” written by Julian Lloyd Webber for the Daily Telegraph.

Thursday March 6th 2008

 “Every child, whatever his or her circumstances, should have the chance to experience the artistic excellence of our cultural heritage, the very best of dance, theatre, opera and music our museums and galleries, art and literature”

 You would be forgiven for thinking that this must be a quote from the latest Culture Secretary, Andy Burnham, announcing the latest government initiative of “five hours of culture a week” for school children. But in fact these worthy sentiments were being expressed as long ago as 2004 by Prince Charles when he celebrated the first anniversary of his Arts & Kids scheme.

 While all of the (not uniformly complimentary) headlines were garbled by politicians, The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts-as it is now known-has been quietly beavering way, doing just what the government ordered. Which makes it strange that the first thing the Foundation knew about the Government’s announcement was when Andy Burnham started giving the obligatory round of interviews.

 You might imagine that an organisation with considerable expertise n doing exactly what the government was proposing would have been consulted. The fact that it wasn’t tends to reinforce a growing impression that-despite lots of good intentions from on high-the dots remain obstinately unjoined.

 This is a topic I will return to next month when I try to unravel the mystery of why so many music graduates pour out of our music colleges with teaching diplomas keep complaining that their is not enough work for them yet, at the same time, we are constantly told that they are not enough music teachers to go around the schools.

The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts announces Stoke-on-Trent Museums Service as winner of storytelling competition

Posted 11th February 2008 12:34 pm | Permalink

A story of local heritage wins first prize for Stoke-on-Trent Museums in the Children & the Arts StoryQuest Storytelling competition.

Stoke on Trent Museums Service has won a competition run by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts as part of Children & the Arts’ festival of storytelling; StoryQuest. The winning venue is to be awarded a site-specific storytelling performance piece performed by one of the original members of the world renowned group The Company of Storytellers.

The museums’ winning story aimed to keep local heritage alive in a story filled with tales of workers in the pottery industry, told in the traditional pottery dialect by the fictional character Toby Jugg. Set against the backdrop of a tent in the shape of the iconic bottle oven and the Fenton Park fireworks display, the story highlighted the city’s history as a thriving centre of the ceramic industry.

Denise Lambert, Learning and Outreach Officer for Stoke-on-Trent Museums Serviec said: “We are thrilled to have won such a fantastic competition. It is so important for people to share stories and learn about their heritage through this oral tradition. Our storyteller explains the techniques and skills used by the resilient people who worked in the tough but creative pottery industry. Such skills were passed down verbally, from generation to generation. This is why storytelling is so appropriate for local people to understand the importance of Stoke-on-Trent as an industrial giant. Our small tent in the iconic shape of a bottle oven provides a fun, striking backdrop to the stories.”

Rebecca Eastmond, Director of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts said: “We are delighted to award The Stoke-on-Trent Museums Service first prize. Their entry addressed exactly what StoryQuest is all about; the importance of passing down our shared cultural heritage through stories and the oral tradition.”

StoryQuest is a festival of storytelling which reminds children, families and communities of the joys of oral traditions and the importance sharing of stories. The festival which ran throughout November 2007 encouraged cultural venues across the UK to open up their doors and unexplored corners of their buildings to host story telling events and encouraged families to share their own heritage and family stories.

The specially commissioned piece will be performed at the Stoke-on-Trent Museums Service over five days later on in 2008. Dates are yet to be confirmed, but for further information on Stoke-on-Trent Museums Service and the Outreach Service please contact Nerys Williams on 01782 235399 or Victoria Martin on 01782 235522 or email museum.outreach@stoke.gov.uk.

For more information on The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, or any press enquires please contact Jess Fletcher on 0207 379 9747, 07912 123 795, or email jessica.fletcher@childrenandarts.org.uk

MUSICQUEST COMES TO A CLOSE IN A SERIES OF FINALE CONCERTS

Posted 4th February 2008 18:28 pm | Permalink

The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts finely-tuned project, MusicQuest, wholly funded by Classic FM Music Makers, comes to a close with finale concerts across the UK.  

Thousands of children across the UK have experienced the power of live orchestral music due to MusicQuest, a project brought to life by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts (formerly Arts & Kids) and wholly funded by Classic FM Music Makers, which culminated in a series of celebratory finale workshops and concerts.  

Working with Yamaha Music UK, Classic FM, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Naxos, MusicQuest is a three-year project that seeks to introduce a new generation to the power of live classical music. Between 23rd January and 1st February members of the Philharmonia Orchestra met and performed in front of 5,000 pupils at five venues across the UK; The Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Warwick Arts Centre, Blackpool Ice Arena, Venue Cymru North Wales and Perth Concert Hall.  

Children involved met musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra in a ‘hands on’ workshop before the concert, which gave each pupil the chance to try an instrument and learn different percussion rhythms with a professional musician – who they later saw performing on stage.

The finale concerts marked the end of the five month project which began in October 2007. MusicQuest has enabled 5000 children, aged between 7-11 years old, who have had limited access to performances, instruments and music lessons, to gain greater experience and understanding of classical and orchestral music.  

 MusicQuest aims to dispel the myth that classical music is elitist and does little to engage young people, and promote it as exciting and accessible to children of all ages and backgrounds.  The project encourages children to listen and play classical music for pleasure and endorse the value of classical music in the day to day practise of teachers. 

5000 children to experience live classical music

Posted 17th January 2008 12:38 pm | Permalink

The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts finely-tuned project, MusicQuest, wholly funded by Classic FM Music Makers, draws to a close with finale concerts across the UK.

Thousands of children across the UK have will experience the power of live orchestral music at the end of January as MusicQuest, a project brought to life by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts (formerly Arts & Kids) and wholly funded by Classic FM Music Makers, culminates in a series of celebratory finale workshops and concerts.

Working with Yamaha Music UK, Classic FM, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Naxos, MusicQuest is a three-year project that seeks to introduce a new generation to the power of live classical music. Between 23rd January and 1st February members of the Philharmonia Orchestra will meet and perform to 5,000 pupils at five venues across the UK; The Orchard Theatre in Dartford, Warwick Arts Centre, Blackpool Ice Arena, Venue Cymru North Wales and Perth Concert Hall.

Children involved in the project will meet musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra in a ‘hands on’ workshop before the concert. Each workshop gives pupils a chance to try an instrument and learn different percussion rhythms with a professional musician – who they wil later see perform onstage. The finales kick-off at the Orchard Theatre Dartford on 23rd January 2008.

The finale concerts mark the end of the five month project which began in October 2007. MusicQuest has enabled 5000 children, aged between 7-11 years old, who have had limited access to performances, instruments and music lessons, to gain greater experience and understanding of classical and orchestral music.

MusicQuest aims to dispel the myth that classical music is elitist and does little to engage young people, and promote it as exciting and accessible to children of all ages and backgrounds. The project encourages children to listen and play classical music for pleasure and endorse the value of classical music in the day to day practise of teachers.

The Prince of Wales, founder and President of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, said: “There is no reason why classical music shouldn’t be part of everyone’s life. The tradition, the stories and the emotional power of classical music are available and accessible to everyone. This is the idea behind my MusicQuest, my Foundation’s three-year project to give thousands of children a chance to discover why and how classical music is important both in itself and for its ability to change how we think, feel and act.”

Darren Henley, Managing Director, Classic FM said: “Classical music can be enjoyed by everybody, regardless of age, class or geographical location. That’s why we are delighted to be working with The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts to bring MusicQuest to young people right across the UK.”

Mike Ketley, Senior Director, Yamaha said “A quality music experience has the unique capacity to spark a natural latent thirst for more involvement. The aspirations of MusicQuest are identical to our own core value at Yamaha which is to enrich people’s lives through music”

For further information, or if you’d like to attend any of the concerts, please contact Jessica Fletcher on 0207 379 974, 07912 123 795 or click here to e-mail. 

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall Attend TheatreQuest’s National Finale Variety Performance

Posted 17th January 2008 12:21 pm | Permalink

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended a performance by fifty children at the Unicorn Theatre, Southwark as part of the National Finale for Children & the Arts’ TheatreQuest on 28th January.

Their Royal Highnesses watched a performance by all 13 schools from around the country who were involved in TheatreQuest. The performance included sections of the play especially commissioned for TheatreQuest 2007, a fashion show of costumes and a short film.

The children were also joined by special guests Penelope Keith, and award winning author Jamila Gavin who wrote ’A Singer from the Desert Came,’ a brand new piece of writing, specially commissioned by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, for TheatreQuest. Harry Lloyd, who played Will Scarlett in the BBC’s recent adaptation of Robin Hood, also performed alongside the children.

TheatreQuest has given 1,300 children around the UK who would otherwise not have the opportunity, the chance to engage with their local theatre and study a brand new piece of writing. TheatreQuest began in September 2007 and since then the children involved in the project have seen a performance at their local theatre, had the chance to get to know the people behind the scenes and worked on set design and costume making, working with recycled materials, as well as developing their own productions of the play.