dartington news
dartington summer youth programme at KEVICC

This year’s Dartington summer youth programme, was once again hosted within the extensive music facilities at King Edward VI Community College, Totnes.

Four courses running from 24 July to 9 August, provided music making opportunities for young people aged between eight and 20 interested in either chamber music, jazz or rock and pop, and 36 per cent of participants were awarded bursary places.

A key feature of the programme is that outstanding young musicians are selected to work as tutors alongside experienced professionals, thus raising the aspirations of the participants and providing a unique training ground for the young music leaders.

Feedback from this year’s course participants has been outstanding: “The 6PAC jazz course just inspires me, full stop. I want to learn as much as I possibly can about jazz now. I wouldn’t miss it for the world, you’ll definitely be seeing me again next year!” Alexa St. John Palmer, Year 10 KEVICC student.

With a justified reputation as one of the UK’s finest jazz sextets, 6PAC planned a demanding daily schedule and participants developed new skills, improved playing techniques and confidence in performing, culminating in an impressive gig on the final day.

A new 3 day course designed for young string players aged eight to 12, The String Thing, provides fun packed music making, inspiring them to continue playing their instruments in groups and individually, and nurture potential and musical development.

Chika Robertson, an inspirational violinist and teacher, used a variety of challenging mental exercises to encourage the children to focus and listen. Sue Rivett and Clare Garton-Sprenger tutored them in developing melody lines and even acting skills to devise a short story set to music. They were introduced to some new genres of music, including gavottes, waltzes, bluegrass and the cuckoo song.

Arco course leader Fiona Mclean organised a seminar session for parents of The String Thing participants, providing an opportunity to voice any difficulties and frustrations they had regarding their child’s music making.

Five string players from the UK’s top music college students joined the session and offered their experience and guidance to the parents. The children observed and learnt playing alongside more experienced musicians from the Arco string course, working on a new piece by Jonathan Willcocks.

The Arco course is designed to enthuse, inspire and nurture talented young string players aged 12 to 19. Each student is given the chance to develop their own learning resource. They are encouraged to log their experiences, chart their progress and note down useful advice, with the intention that for once the course has finished, they can take this wealth of information and apply it to different, including nonmusical, contexts.

26 young people took part in the BandiT Rock and Pop five day workshop, designed and led by Colin Spencer, which enabled aspiring young rock and pop musicians to write, perform and record their songs. Some wrote new material within an existing band, but for many it provided potential for creating new groups and to develop a unique sound and style. Music industry professional Rick Rogers provided key ideas on marketing music, and tips on what the big labels look for when hunting for potential stars.

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