Our second music holiday club is a success
Children from our second music holiday club with professional musician Roberts Balanas and teachers Katie Brier and Emma Burke from Sing Education.
In May half term children from four schools across Ryedale took part in our second music holiday club. This was held at Pickering Community Junior School and themed around popular music. The day included musical games, plenty of singing and a visit from professional violinist Roberts Balanas.
Children from our second music holiday club with professional musician Roberts Balanas and teachers Katie Brier and Emma Burke from Sing Education.
During the club children practised three popular songs, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Don’t Worry Be Happy and Eye of the Tiger. These were then performed to family and friends at the end of the day. We also warmed up with music related games and activities.
In the afternoon we were joined by professional violinist Roberts Balanas. He performed a mixture of pieces from classical to pop. He also took requests and played both Katy Perry and Ariana Grande songs which everyone joined in with! Afterwards we then did a Q&A session which included questions from children such as “Why do you need a bow to play it?” and “If the bow is made of horse hair why are they always white?”.
Some of the feedback we received from the children included:
“I learnt that violins can play pop music”
“When I’m older I want to be a singer”
“It was so much fun, I’m sure everyone would love it”
“I liked …. ALL OF IT”
Roberts Balanas commented “It was fantastic to see the brilliant work that the foundation does and an absolute privilege to be a small part of it. The youngsters were so curious and keen to participate and sing along. It reminds me how crucial it is to have music education be accessible to kids from a young age.”
Part of the aim of the Richard Shephard Music Foundation is to offer musical opportunities and experiences to local children. As a composer, conductor, teacher and performer Richard Shephard changed the lives of hundreds of children across York and North Yorkshire. The goal of the Foundation is to extend that legacy and experience to thousands more children across the region. Future plans for the Foundation include the development of junior choirs across Yorkshire.
With schools often lacking the resources or time to develop a truly progressive and challenging music curriculum, the Foundation is aiming to catalyse change. Starting in disadvantaged or isolated communities, the Foundation is subsiding music provision in schools working with our education partner, Sing Education