News

As the end of another year hurtles toward us, time at Music First has flown by too. It is hard, with signs of Christmas already around us, to think back to August, but this is when our latest episode begins. July 31st-3rd August 2011 marked the launch of the first ever National Orchestra for All course at Warwick University. NOFA, as it is known, is a national orchestra for 11-16 year olds who have shown real commitment to music, especially in challenging circumstances and takes the form of a residential summer school, culminating in a public concert. NOFA has been supported by Music First from the outset, and its founder members included many of the young people involved in secondary level Music First activities as well as the school music at Highbury Grove. NOFA's founding players were truly astonishing. Some of them had never been away from home. They came in small groups or alone from all over England: but new friendships formed instantly and confidence blossomed. Although this was not NOFA's main aim, technical standards soared. The final public concert in the Butterworth Hall at Warwick University, in which the players were supported by their tutors and members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, earned them a standing ovation from several hundred delighted Teach First Participants, families and friends. There are now many exciting developments in the pipeline for NOFA. A West Midlands Regional NOFA Orchestra has been established; next year's NOFA course at Warwick University is already in the planning stage; and the orchestra will have the chance to perform at the Southbank Centre as part of Teach First's 2012 ten year celebration event next September.

Since the school year started again in September, the Highbury Grove Hub has continued to flourish. Many of the first cohort of Music First hub members returned to the Highbury Grove Hub as Music First Ambassadors, having transitioned from primary to secondary school. These Music First Ambassadors have joined the Hub Improvers Orchestra and are also part of the newly formed Samba Band that meets from 1730-1800 after the official hub has ended. Our new Music First Awards system is up and running and we have just had our first two students pass with flying colours. The Music First Chamber Orchestra continues to develop and is actively seeking string players who are approximately grade 2/3 and above.

Meanwhile, up the road from Highbury Grove in Finsbury Park, our new hub at Islington Arts and Media School has opened its doors and has started welcoming enthusiastic new Music First recruits from 6 partner primary schools. Pakeman, Grafton, Montem, St Mark's, Duncombe and Robert Blair Primary School are also now part of the Music First family. We also welcome Matthew Leaver, previously Head of Music at St Michael's and All Angels and Teach First Ambassador as our brand new Hub Community Leader at IAMS.

For much of the first part of term, however, there was a good deal of focus at Music First on our performance at the Royal Albert Hall on November 7th 2011 as part of the Music For Youth Schools Proms. This was preceded by a wonderful fundraising recital on September 22nd arranged by our supersupporter Diana Clark at the home of Sir Vernon Ellis who then generously doubled the evening's takings. The proceeds all went towards the costs of Music First's appearance the Royal Albert Hall: and what an event for Music First it was! Over 800 children and adults from Islington performed the Music First Anthem, composed and conducted by Nathan Theodoulou, Music First's Director of Creativity, in front of a packed audience. With a 600 strong choir comprised of local Islington school children and Community Choir and an orchestra of over 200 made up of students from the Music First Hub, NOFA and Highbury Grove School, we apparently broke a Music For Youth record for the number of performers in one piece! The entire ensemble wore Music First t-shirts or all black and looked and sounded absolutely spectacular. The whole day and evening was truly very special, and much appreciated by the many families from Islington who were very much in evidence in the audience. Not only did all the young players perform brilliantly and seem remarkably unfazed by appearing in front of four thousand people, but they also conducted themselves immaculately both on and off the stage. The day will be remembered by many, I am sure, for years to come. Backstage afterwards, one little girl was heard to say to her friend: 'This is the happiest day of my life!'; and one of our older Music First members, in a delightful burst of poetic eloquence, pronounced it to be 'awesome - gold dust on my life.' He was just one voice among many; so our profound thanks once again to all our supporters for helping to sprinkle gold dust on the lives of all our young people in Music First.


Marianna Hay
Director of Development
Music First