February 2025

February 2025

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all 

We’re in!!!!! I’m very happy to report back  that the building work has been completed, the painting is done and we have had our first session in our new home! Ray led an absolute belter of a session in our new studio and it was very well received indeed! 

Although it was an amazing session there were some logistical issues around signing in that we encountered that I should probably make you aware of. It proved to be a challenge to get everyone to sign in on the ipad when you have about 10 people all turn up at the same time! I’ve asked Unity Hub if there is a better way around this but as yet I haven’t had a response. For those of you that are putting the app on your phones there is a way to pre-register guests through the app but I haven't investigated it thoroughly yet to find out whether its less of a faff. One of you may need to volunteer to come and visit me and have a cuppa so that I can see how it works! 

We held our first Trustee Meeting in our new venue on the 28th January and other than causing icicles to form on our Trustees noses due to the heating being broken - it was a fantastic meeting! One of the things that cropped up was the issue of staff independently taking on work in places (such as schools / care homes etc) that they are currency or have previously worked in on behalf of Musical Keys. Whilst, in some ways this could be seen as a good thing as it allows Musical Keys to achieve its charitable aims and objectives without us having to have financial or administrative involvement, there may be some costs to the charity, perhaps in terms of decreasing the staffing resource available to us, reputational loss etc. 

We are therefore looking at the possibility of introducing an ‘exclusivity clause’ in our contracts with other organisations such schools / care homes etc that would ask for the organisation to not offer employment or freelance contracts directly to staff who have worked for them through Musical Keys for a period of time following the termination of the Musical Keys contract. This seems to be fairly standard practice in many other organisations but I was hoping to gain some feedback from yourselves about this to broaden our perspective before we come to any decisions. Please email me directly at gervase@musicalkeys.co.uk or through our feedback email feedback@musicalkeys.co.uk with any thoughts you have about the issue – good or bad we really want to hear what you have to say! 

We also had an update to our Data Protection Policy which our wonderful Trustee Lucy Child has put together for us. This has now been approved by Trustees and signed by Chair and should now be available on the website. We are especially grateful to Lucy for taking this on as we are aware its not a subject that many people get particularly excited about (!) However, it is important because if personal data falls into the wrong hands, people could be harmed. The Information Commissioners Office advises: “Depending on the situation, they could become victims of identity theft, discrimination or even physical harm.” So we need to make sure that we are aware of the issues – by reading the policy! Again – if you have any feedback on this please let me know. 

The Trustees asked that we organise an official “Opening Party” to celebrate moving to our new home. It looks like Frozen Light are also in a party mood so we are hoping to organise something together for sometime in March. The idea is that it will probably be a full or half day event where we invite as many stakeholders as possible – including yourselves, our participants, other organisations etc etc etc. The Trustees are very keen to have some of you perform so please give me a shout if you would be interested in doing this. 

Gervase

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

• Music Publishers Begin ‘Extensive’ Spotify Podcast Takedowns Over Licensing Violations

https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/music-publishers-begin-spotify-podcast-takedowns-1236289793/

• 'Music helps keep young people off the street'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79dvg7d78jo

• NTIA report reveals electronic music's economic impact

https://www.musicweek.com/live/read/ntia-report-reveals-electronic-music-s-economic-impact/091340

• ‘She couldn’t walk, she couldn’t talk’: music therapy helped Joni Mitchell recover from a stroke – could it ward off depression and dementia too?

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/18/she-couldnt-walk-she-couldnt-talk-music-therapy-helped-joni-mitchell-recover-from-a-stroke-could-it-ward-off-depression-and-dementia-too

(Daniel Levitin is involved – a personal hero of mine)! 

Effect of music therapy on emotional resilience, well-being, and employability: a quantitative investigation of mediation and moderation

https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-024-02336-x

• New Mental Health Awareness Course for Young People and their Community

A new course has been created which aims to help young people better understand themselves and feel confident to have open conversations about mental health with others around them. The course is available to high school aged young people and will be delivered through schools, youth organisations, and any other youth related club that is interested to get involved.

The course explores what mental health is, how the brain works, emotions and strategies to manage them. It’s a one-day course, running 9.30am-3pm. Created by South Norfolk and Broadland Councils and partner organisations, this is available across Broadland and South Norfolk. If you are interested in hosting this course for your group of young people, get in touch by emailing mtv@southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk

• Working with Children's Services Briefing

Learning Outcomes

Understand the Norfolk context of Prevention & Early Help: what it is, why it is important and whose responsibility.

Explore the Early Help Offer in Norfolk: know what is available and how to access support for children, young people and families.

Understand how and when to access help and support for children, young people and families.

Improve understanding on how CADS work and when to call them.

Upcoming dates:

5th February 2025 - 11am to 12.30pm

3rd June 2025 - 2pm to 3.30pm

3rd October 2025 - 4pm to 5.30pm

Book here.

• Drake Music Future Leaders, Vinícius Motta and Georgina Spray! 

Funded by Youth Music, the project aims to improve representation of young Disabled people in the workforce by providing practical experiences and  developing progression routes, new skills, and knowledge Find out more here.

• Cultural and Creative Sector Wellbeing Study – Contribute your perspective for a meaningful impact

The University of Bradford is excited to announce the launch of the Cultural and Creative Sector Wellbeing Study – CLEVEREST. This important research aims to explore the wellbeing of individuals working in the cultural and creative sectors, and invite you to take part.  Your insights and experiences are invaluable, and participation involves completing a survey designed to help understand wellbeing in our sector, with the ultimate longer-term aim of improving wellbeing support available to you. Get involved here.

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

• Applications to the Clore Fellowship

The Fellowship is a personalised, immersive journey designed to help you unlock your potential. Combining structured learning, deep self-reflection, and collaboration with peers, you’ll develop the skills, resilience, and vision needed to lead boldly in a complex world.

Explore Core Themes of Leadership

Authenticity: Lead with integrity, aligned with your values.

Strategic Planning & Governance: Build resilient organisations for a changing future.

Inclusive Cultures: Foster environments where creativity thrives.

Wellbeing in Leadership: Prioritise restorative care for yourself and your teams.

Impact & Influence: Elevate your leadership to shape cultural policy and practice.

As a Clore Fellow, you’ll join a network of leaders driving meaningful change across the arts and cultural sector. Together, you’ll navigate the challenges of today while reimaging a hopeful, sustainable tomorrow.

To know more, visit here

• Attitude is Everything & Black Lives in Music: Rest Salon

An online space for Black Deaf, Disabled and neurodivergent professional and music creatives.

Date: 26 March | Access: contact info@attitudeiseverything.com

Find out more

• Creative Practitioner

Norwich Theatre are looking to engage creative practitioners to lead in-house and targeted projects with diverse Norwich communities.

As a Creative Practitioner, you will lead a group of Citizen Theatre Makers in creative sessions, helping them produce original work based on the director’s brief. You will provide high-quality, supportive creative workshops and assist in ongoing project evaluation, providing feedback to the director and production team during regular production meetings.

We are looking for highly skilled creative practitioners with experience working with diverse community participants, with expertise in the following areas:

• Scriptwriting/ Creative writing

• Singing and songwriting

• Textiles art / costume design and construction

Full details here.

• Britten Pears Arts Residency Programme Open for applications

It’s a unique opportunity in that we offer a bespoke, week-long residency experience, tailoring our support so that artists can be curious, experiment, and try something new. Details here. Deadline 18 February 2025

Continuing professional development

• Creativity for Healthy Lives

What is Social Prescribing for Creativity, Health and Connection? How can we support patients and people with extra needs to engage with crative activities to support their health and wellbeing?

In this National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) webinar hosted by NCCH's Creative Health Associates Programme, we will hear from organisations/partnerships using the Social Prescribing model with the webinar's host Esther Watts, South East Creative Health Associate. The session will include a Panel Discussion followed by a Q&A.

It's on Thursday 6th March between 1 and 2 p.m. and you can find more details, including how to book a free place, here.

• Moving Pieces Workshop Series

This series of 3 workshops based on our popular workshop ‘From Feldenkrais to Improvised Movement and Writing’ is an opportunity to explore and build on a different theme each month. The first theme will be an exploration of cross-motivation – how we can hold conflicting impulses in our movement, the second theme the experience of transition and change and… Online, more info here.

• There's less than two months to go until the Community Music Now event on 1 & 2 March 2025 at Leeds School of Arts.

Tickets are available now on Eventbrite from just £10, with concessionary, standard and supporter rates available for both single day and weekend tickets. There are also free tickets available for carers and companions - please email teah@amp-music.co.uk directly to book these free places and discuss any specific access needs.

Community Music Now is a collaborative production between Sound Sense, Leeds Beckett University and AMP, exploring innovative practice in community music. The programme is shaping up with an exciting mix of topics and presenters, including Manasamitra, Sounds Better CIC, Liquid Listening, Cohesive Harmonies, Brass Bands England and AMP Young Producers - book your place and find out how to contribute to the programme here >Item description

December 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi All! 

BIG NEWS!! 

Yes we have finally signed the contract to move to Carrow House! We will be hiring the space from Frozen Light who have taken on the rental of the entire ground floor area as per the photo below: 

This huge space will then be divided up as per the plan below: 

Musical Keys will be occupying “Room B” as our office space and using “New Studio Space 1” as our space to run groups and one to one sessions. We will also be using the additional space to store our equipment (which will enable us to stop paying for storage at Viking Self Storage) so everything will at last be under one roof! There is of course a delay in moving groups and sessions to Carrow House until the building work has been completed but I am reliably informed that it should be done by February so plenty of time to plan – and in the meantime we will continue running the groups and sessions in the usual venues. If anyone wants to discuss the use of the space at Carrow House for groups or sessions please let us know. We are hoping to move the office from the Memorial Hall to Carrow House within the next couple of weeks and while we will be very sad to say goodbye to the Memorial Hall we are very excited by the possibilities that Carrow House provides us! 

Although I managed to take some leave in November, its still been a busy month. Mirjam from Tango Ad Hoc popped in to drop off a donation of £500 that they had collected for us. Sadly they have just finalised the sale of their house in Norwich and are moving down to Ipswich but they have promised to stay in touch and pop in to see whenever they get up this way. Mirjam and Steve have been staunch supporters of our work over the years and we wish them all the very best for their new wonderful adventure in Ipswich. 

I’ve managed to catch up with a few of you in the last month and it has been great to be able to chat about how things have been going. I attended the first session that Jon and Mark are doing at Stepping Stones and I was very proud to be allowed to participate with the group – it feels like a very exciting project and I cant wait to see the end result (whilst not wishing away the importance of the journey to get there). 

I had a good meeting at Northside House with Ian where we may be starting work on a secure forensic unit. I have to admit that my previous experiences of secure units meant that I had pretty low expectations, but Northside House was like a breath of fresh air. “Hospital Rooms” ( https://hospital-rooms.com/project/northside-house-2021/ ) have done a good job of ‘humanising’ the surroundings and the staff that we met demonstrated a level of compassion and dedication that I don’t think I’ve come across in other units. 

Financially the Charity remains in a relatively good position heading into the New Year and we are very excited about the potential for expanding our groups and sessions at carrow House without having to worry about the additional expenses of room hire etc. We have been successful in attracting some good donations from the likes of the National Lottery Fund and Postcode Places Trust so we are hopeful that this will carry on through into next year! 

I hope to see you all on the 17th December. Its going to be a relaxed evening where we get the chance to just chat or play and say goodbye to 2024 and welcome in 2025!

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

• Music-induced neuroplasticity: Implications for dementia treatment

https://www.psypost.org/music-induced-neuroplasticity-implications-for-dementia-treatment/

• I set up my own indie label. From Brexit’s brutality to the joy of DIY music, here’s what I learned

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/nov/27/i-set-up-my-own-indie-label-from-brexits-brutality-to-the-joy-of-diy-music-heres-what-i-learned

• ‘The music industry has failed us’: Kate Nash on her decision to join OnlyFans

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/kate-nash-onlyfans-earnings-lily-allen-b2654442.html

• Shush Snip Rip

Shush, Snip, Rip explores the histories of Disabled people and is inspired by collections in Explore York Archives. Read more here.

• Watch the full recording of London Arts in Health headline event at Creativity and Wellbeing Week 2024.

Many people have to experience a stay in hospital, repeat visits to a clinic or access health and care in a community health setting to manage their mental and physical health in London. Arts Council England, alongside London Arts and Health and King’s Culture, King’s College London invited some amazing organisations from hospitals, arts organisations, freelance artists/practitioners and the health care professionals they collaborate with to share their work with an audience for Creativity and Wellbeing Week in May 2024.

There is a huge proliferation of Creative Health work happening in community settings, but much of this work has its routes in hospital arts. This event celebrated the work, the people, patients and staff who make arts in hospitals happen across England.

London Arts and Health is pleased to release the full recording from the event, with many thanks to King’s College London for the wonderful recordings and edit of the event and all our speakers. This event was made possible due to kind support from King’s and Arts Council England, who fund our yearly festival.

• Read about Thriving through Culture

  an incredible multi-year project on young people's mental health led by organisations and leaders in the creative health sector.

• NYA Youth Sector Census - East of England

The National Youth Sector Census ‘snapshot’ report shows that the voluntary and community sector (VSC) continues to do the lion’s share of delivery, and that there’s an increasing demand for existing services. You can now look at a data analysis for each region. Here is the summary for the East of England and you can explore the data here.

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

• Magic Acorns 'Time & Space' artist opportunity 

Magic Acorns is looking for expressions of interest from freelance, socially engaged arts practitioners and theatre makers for its Time&Space collaboration. Time&Space is a package of support towards research and development and/or creation of new multi-disciplinary performative works for very young children (0-3yrs), including paid opportunities to present performances during Ripple Fest, a ground-breaking early years arts festival in Great Yarmouth in September 2025.

Two awards are offered for individuals or small companies who are making new work or developing funding proposals including Arts Council England’s DYCP or NLPG. The application deadline is 15 December 2024.Find out more >

• Liberty Liberty Festival 2025 Open Call – R&D Artistic Commissions

This is an open call for d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists, producers and creatives to undertake research and development for new arts projects that can be delivered as part of the Liberty Festival 2025.

Closing - 08 Jan

Location - England

££ - £500-£10,000

Details/apply here.

• New commissioning opportunity from Drake Music.

Drake Music offer a paid opportunity for one Disabled musician to co-design a new accessible musical instrument as part of a research project. The project is run by Hugh Aynsley, an instrument designer and PhD candidate from the University of the West of England (UWE). The selected participant will collaborate with Hugh to design an accessible musical instrument tailored to your own musical practice.

The project will involve five half-day workshops where the participant will engage in speculative design activities using AI tools. The researcher will create a 3D model of the new instrument and it will be iteratively refined based on your contributions to ensure it meets accessibility needs. Full details here.

Continuing professional development

• 'tinyscores' will be a (*rescheduled*) CPD day for workshop leaders in East Anglia (though open to all), exploring graphic scores, text provocations and cueing, with the London-based saxophonist Cath Roberts, together with two Norfolk-based workshop leaders - Chris Dowding and Charlotte Arculus.

The day will include some improvising, making new scores, with electronics and acoustic instruments. Do bring an instrument if you have one, but there will also be instruments available to play.

We explore smaller scores, and ways of using them, through Cath's practice, and especially in ways that can be applied to workshop practice. We will make a zine from the scores that are created on the day, which all participants will receive a copy of. There will also be an early evening informal sharing at 7pm. Come along for creative day of music and art making..!

There is a link for booking here -

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/chris.../tinyscores/e-zlkzka

• Inclusive Practice In Action 2025

27 February 2025     London
Sound Connections’ annual gathering, Inclusive Practice in Action (IPIA), amplifies diverse voices, explores what we mean by inclusive practice, and advocates for a more equitable world. Details here.

• Community Music Now

1 & 2 March 2025   Leeds
Sound Sense is thrilled to announce the upcoming event, Community Music Now, in collaboration with AMP and Leeds Beckett University. Details here.

• Small Talk Big Change podcast

In this seven-episode podcast series, The Mental Health Foundation explore critical issues impacting the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people, and families. Listen here.

• 'Time To Be Reflective' workshop series

Join a small group for the "Time To Be Reflective" series where you'll take a moment to pause, ponder, and reflect on 2024 in a cosy online space. You will be guided through a relaxation, journaling, & group discussions.

Workshop 1: The Year That Was - 4th December 7pm - 8:30pm

Workshop 2: The Present You - 11th December 7pm - 8:30pm

Workshop 3: The Year That Will Be - 18th December 7pm - 8:30pm

£14.25 each (includes a copy of the workbook.)

Use discount code SupportingTheSupporters at checkout for 10% off. This workshop is also available as a workbook for those who can’t make the dates or prefer a solo journaling experience. Full details here.Item description

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

For those that may have missed it, our Brainwave project with David and Chris etc was published in the Sound Sense’s October Sounding Board, which can be viewed here (and includes some really nice pictures!).

Hi all 

I hope everyone is well and happy? Unbelievably we are approaching the end of yet another year and I hope we can spend some time reflecting on this when we get together next month. 

October seemed to be a little quieter than usual but this may have been due to me taking some leave and feeling a little out of the loop! We had our Finance Committee meeting towards the middle of the month and I am glad to report that we continue to maintain a steady course with our finances. It can sometimes feel like a bit of a roller coaster where we experience what seem like long periods without attracting any funding at all and then we will all of a sudden get a couple of wonderful funding offers coming in at the same time! 

Following our Finance Committee Meeting we held our regular Trustee Meeting and I need to let you know that Kathryn Wright who has been a Trustee for Musical Keys for many years has decided to step down due to her current work commitments. She has promised to keep in touch and may even wish to return as a trustee if her circumstances change but we would like to express our sincere gratitude to her for her wonderful contributions as a Trustee to Musical Keys over the years and send her our very best wishes for the future. We do feel incredibly fortunate in having such a fantastic bunch Trustees because we are very aware that this is not the case in many charities! Our remaining 6 Trustees continue to do a brilliant job for us and we are very grateful to them all. 

Another of our lovely Trustees has been working incredibly hard on our policies and has produced a new Whistleblowing policy for us! 'Whistleblowing' relates to staff reporting of suspected misconduct, illegal acts or failure to act (negligence) within the charity. The aim of the policy is to encourage anyone who may have serious concerns about any aspect of our work to come forward and voice those concerns. Whilst I would love to believe that anyone would feel confident in bringing any concerns directly to me, I am also aware that this can feel intimidating or even threatening to some people so having a Whistleblowing policy will hopefully provide a framework in which people can feel safe in voicing their concerns. Many thanks to Lucy for all her hard work on this. 

I was hoping to be able to update everyone on Musical Keys potential move to Carrow House, however we are just ironing out some last minute contractual and financial bits so – keep watching this space as it feels like this “potential” move might become an “actual” one very soon! 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

- BBC 6 Music reveals 2024 Artists Of The Year and new playlist strategy

https://www.musicweek.com/media/read/bbc-6-music-reveals-2024-artists-of-the-year-and-new-playlist-strategy/090776 

- How has the importance of music’s regional origin changed over time?

https://glasgowguardian.co.uk/2024/11/04/how-has-the-importance-of-musics-regional-origin-changed-over-time/

- Let’s Talk About the Class Ceiling in Music

https://youthmusic.org.uk/lets-talk-about-class-ceiling-music

- The Power of Human Connection and Music

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/music-therapy-music-musings/202410/the-power-of-human-connection-and-music

- How music therapy is quietly — and sometimes loudly — fighting the teen mental health crisis

https://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/2024/10/how-music-therapy-is-quietly-and-sometimes-loudly-fighting-the-teen-mental-health-crisis.html 

- UK's culture sector reacts to Labour's Autumn budget

While a boost in funding for national museums has been welcomed by key figures, concerns remain among regional institutions.

- Sing Up Foundation has published a report that carefully considers the very challenging lives of refugee children and unaccompanied minors and highlights the impact of singing and music-making.  The report, titled ‘Then the dream started to be more’: Singing and Music-Making with Refugee Children and Unaccompanied Minors: Insights From Research and Practice', is a literature review, thematic analysis of interviews and collection of case studies commissioned by Sing Up Foundation, from a team led by Dr Hala Jaber with Dr Fran Garry and Professor Helen Phelan from the University of Limerick’s Irish World Academy of Music and Dance. Read the report here >  

- Professor Lee Higgins, Director of the International Centre for Community Music at York St John University, has published a new book titled 'Thinking Community Music'. In the book, he interrogates key concepts in community music, encourages questioning, reflection, and dialogue, and presents theoretical concepts not previously broached in the field. Look out for our review in the next issue of Sounding Board.  Find out more >

- How can social prescribing support people living with long-term conditions? In the first of a series of articles and case studies, NASP’s Gráinne Nolan writes about innovative projects supporting people living with conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular problems, dementia and cancer. READ THE BLOG

- Following the July election, the National Centre for Creative Health has recently published two items that will be of interest :

• A response to Lord Darzi's Independent Investigation of the State of the NHS in England which sets out how creative health can help to address some of the themes raised in the report and support its recommendations. You can read that here.

• A briefing for MPs in the new Parliament, to make sure they are aware of creative health and the benefits it can bring across a range of policy areas. If you would like to discuss creative health with your MP, there are range of resources available here to support you. A new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Creative Health is launching at the end of November and we would like to encourage MPs to get involved.

- Check out the latest research by Arts Council England studying the opportunities and challenges unique to the freelance workforce in the creative and cultural sector.

- At the lastest DMLab London in September, we were lucky enough to witness three incredible performances from Craig Scott and Hollie Miller, Shaun Shears and IORA (Holly Phelps). Ranging from emotive songwriting and melodic electro pop through to wearable instruments that translate movement into sound and light, we captured everything ! You can now watch all three performances back Here

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

- Forté Talent Development Programme. Open to anyone aged 18-28 and is making music.

Location: TBC
Date: January - June 2025

Deadline: Sunday 3 November

Link: https://forteproject.co.uk/apply

- Music Practitioners

Deadline:    8 November
Location:    UK-wide
The Amber Trust is seeking freelance music practitioners to work with blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families. Full details here.

- Coastwise Creative Competition

Entries should aim to answer the question, “How can we communicate coastal change along the North Norfolk coastline, its impacts on coastal communities, and the benefits of preparing and adapting?” Coastwise and the judges are looking for entries in a variety of forms - these can be videos, photos, illustrations, paintings, poetry, music, audio poems, stories, animations, sculptures, written copy or even ceramics. Or any other media that lends itself to the topic. Deadline 17 January 2025

Continuing professional development

- Singing for Health Research Project Webinar Programme

7 November 2024 - 10 April 2025    Online
A series of webinars studying the effect that singing has on health and wellbeing, informed by the latest research, between the Singing for Health Network, the International Centre for Community Music, and the Royal College of Music. Full details here.

- Cross arts and creative practice for musicians; perspectives from the nursery floor

18 November   Online
Join Sound Connections for an exploration of cross-arts and creative practice designed specifically for music practitioners, improvisors, educators, and play partners working in early years and primary settings. Details here.

- On Wednesday 20 November at 7pm (UK time), Sound Sense board member Lee Holder will host our 'Workforce Development' Gathering. All are welcome to share ideas, questions and experiences at this friendly online discussion. Email gathering@soundsense.org for more information and joining details - we look forward to seeing you there!

- The Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance has launched a new guidance resource for embedding access into creative health events and projects. This has been developed in response to feedback from the 2023 Making Change conference.

People often say they would like to be more accessible in their approach, but are unsure about how to do this practically, from where to start to concerns about costs and time restrictions. This resource is designed to offer some suggestions you might want to consider and highlights some great practice from a range of organisations. It can also be used as an advocacy tool with funders, commissioners and partners and signposts to organisations with detailed expertise.

You can find out more and download different versions of the guide here.

- Outdoor Arts Winter Webinars Training Programme

Dates: Nov - Dec 2024

A brand-new series of bespoke webinars tailored to support your professional growth. This time we’ll be covering some key themes, including resilience, anti-racism, environmental action and making ambitious work. Each webinar is designed around the Arts Council’s investment principles respectively: Dynamism, Inclusivity & Relevance, Environmental Responsibility and Ambition & Quality.

- Singing for Health Research Project 2023-25

Date: November 2024 - March 2025 via ZOOM

A series of webinars studying the effect that singing has on health and wellbeing, informed by the latest research.

- Arts Health Research Intensive

19 – 23 May 2025, Britten Pears Arts, Snape Maltings

A week-long immersive course to develop knowledge, skills and contacts in arts and health research, delivered by the Socail Biobehavioural Research Group in partnership with the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Arts and Health at UCL, the WHO-Jameel Arts & Health Lab and the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine. Applications for the 2025 course are now open (see website for costs). Early bird discounted rates will be available until 30 November 2024 or until places are filled. Partial and full scholarships covering course fees are available, deadline 17 November 2024.

September 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all 

I hope everyone is well and getting used to the chillier weather. It feels like Autumn is gearing up and I find the darker evenings put me in a more sombre mood. 

September has been a busier month for us. I guess that is inevitable with the schools going back and people settling in to their routines after a Summer break. We had a visit from Gemma and Corrie from the Norfolk Community Foundation and they seemed very impressed with the work that we do. We have applied to the Foundation for some funding and I think it’s the first time we have done so since Cindee Crehan left so it’s good to build some new relationships – although Cindee was a huge advocate for Musical Keys and so she is sorely missed!  

Our Trustee Lucy Child has been absolutely amazing at updating policies for us over the past couple of months. Oliver will be updating the website etc with the new policies as they come online so be aware there may be a few emails coming your way in the near future with details of the new policies – which we kindly ask that you familiarise yourselves with! 

Our wonderful Trustee Chris Towndrow has also been busy - running for Parkinsons UK. He has completed not one – but two 10k runs (Run Norwich 10km race and Run Sandringham 10k). It’s an awe inspiring achievement (says the man sat here on my backside in the office) and anyone that would like to retrospectively donate I think can still do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/chris-towndrow-1709224957839?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fchris-towndrow-1709224957839&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share 

Striking a Chord has restarted at the Memorial Hall and the first couple of sessions seem to be going well. Please bear in mind that we have implemented a ‘screening tool’ for this group to try to manage any potential risks that may crop up and this means that the group is no longer a ‘drop in session’. Referrals to the group can be made via our website or by emailing referrals@musicalkeys.co.uk 

Financially the charity is on target, having just received a generous donation from the Garfield Weston Foundation. We have noticed over the last couple of years that we seem to be attracting far more unrestricted donations than restricted ones which allows the charity to be more flexible in how we allocate our funds. Hopefully our financial security is sustained in the long term, however, it should be noted that the anticipated decrease in commissioned work from schools has finally materialised due to the huge deficit in SEND funding within Norfolk County Council so if any of you have any ideas for other commissioned work please pass them on! 

I still don’t have any concrete news on a potential co-habiting relationship with Frozen Light at Carrow House, however, everyone seems very keen on the idea as it would provide us storage, office space and venue space all under the same roof! As soon as I have any news I will let everyone know! Keep your fingers crossed! 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

Farewell to the car CD player, source of weirdly deep musical fandoms

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/sep/30/farewell-to-the-car-cd-player-source-of-weirdly-deep-musical-fandoms

Music pilot launched to help break down barriers to opportunity

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/music-pilot-launched-to-help-break-down-barriers-to-opportunity

Music won't banish the burn of HIIT

https://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/articles/Music-won%27t-banish-the-burn-of-HIIT

Trialling live music performances in immersive 3D worlds: MAX-R

https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2024-09-immersive-augmented-virtual-reality-metaverse-3d

Charity Digital’s report on the state of digital inclusion in the UK charity sector explores the challenges charities are facing and the strategies they suggest for addressing them.  It suggests three core ways that charities can address digital exclusion - training, digital strategy, and collaboration and support. 

During Inclusion Week (23rd to 29th September 2024), NCVO shared a new report on the digital barriers that stop many disabled adults from fully participating in volunteering.

The Youth Sector Census Snapshot Summer 2024 has revealed that 'the demand for mental health support has increased more than any other targeted service, with demand increasing amongst 82% of organisations.' VCSE organisations are seeing an increasing need to provide young people with mental health support and services, but this demand is 'starkly pitted against the precarious finances of youth work providers.'

World Mental Health Day is on 10 October.

This year’s theme is workplace mental health. The theme highlights the importance of addressing mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, for the benefit of people, organisations, and communities.

You can get involved and help show everyone that mental health matters. The Mental Health Foundation have created free resources that you can use to mark the day! Find out more

London Arts and Health launched the Creative Health Library which has resources spreading across the categories of Arts and Health, Healthcare, Evaluation in Creative Health, Criminal Justice, and Social Justice. You can view the entire collection here.

Last month Drake Music launched The Art We Share: Conversations with Disabled Artists, a documentary series produced by Ysabelle Wombell during her 2023/24 residency with Drake Music.

The series provides a unique insight into the experiences of five d/Deaf and Disabled artists, highlighting the challenges of performing and navigating in an often inaccessible world. Through open conversation, Ysabelle explores the personal and professional lives of:

• Jess Thom - co-artistic director of Touretteshero

• Ruby Addy - musician and artist

• Sarah Adedeji - dancer, spoken word artist, poet and writer

• Dom Smith - Soundsphere magazine editor and drummer

• Sally Curie - viola player, The Dyr Sister leader and Drake Music Interim CEO

The series consists of five episodes titled "Why?", "How?", "Challenges", "advice" and "Change", each shedding light on different parts of the artists' journeys. Explore the videos on our socials or head to our YouTube channel. Access the series here!

10 years of dance at Addenbrookes Hospital"Over the last decade, the programme has become an important part of the culture of care at CUH. It is embedded into ward culture and integrated into hospital life."Read more

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

Marketing/Comms Freelancer

Deadline:  22 October
Location:   Norfolk/Remote
Magic Acorns is looking for somebody who will play a key role in developing and implementing its marketing and comms strategy. Details here.

Music Practitioners

Deadline:    8 November
Location:    UK-wide
The Amber Trust is seeking freelance music practitioners to work with blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families. Details here.

A part of the Drake Music Collective, our professional development programme for Disabled musicians, the Emergents programme will work with 5 artists this year. Each artist will receive:

• A £1000 bursary to support their future goals and creative ideas.

• An opportunity to showcase their work to an audience of industry professionals at a hybrid in-person/online event in 2025.

• A £375 stipend to attend 3 online creative sessions with other Disabled musicians from our Future Leaders programme.

• A £50 stipend to attend an online networking session with other musicians from our network.

Access:

We will accept applications in written / video / audio formats. If you experience barriers to applying, please let us know in the Expression of Interest and we will be happy to make any reasonable adjustments as needed. Find out more information and apply!

Open Call for Commission in Cromer

Through this micro-commission, we wish to engage and collaboratively work with an artist, and local children and young people to explore the liminal spaces we occupy and inhabit. We are seeking an artist whose practice is in performance, i.e. theatre, movement, dance, who has a breadth of experience working and engaging with children and young people. More here.

Continuing professional development

Bringing music to all: exploring accessible music technology

3 October    Online 
Hosted by the British Association for Music Therapy and presented by TiME (Technology in Music Education), this online workshop explores different music technology available for Music Therapy. Book here.

Taking Trauma-Informed Approaches

9 October    Online
Music Mark has teamed up with Diverse Educators to deliver a two-part course on Trauma informed practices and approaches. Book here.

Building Confidence using Music in Early Childhood

15 October - 3 December     Online
This Take Art practical and interactive online six-week Zoom course is for anyone who wants to improve their skills and knowledge in early years music. Book here.

Art For Wellbeing Certificate Course Online

This is a self-guided course available on demand, exploring how to use and share art to improve mental health and wellbeing. Using a method called Paint Your Mind, it sets out five interlinking approaches or building blocks, and considers a variety of theory, practical ideas and activity suggestions. On completing the course, you will have explored a range of ways to use art for different needs. More details

Creative Courage Online

Creative Courage is a new programme from 64 Million Artists designed to give you the space to reflect on what is next for you, the courage to do it, and the community to support you.

This 6 month programme will give you time and structure to nurture your creativity, make time for self-reflection, connect with others, and develop a structured approach to exploring new possibilities and making commitments to yourself. More detailsItem description

September 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all 

I hope everyone is well and has been enjoying a lovely Summer? It was really good to be able to catch up with those of you who could make the staff get together a couple of weeks ago. For those of you who were unable to attend, you missed an amazing talk with Robyn Steward and it really seems to have stimulated some creative juices amongst those who saw her sooo … watch this space! 

I’m very pleased to report that we have agreed a date to restart the “Striking a Chord” group. For those of you who don’t know, Striking a Chord was set up a couple of years ago as a collaboration between MIND (the mental health charity) and Musical Keys as a way to use music to enhance wellbeing and mental health through the provision of a ‘drop-in’ group on a Friday afternoon. The group was a huge success and attracted many (extremely dedicated) participants, however, the collaboration never really worked as well as we had hoped and then MIND decided that we could no longer store our equipment at the venue so unfortunately the group had to be put on hold. The good news is that it will be restarting at the Memorial Hall on the 13th September! However, we have taken the decision to make it a ‘closed group’ so that we are able to better manage the needs of the participants. This doesn’t mean that we cant accept new members, but it does mean that they would need to go through a ‘screening’ process prior to joining the group. If anyone is interested in getting further details please give me a shout!  

We have had some more good news on the funding front with a substantial (£20k) grant from the National Lottery Community Fund towards our core costs. This was a bit of a surprise as we have applied for this fund lots of times in the past without success, however it’s a very welcome surprise and puts us in a much better position for meeting our end of year budget targets – which will make Sam very happy! 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

A game of Pong synced to music is my new favorite visualizer.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/4/24235878/a-game-of-pong-synced-to-music-is-my-new-favorite-visualizer

(does anyone know why I find this so incredibly satisfying?) 

Music Producer Accused of Using AI Songs to Scam Streaming Platforms Out of $10 Million in Royalties

https://variety.com/2024/music/news/ai-songs-spotify-apple-michael-smith-fraud-charged-artificial-intelligence-1236130680/

'Government regards us as a joke' - how can Labour help the music industry thrive?

https://news.sky.com/story/government-regards-us-as-a-joke-how-can-labour-help-the-music-industry-thrive-13188144

Music can reveal which areas of the brain are affected by aging

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-music-reveal-areas-brain-affected.html

Music has the power to reshape the 'mood' of our old memories

https://www.earth.com/news/music-has-the-power-to-change-the-mood-of-our-memories/

Drake Music have recently launched The Art We Share: Conversations with Disabled Artists, a documentary series produced by Ysabelle Wombell during her 2023/24 residency with Drake Music.

The series provides a unique insight into the experiences of five d/Deaf and Disabled artists, highlighting the challenges of performing and navigating in an often inaccessible world. Through open conversation, Ysabelle explores the personal and professional lives of:

• Jess Thom - co-artistic director of Touretteshero

• Ruby Addy - musician and artist

• Sarah Adedeji - dancer, spoken word artist, poet and writer

• Dom Smith - Soundsphere magazine editor and drummer

• Sally Curie - viola player, The Dyr Sister leader and Drake Music Interim CEO

The series consists of five episodes titled "Why?", "How?", "Challenges", "advice" and "Change", each shedding light on different parts of the artists' journeys. Explore the videos on our socials or head to our YouTube channel.

Access the series here!

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

Board Members

Deadline:  23 September
Location:   UK
Sound Sense is looking for four new members for its board of management. We want our professional association to represent and advocate effectively for the diverse range of community music and music practitioners active in the UK today. Full details here.

Music Practitioners

Deadline:    8 November
Location:    UK-wide
The Amber Trust is seeking freelance music practitioners to work with blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families. Details here.

Callout for Black History Month with CHWA and London Arts and Health

The theme for this year is ‘Reclaiming Narratives,’ and we are specifically looking for work that responds to this, and are inviting people to interpret this theme in a way that speaks to them. Selected pieces will be featured through the CHWA bulletin and LAH newsletter, website and social media channels throughout October 2024. Deadline 07 September

Sonic Sculptures 3: Playground of Sound Call Out

Call-out for audio submissions for a day-long event at contemporary art organisation, Primary in Nottingham. An opportunity to share your audio work, new or old. Deadline 09 September

Continuing professional development

In May, Drake Music launched a FREE bank of resources to assist Disabled and Non-Disabled educators, musicians, leaders, artists and practitioners working together to develop their Inclusive Music Practice.

These resources were developed as part of the Think22 programme that helped to bring inclusive practice to the forefront of music education in England. The programme was funded by Youth Music, in collaboration with our four core partners: Essex Music Education Hub, Newham Music, THAMES (Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service), and Coventry Music.  

Access the resources for FREE!

Towards New Worlds:  A large-scale exhibition sharing fifteen Disabled, D/deaf and/or neurodivergent artists’ experiences of seeing, hearing, feeling and sensing the contemporary world.

Date: 19th July - 9th Febuary 2025.
Location: MIMA, Middlesborough.

Access information here.

More information available here.

Level 4 Inclusive Practitioner Certificate

Bristol Beacon is delivering a new Inclusive Practitioner Certificate for Music Educators course. This is a comprehensive training programme leading to a professional, Level 4 qualification in music education, accredited by Trinity College, London. It offers musicians the opportunity to develop and validate their skills in working with young people who experience barriers when accessing music education in formal and non-formal settings.
  Led by experts in the field of musically-inclusive practice, the course offers a structured programme of reflective practice and person-centred learning, to improve your skills and take you further in your career. Find out more and apply >

Creative Music Making

9 September (deadline for applications)   Online
Creative Music Making is a one-year programme developed by Trinity Laban in partnership with the Open University. Details here.

MEC Seminar: Unconscious bias and Artificial Intelligence

12 September    Online
Join Music Education Council Join to explore the risks associated with AI entrenching bias in music education. Details here.

Managing Mental Health and Finding Boundaries in the Arts

30 September    Online
In the run-up to World Mental Health Day, join Sound Connections and Soundcastle for a twilight session dedicated to managing mental health and finding boundaries in your work. Full details here.

Bringing music to all: exploring accessible music technology

3 October    Online 
Hosted by the British Association for Music Therapy and presented by TiME (Technology in Music Education), this online workshop explores different music technology available for Music Therapy. Details here.

Taking Trauma-Informed Approaches

9 October    Online
Music Mark has teamed up with Diverse Educators to deliver a two-part course on Trauma informed practices and approaches. Details here.Item description

August 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all! 

August! Yay! I’m pleased to report that July has now finished and we can now put away our rain macs and wellington boots and get on with the real business of Summer! There has been a lot going on for everyone in July and hopefully the Summer will give people some chill time as I know there are a few of you that are putting your work for Musical Keys on hold as you travel round the festival circuit. Enjoy!!! 

We had our Trustees  meeting this Monday and our wonderful Trustees have been busy providing us with some direction and support. Main themes to look at for this for this year include: 

• Office and storage space: We are aware that our limited office and storage space limits what we can do so  we are investigating ways in which this situation might be improved. Watch this space! 

• I.T. Systems: We would like to see whether there are  ways in which I.T. might be able to improve our communication and data processing etc. If anyone has any suggestions – please let us know!  

• Ways to retain and support freelancers: We always want your feedback on your experience of working with Musical Keys and especially on how we might improve on that experience. 

• Magic bus round the county: The Trustees did some ‘blue sky’ thinking at their awayday and would like us to investigate the possibility of purchasing a “Musical Keys Magic Bus”. This would enable us to bring the Musical Keys experience to people all over the county (and possibly even beyond?). Any ideas you might have for this would be very welcome! 

In other news Monday group has unfortunately seen a decline in attendance over the last year or two and we are now in a position where we need to suspend it for a while until demand picks back up again. We think there may be other groups happening at the same time as Monday group with other charities that may have meant parents needed to prioritise something different so we will monitor the situation for a while and hopefully restart when we have a better idea of when and where we might obtain a better level of demand. 

There is a similar story with the Community ‘In Time, Together’ provision  so this is also ‘on hold’ for a while but hopefully relaunching in the Autumn, with the potential for it to be enhanced with some intergenerational work! 

As many of you will already know Norfolk County Council have been letting everyone know that they have already spent all the money in their Special Education Needs budget for this financial year. This is having a direct impact on the work we do in schools with a fair number getting in touch to say they are unable to continue to fund the projects that Musical Keys is involved with. We are working to try to find alternative funding streams for this as I know many of you really enjoy the work in schools – and we know from the feedback we get that it is very much valued by the schools themselves.

I realise that sounds a bit gloomy but in reality we are continually looking for new opportunities and there are some exciting new things to be looking out for in the very near future – but I will leave Oliver as our Programme Director to fill you in on those! On a brighter note, our finances continue to be strong and we know that everyone is incredibly adaptable to whatever new circumstances we come up against – so we will continue to adapt and change to meet the new demands and whatever challenges come our way! 

I  am aware that change can cause anxiety and uncertainty so if any of you would like to talk through any of these changes please don’t hesitate to contact me directly – I’m always very happy to sit down with a coffee and talk things through! 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

The music industry is engineering artist popularity – listeners are right to be angry

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jul/29/the-music-industry-is-engineering-artist-popularity-and-listeners-are-right-to-be-angry

UK COMMITTEE CALLS FOR "COMPLETE RESET" ON MUSIC STREAMING INDUSTRY

https://mixmag.net/read/cmsc-creator-remuneration-report-music-streaming-news/

These Are the Best Music Festivals in London in 2024

https://londontheinside.com/best-music-festivals-in-2024/

ARTISTS AND MAJOR MUSIC COMPANIES APPLAUD INTRODUCTION OF ‘LANDMARK’ NO FAKES ACT IN US SENATE

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/artists-rightsholders-applaud-introduction-landmark-fakes-act-in-us-senate/

Barrington Farm Open Studio
12th - 23rd August
Open daily 10am - 4pm

Barrington Farm, Rookery Road, Walcott, Norfolk NR12 0PF
what3words: ///envisage.workbook.newlywed

Free, all welcome. Due to the break in the NNF Norfolk Open Studios scheme this year, we have decided to continue this much loved annual event and host our own Open Studio. You are warmly invited to come and meet our talented artists in their working environment, celebrate their diverse creative practices and see what we have been up to!

Able to Care Weekly Podcast Updates

Join us as we uncover the realities of ADHD in women and provide valuable insights for navigating and thriving with this condition.

Episode Key Messages:

• Understanding ADHD in Women:

  ADHD often presents differently in women compared to men, with symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, inattentiveness, and difficulties with executive functioning  being  less recognised. This can lead to underdiagnosis and unique challenges that require tailored strategies for management

• The Importance of Self-Care and Boundaries:

  Managing ADHD involves prioritising self-care and setting clear boundaries. Finding time for therapy, practising self-compassion, and creating a balanced routine are crucial for managing symptoms effectively and maintaining well-being.

• Embracing a Growth Mindset:

  Adopting a growth mindset can transform how women with ADHD approach their challenges. Viewing setbacks as opportunities for learning, rather than failures, helps build resilience and fosters continuous personal and professional growth.

Listen here.

On Monday 22nd July, London Arts and Health were pleased to attend the launch of the State of the Arts report from Campaign for the Arts.

This new report from the Campaign for the Arts and The University of Warwick has unveiled a crisis in the UK’s arts and culture sector.

The State of the Arts reveals that the UK has one of the lowest levels of government spending on arts and culture among European countries, having slashed its total culture budget by 6% since 2010.

Meanwhile, countries like Germany, France and Finland have increased their spending by up to 70%.

Jack Gamble, Director of the Campaign for the Arts, said:

“The arts matter to all of us, and yet the UK’s arts sector is running on empty. It’s time to change the record. Let’s unlock the potential of the arts to transform lives, communities and our whole country for the better.”

Dr Heidi Ashton, lead researcher at The University of Warwick, commented:

“The cuts to arts funding are not just numbers on a page, they represent a significant erosion of our cultural infrastructure. This neglect not only stifles creativity but also diminishes the social and economic benefits that the arts bring to our communities.”

The report’s analysis, covering from 2009-10 to 2022-23, shows local government revenue funding for culture plummeted by 48% in England, 40% in Wales and 29% in Scotland.

The report highlights a disturbing trend in arts education and employment, with GCSE and A-level entries in arts subjects plummeting by 47% and 29% respectively since 2010.

This has been exacerbated by the UK Government’s segregation of arts from ‘strategically important’ subjects and a 50% cut in funding for arts and creative courses in higher education.

The report also investigates the earnings of arts professionals in the Cultural Sector. It found them to be consistently below the UK median, with significant regional and gender pay disparities, particularly stark in the crafts sub-sector where men earn 70% more than women.

This report underscores the precariousness of freelance work, low wages, and the unequal distribution of wealth in the cultural sector. It also outlines the importance of the arts in health creation.

These factors pose significant challenges to the sustainability of the arts, especially for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds who lack financial support to sustain their career.

This report serves as a stark warning and a call to action for policymakers, stakeholders, and the public.

Access the report online here.

Graeae access manifesto
The Access Manifesto is our response - a beacon of change, developed by those directly impacted, to inspire and guide the arts sector towards a more inclusive future. We invite you to join us in embracing this new chapter for the arts. Together, we can create a world where every young person can enjoy and participate in the arts. More info here.

National Day of Arts in Care Homes: 24 September!The day aims to highlight the wellbeing benefits of arts, creativity and cultural engagement in care settings. Add your events on the NAPA website so that they can be featured on National Arts in Care Homes Day. Read more

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

Board Members

Deadline:  23 September
Location:   UK
Sound Sense is looking for four new members for its board of management. We want our professional association to represent and advocate effectively for the diverse range of community music and music practitioners active in the UK today. Details here.

Music Practitioners

Deadline:    8 November
Location:    UK-wide
The Amber Trust is seeking freelance music practitioners to work with blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families. Details here.

Continuing professional development

Performing anxiety

Introducing a new resource for anyone making audience-facing arts projects about mental health. Includes a best practice guide and podcast.

Read more

Small talk, big change podcast

Exploring critical issues impacting the mental health and wellbeing of children, young people, and families.

Read More →

Drake Music launches a FREE resource bank

Earlier in June, Drake Music launched a new bank of resources to accompany you on your Inclusive Music Practice journey.  

These resources were developed as part of the Think22 programme that helped to bring inclusive practice to the forefront of music education in England. The programme was funded by Youth Music, in collaboration with four core partners: Essex Music Education Hub, Newham Music, THAMES (Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service), and Coventry Music.  

These guidelines reflect Drake Music’s core organisational approach of Disabled and Non-Disabled educators, musicians, leaders, artists and practitioners working together. Access the kit here.

Save the date!

Sound Sense’s Community Music Now event will take place on 1 & 2 March 2025 at Leeds School of Arts (pictured above) in collaboration with AMP and Leeds Beckett University. More details coming soon.

Sound Of The Next Generation survey findings

In early 2024,Youth Musicsurveyed 2,100 children and young people to better understand their relationship with music. The participants were asked how they were accessing music, how it made them feel, and what impact it had on their everyday lives, and Youth Music then hosted interviews with young people, parents and industry experts to interpret the findings.

The subsequent Sound Of The Next Generation report outlines the findings and recommendations. It describes the role young people’s background, education and talent play in shaping their relationship with music and explores whether – like generations before them – the nation’s love of music persists.Read the report here >

MEC Seminar: Unconscious bias and Artificial Intelligence
Join Music Education Council Join to explore the risks associated with AI entrenching bias in music education. Join here. 12 September  Online

Managing Mental Health and Finding Boundaries in the Arts
In the run-up to World Mental Health Day, join Sound Connections and Soundcastle for a twilight session dedicated to managing mental health and finding boundaries in your work. Register here. 30 September    Online

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi All

Well June seemed to fly by at an alarming speed but that may have been a reflection of how busy things have been of late! I had to take a bit of annual leave to catch up on my Uni stuff but I think Oliver quite enjoys being able to get on with things without me interfering!

I have just completed the Norfolk “Safer” safeguarding designated lead training again and there have been a few procedural changes since the last time I did it but nothing too major. I will let you know if there are any further changes needed to our policy, but for now everything seems to be in place that needs to be in place! As ever if any of you have any safeguarding concerns – even if its just an “uneasy feeling” – I am always available to you to talk it through.

Sam has been in yesterday and we went through all the invoices but noticed that some haven’t come in yet. I get quite worried that people might get left short so I’m going to take the opportunity to remind you that Sam only works for us one day a fortnight so if we don’t get all your invoices in by the very beginning of the month there is a potential “up to” 2 week delay in getting payment to you (especially during the holidays). Paying the invoices isn’t something I can do without Sam (and he cant do it without me) as he needs to set up the payments with the bank and then I need to authorise them and we both need to use our different dongles to do it. I may not have explained that as well as I was hoping to – but hopefully you get the idea?

We have been investigating possibilities for finding a more permanent and ‘useable’ space for Musical Keys in response to the ideas that were generated at the first staff get together in February. I think I mentioned to some of you that we were offered the opportunity to use the old Argos shop at Riverside as a ‘base of operations’, however after I got very excited by going to visit it and see the space available I was luckily brought (very gently) back down to earth by our Trustees pointing out that the 14 day break clause, business rates and running costs would be unsustainable and potentially hugely disruptive for the charity so realistically it would presented to great a risk for us to take up. We are continuing to investigate alternatives, but in the meantime, things still feel good for us being where we are and doing what we are doing!

We are just coming into the Summer break for schools so we are anticipating things may go a little quiet for some of you. I have heard from several of you that you have plans to go away / do the festival circuits etc so I hope you have a lovely time whatever your plans are – and I very much hope that the weather decides to cheer up a bit!

Gervase

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

Jesus and Mary Chain, Robert Fripp and more sue PRS for Music over concert royalties

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/jun/25/jesus-and-mary-chain-robert-fripp-and-more-sue-prs-for-music-over-concert-royalties

A warning sign? Sweden has fewer paying music subscribers than it did 2 years ago, according to yougov survey.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/a-warning-sign-sweden-has-fewer-paying-music-subscribers-than-it-did-2-years-ago-according-to-yougov-survey/ 

YouTube is trying to make AI music deals with major record labels

https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/27/24187151/youtube-ai-music-deals-licensing-record-labels-sony-umg-warner 

UK to get first music therapy centre of excellence for people living with dementia

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-to-get-first-music-therapy-centre-of-excellence-for-people-living-with-dementia-13133222 

Pre-election Briefing on Creative Health

With a general election coming up on July 4th, we are keen to make sure that candidates are aware of Creative Health and the benefits it can bring across a range of policy areas. The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) and the Culture, Health and Wellbeing Alliance (CHWA) have jointly produced a brief containing some key information and a template letter for anyone wishing to discuss Creative Health with candidates in their own constituencies.

You can access these documents, or read more below. 

Pre-election Briefing on Creative Health (PDF) >>
Creative Health Template Letter to Electoral Candidates (editable word doc) >>

A Radical Potential, by Clive Parkinson

This blog was originally shared as part of the opening event for Creativity & Wellbeing Week, on 20 May 2024, read it here.

London Arts and Health stories:

Read about how Savannah explores body symptoms through creative writing and drawing

• Read Drashti's reflection on community remedies and pharmacies of the future at Bromley By Bow Centre

• Read Xersa's reflection on drawing for wellbeing

• Read about the outdoors and holistic healing project from Kwesia, aka City Girl in Nature

2024 cohort of New Generation Thinkers announced by BBC and AHRC

Ten of the UK’s most promising arts and humanities early career researchers have been announced as this year’s BBC and AHRC New Generation Thinkers. Read more here.

HAND PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

The Must Farm Settlement seeks three artists for new project

The Must Farm Settlement project seeks three artists to take part in a new, exciting research project bringing the story of an incredible Bronze Age homestead and its astonishing material to new audiences.

Collaborating with the Cambridge Archaeological Unit, the University of Cambridge, and Collusion, artists will work to create proposals for new immersive artworks. Proposed ideas should help to transport audiences to the world of Must Farm and must involvement engagement with local communities.

Successful applications will participate in a two-day R&D lab in early September that will inform the development of a proposal for an immersive artwork to be delivered in Cambridgeshire. Following submission, the partners will select which of the proposed artworks to support through to delivery.

Artists are invited to submit a short expression of interest including an outline of their idea – click the button below to read the full brief and apply!

Deadline 12 noon on 11 July

Read the brief

DanceEast is looking for an experienced Development Manager with demonstrable success in raising funds from various sources, including individuals, trusts, and foundations; to work alongside the Head of Communications and Development and lead a complementary portfolio of fundraising activities.

The post would suit an established fundraiser who wants to be at the heart of driving change, and who is eager to deliver a significant financial impact for one of the UK’s most vibrant, impactful, and established dance organisations.

Deadline 09 July

More info

Sound UK’s Sound Generator R&D programme for early-career musicians and sound artists is open for applications.

The six month programme offers artists the time and space to develop and test their project idea, learn from others, and grow their creative practice; supported by mentoring from a range of industry experts and a bursary of £2500.

Deadline 17 July

More info

Call for submissions: The 2024 Everyday Creativity Conference

The 2024 Everyday Creativity Conference, hosted by The AHRC Everyday Creativity Research Network and Creative Lives, is an opportunity to share understandings and ways of working with/for everyday creativity. The conference is currently open for proposals to run sessions of all kinds, including performances, workshops, presentations, discussions, debates, network events, panel discussions, or other knowledge/skill exchange activities. Deadline 03 July

Continuing professional development

Evaluation for Arts, Culture and Heritage: Principles and Practice

This self-guided Free course offers the opportunity to hear from experts, develop new approaches and build your evaluation skills and confidence.

Become a Gentle Craftivist with Sarah P Corbett

Date: 13 July, 10am-1pm, National Centre for Writing

Join author, award-winning activist and founder of the global Craftivist Collective Sarah P Corbett and learn the theory and practice of positive changemaking. The event will feature a Q&A with Sarah, two guided craft activities (all materials provided) and there will be a break part way through the session for hot drinks, cakes, and a book signing.

Sound Connections Training and Professional Development programme 2024-25

Sound Connections has officially launched its Training and Professional Development programme for 2024-25, with four unique initiatives — Activate, Innovate, an Emerging Music Leader Scheme, and a Mentoring Programme

Find out more

MEC Seminar: Unconscious bias and Artificial Intelligence

Join Music Education Council Join to explore the risks associated with AI entrenching bias in music education

Find out more

IteMay 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all 

Apologies for the lateness of this bulletin – both me and Oliver have needed to take some leave and we’re playing catch up! Its been another busy month with the highlight being our second whole team meeting! As those of you who attended the meeting will know, I was hoping to get an idea about staff / volunteer capacity and get some feedback about the quality of the work we are finding for you at the moment and there were 5 staff who indicated that they would have the capacity to do more work for us (if it was available) while everyone else said they  had “just the right amount” of work. Everyone rated the quality of the work we have been finding as “high quality” or “acceptable” quality with no one rating any of the work as “low quality”. When asked about difficulties in carrying out your volunteering / work for Musical Keys since the last staff meeting 11 of you answered that you hadn’t experienced any difficulties, 3 answered that they had experienced difficulties but these were resolved quite quickly and 2 answered that they had experienced difficulties and would like some more support”. I managed to speak to both of those who had experienced difficulties  and we have come up with a plan to address the issues. This was a really worthwhile piece of work and I would like to thank everyone for taking part. Its really important to us that Musical Keys supports you in your work properly so please continue to come to us with any difficulties or concerns so that we can be proactive in making sure we are getting things as right as they can be! 

On a similar note, could I ask you all to continue to remind participants that we have a feedback button on the homepage of the website. Last time I mentioned this we had some really lovely feedback, but it seems people only remember to feedback when they’re asked. Feedback is really important to us for two reasons – its great when we get positive feedback that we can put in our funding applications, and its also really important that we get feedback about the things we get wrong so that we can try not to repeat any mistakes! 

I’ve already mentioned this to some of you but the Charles Clarke Classic Car Rally have very kindly decided to donate to us this year. The rally starts on Sunday July 21 at The Goat Inn in Skeyton near Coltishall and after 65 miles finishes at Brisley Cricket Ground. I am going to get to the cricket ground for the end but apparently my 13 year old Fiat Panda doesn’t quite cut the mustard as a ‘classic car’ so if anyone wants to lend me their Bentley or Jag it would be much appreciated! 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

‘It’s basically inaccessible without a phone’: are kids losing their love for music?

https://www.theguardian.com/music/article/2024/may/22/phone-kids-losing-their-love-for-music

No, AI doesn’t mean human-made music is doomed. Here’s why

https://theconversation.com/no-ai-doesnt-mean-human-made-music-is-doomed-heres-why-230865 

How 'Swiftonomics' is impacting the music industry

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cleex2epjn8o 

Gardener aims to bring plant music to new audiences

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cl44jxyn56eo 

The Cultural Learning Alliance has published its first CLA Annual Report Card, written by Baz Ramaiah, CLA Policy Associate and Head of Policy at the Centre for Education and Youth. CLA has regularly gathered data on arts GCSE and A-Level take up, and on arts teaching hours, but this is the first time that key arts education data (2010-2023) has been comprehensively gathered together in one place. The reporting has been expanded across five new key indicators to provide a detailed survey of children’s and young people’s access to the Arts through their schooling in England.

This concise and annual state-of-the-nation overview is intended to be of use to all those working in education delivery and policy, and in the cultural sector. The findings will be valuable for those building a case for support for their Arts education work. Importantly they will enable policy-makers in the next government to be clear-sighted in understanding the landscape as they address Arts education policy issues in their first year in office. Read the report here>

Music Therapy Conversations podcast

A new episode of the British Association for Music Therapy's 'Music Therapy Conversations' is out now. The latest episode features Holly Shirra, a qualified music therapist who holds her focus on helping people connect in community and express themselves creatively and authentically. 
To help her understand further how people spontaneously create in groups, Holly founded 'Cambridge Music Improv' - a community project that gathers people from diverse backgrounds in public spaces to improvise music together. This supportive environment allows participants to tap into their creative side and find catharsis and self-expression while building connections with others.Listen to the podcast here >

The future of music provision

In a recent article forMusic Teacher Magazine, Anne Templer reflects on 'Time to rebalance: the future for music provision'. Following recent course closures at Oxford Brookes University and the University of Kent, she discusses the inconsistency of music provision across the sector and how this has developed into a worrying trend.Read the article here >

How Social Prescribing Link Workers support the work of GPS and take pressure off the health system?
Social prescribing can reduce pressure on the NHS, including GP appointments (building the economic case for social prescribing), but what does this look like in practice? Read here.

Creative Arts East New Report 2022-24

The report examines the health and wellbeing impacts of Creative Arts East's creative activities in Breckland. Key findings include:

- Improved physical & mental wellbeing

- Enhanced social connections

- Reduced anxiety & loneliness

SEND Cafes

Norfolk’s libraries are teaming up with Norfolk County Council’s Schools and Communities team to host SEND cafes in six libraries in the Broadland area. 

The cafes will be friendly, supportive sessions for children with SEND and their families to meet each other, share ideas and have fun together.  

The events are free and there is no need to book -  just turn up whenever you are able throughout the session. Find out more. 

HAND-PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

Community Singing Online Gathering

17 June    Online
Join Sound Sense chair Rebecca Denniff for the next Sound Sense online Gathering on the theme of Community Singing

Drake Music launches Future Leaders.

Future Leaders is a programme designed to support and promote inclusive, accessible practice in music-making. It aims to improve representation of young Disabled musicians between 18-25 in the workforce by:

• Developing progression routes, new skills, and knowledge.

• Providing practical experiences.

• Exploring the variety of roles within the music sector, such as music leaders, project managers, facilitators and educators.

Applications close on Sunday 23rd June. Find out more information & apply now!

The National Piping Centre are looking for 5x Emerging Composers, particularly welcoming applications from Disabled people. Find out more here. Deadline Monday 8th July.

From 2023 - 2026 Arts & Health Hub will be running a project called the Support Hub which is a range of support programmes for artists exploring health and wellbeing in their practice.

Click the links below to get the details and apply to the specific opportunity:

1. Artists’ peer to peer mental health groups.

2. Peer to peer professional development groups.

3. Reflective supervision support for participatory artists.

4. One-to-one mentoring for early career artists.

Applications for round 2 are now open until June 23rd @ 5pm.

If you have questions about the opportunity please read the Frequently Asked Questions relating to each opportunity or contact info@artsandhealthhub.org.

Norwich Science Festival 2025 - Expressions of Interest are now open!

Could you be on stage at Norwich Science Festival 2025? This much-loved, city-wide event returns to Norwich from the 15–22 February, and applications are now open to be a part of the 2025 programme. The Festival team would like to hear from local organisations, as well as writers, speakers, researchers, artists, performers, scientists, poets, musicians or comedians who have ideas for an activity or event that could be a great fit for Norwich Science Festival 2025. Deadline for expressions of interest is Sunday 30 June. Norwich Science Festival is presented by The Forum.

Call for Artists for The Other Art Fair

Applications are now open for The Other Art Fair 100th global edition, taking place between October 10 - 13, 2024. Whether you're a seasoned exhibitor or an emerging talent, this isn't just an opportunity to exhibit and sell your work; it's a chance to immerse yourself in an artistic community and create connections. Deadline 15 July

CONTINUING PROFFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Music & Dementia: How Music Can Support People with Dementia

19 June    Online
This Chiltern Music Therapy training will focus on practical music-based ideas to help support people to live well with dementia

Sound Connections Training and Professional Development programme 2024-25

Applications close 15 July     UK-wide/London/Online
Sound Connections has officially launched its Training and Professional Development programme for 2024-25, with four unique initiatives — Activate, Innovate, an Emerging Music Leader Scheme, and a Mentoring Programme

MEC Seminar: Unconscious bias and Artificial Intelligence

12 September    Online
Join Music Education Council Join to explore the risks associated with AI entrenching bias in music education.

GROW is a monthly training session, lasting 2 hours and delivered online. Our current sessions are focused on the 8  principles of the Creative Health Quality Framework as a structure to explore all aspects of our work as creative health practitioners.

We take an interactive and participatory approach to delivering our sessions, making good use of break out roome with everyone participating. Available at a range of price points, including a donation, so that cost is not a barrier to attending. 

Find out more by following our Eventbrite page where you will find all our GROW sessions ready to book.

ART // TECH // PLAY LIVE: Stand up for diversity

Date: 27 June, 6-8:30pm at DanceEast, Ipswich

This event, developed in collaboration with Essex Cultural Diversity Project, focuses on diversity amongst artists working with movement and creative tech. From VR to motion sensors, programming to podcasting - join us as we examine how emergent art forms can enable self-expression in new and liberating ways.

The Disability and…Podcast

Disability Arts Online delivers the monthly Disability and…Podcast in partnership with Mind the Gap. The Disability and…Podcast gets right to the heart of some of the most pressing issues in arts, culture and beyond with a series of bold, provocative and insightful interviews with disabled artists, key industry figures and the odd legend. Listen here.herem description

April 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all! 

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to the bank holiday weekend? It feels like its been a busy April with lots of funding applications going out for various projects and a huge focus on getting the 2023/2024 accounts done. We have changed our accountants this year from Larking Gowen to Sexty &Co. The reason for this was purely financial – Larking Gowen wanted to increase the fee by £500, however, having met Ian from Sexty & Co I think the change will bring other benefits. Ian has assured us that the fee will only rise to match inflation and he has guaranteed that the accounts will all be finished by the 1st of July. Soooo…. I think its time to stop Larking around and get Sexty (that must be top dad joke of the month surely)! 

I am very sad to report that it looks like our Striking A Chord group at the REST hub in Norwich requires a new venue and a new partner. Unfortunately, MIND have decided that the equipment needed by the group cannot be stored on site and this effectively means that the group cannot be run from there. Striking a Chord has been one of our most successful projects in many different ways. Led by Oscar, there are an extremely dedicated group of volunteers who have supported the project right from the start and the weekly number of participants who regularly attend is huge.  We are actively looking for a new partner and a new venue and we have a couple of leads but if any of you have suggestions or contacts please let us know as we are committed to providing a service to people experiencing difficulties with mental health or wellbeing.  Striking a Chord has proven beyond any doubt that shared music making is an extremely effective tool in helping people with these issues. 

I want to draw your attention to the fact that we have a revised Safeguarding Children Policy. This has needed a revision for a little while and Lucy Child (our safeguarding Trustee) has been an absolute star and has completed a ‘draft revision’ which is now in the “Policies and Downloads” section of the website. The draft revisions were needed urgently for fundraising applications and the Policy as it stands is fit for purpose,  however, there are more detailed revisions to come as Lucy is going through it with a fine tooth comb so there will be another revised version coming out within the next few weeks – please keep your eyes peeled! When that one is completed, Lucy will be looking at the safeguarding adults policy so if any of you have any suggestions for that please let us know. 

I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the volunteer / staff get together on the 15th May where we’ll be joined by the excellent George McKay! The last session was just amazing and you were all absolutely wonderful so I’m hoping as many of you as possible will be able to attend.

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

'Mapping Creative Health in Norfolk and Suffolk: Exploring the challenges and opportunities to improve health outcomes' report: 

https://www.creative-lives.org/news/mapping-creative-health-norfolk-and-suffolk 

Rap music used as evidence in scores of trials in England and Wales, study finds

Rap music used as evidence in scores of trials in England and Wales, study finds | UK criminal justice | The Guardian 

AI in Music: Queen Mary begins new research partnerships.

AI in Music: Queen Mary begins new research partnerships. - Queen Mary University of London (qmul.ac.uk) 

TikTok and Universal settle music royalties dispute

TikTok and Universal settle dispute over music royalties - BBC News

‘Push through the feelings of: I’m worthless, this sucks’: can anyone learn to be a top songwriter?

‘Push through the feelings of: I’m worthless, this sucks’: can anyone learn to be a top songwriter? | Music | The Guardian

Dance, music therapy could help Parkinson's patients, caregivers: Indian study

Dance, music therapy could help Parkinson's patients, caregivers: Indian study - The Week 

‘Musical soulmates’: the extraordinary story of The Piano sensation Lucy and her doting teacher

‘Musical soulmates’: the extraordinary story of The Piano sensation Lucy and her doting teacher | Music TV | The Guardian

Mining spirit of 2012's case studies: Learnings about creativity and wellbeing
Project case studies are often overlooked in academic research or programme evaluations, despite the fact that they contain valuable insights from the people who designed or delivered an activity.

HAND-PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

SPOTLIGHT ON: CREATIVITY AND WELLBEING WEEK

Here are a host of really interesting online events hosted by London Arts and Health as part of Creativity and Wellbeing Week:

SOME OF OUR CURATED EVENTS:

20th May (ONLINE): The Role of the VCSE Sector in building a healthier society
20th May (ONLINE): An Introduction to the Quality Framework
22nd May (ONLINE): An Introduction to Trauma Informed Practice with Kazuum Arts
22nd May (ONLINE): "That's my story!" Drama and communication for confidence and wellbeing with Speech Bubbles (online book launch)
23rd May (ONLINE): The Creative Health ICS Toolkit with the NCCH
24th May (ONLINE): Can AI look after patients?

Singing through Parenthood - Norwich Theatre
Singing through parenthood is a new creative community for parents and preschool children, providing space to connect with your little one and fellow parents through music. 21st May.

Birth Rites Collection will facilitate 3 - 5 artists to collaborate with men and women in the community, up and down the UK, to explore important ideas connected with preterm birth.

If you are an artist/artist collective and are interested in getting involved in the project, you will need to fill out a preliminary expression of interest. A budget of £5400 is available for the first commission. Ten artists will be selected to develop their proposals from the initial expression of interest and a small fee will be paid for this.

They are especially keen to hear from artists of black and minority ethnic bacgrounds, disabled, LGBTQ and female artists. You can find out more here.

Dance East - Tutor Assistant

Rate of Pay:  £12.82 per hour, inclusive of holiday pay

We are currently recruiting for Tutor Assistants to support various DanceEast activity, including workshops, events and most notably our children’s Creative Dance classes. If you have dance experience and are interested in growing your skills by assisting a professional tutor in a class environment, we want to hear from you!

Further information on the role can be found here.

The Library Presents Open Call - Autumn 2024 & Spring 2025

This is an open call for artists to suggest material for The Library Presents menu for Autumn (October - December) 2024 and Spring (March - June) 2025. The seasons will include a mixture of indoor performances, predominantly in-person events at libraries. Deadline 19 May 2024

Continuing proffessional development

Wandering Words - National Centre for Writing
Discover Norwich of the past, present and future by embarking on a self-guided literary walking tour of the city. 20th May - 26th May. 

Sing your Heart Out
Throughout the year, the charity ‘Sing Your Heart Out’ (SYHO) runs free singing workshops to promote good mental health & wellbeing They take place in 5 locations across Norfolk and are led by professional singing tutors. 20th May.

Calming Colouring - Norfolk Record Office
Join us online for a calming colouring session. Staff will show you some documents as inspiration, before having a chat and relaxing morning colouring in a range of line drawings from the archives. 20th May. 

The Creative Courage Programme
Creative Courage is a new programme from 64 Million Artists designed to give you the space to reflect on what is next for you, the courage to do it, and the community to support you. 20th May - 16th October. 

GROW is a monthly training session, delivered online and using the principles of the Creative Health Quality Framework as a structure to explore all aspects of our work as creative health practitioners.

Each session is 2 hours long, to make learning manageable and bite-sized. We take an interactive and participatory approach to delivering these sessions - you will be fully engaged throughout.

Our next session, GROW 4, is on Thursday 9th May between 4 and 6 p.m. and will focus on Being REFLECTIVE in our approach. For more details and to book a place - with price points to suit all budgets - click here.

Future dates can also be booked by clicking on the links below; we are repeating some of the earlier sessions as this Quality Framework is becoming a nationally recognised way of working in Creative Health.  

GROW 5: Introduction to the Creative Health Quality Framework (repeat) - Friday 7th June, 10.00a.m - 12.00 noon

GROW 6: Making our work REALISTIC and SAFE (repeat) - Thursday 11th July11.00 a.m - 1.00 p.m.

GROW 7: EQUITABLE and SUSTAINABLE creative health delivery (repeat) - Thursday 12th September 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon

GROW 8: Being REFLECTIVE in our approach (repeat) - Thursday 10th October 10.00 a.m. - 12.00 noon

ART // TECH // PLAY LIVE: The art of co-creation

Join us for ART // TECH // PLAY LIVE, where we will delve into the art of co-creation: how it can help artists and organisations actively listen and collaborate with their local community. Learn more about the co-creation processes employed by practitioners and the remarkable, endlessly surprising work they inspire.

We’ll be hearing from Toby Peach, an award-winning theatre maker, specialising in innovative storytelling that sparks important conversations. His work is based in playful art practices and is rooted in community engagement, including digital play making with theatre-makers Coney.

JMC Anderson will be joining us to talk about her socially engaged practice. As an artist, community curator and facilitator, her work aims to raise awareness, educate, and promote understanding of timeless issues like place and identity.

You’ll also get opportunity to check out Collusion’s Magic Sandpit, an interactive tactile art/tech project that’s getting ready to go on tour!

Tuesday 07 May, 6-8.30pm. White Barn, St George's Courtyard, King St, King’s Lynn PE30 1HA. Ticket price: £5

Adapting to Climate: How Can Culture Become Resilient in a Rapidly Changing World?

Date: 16 May 10 - 11:30am via ZOOM

Join us for a webinar focusing on adaptation and resilience, that will:

- look at exactly what we mean by these terms

- explore why action in this area is so important

- consider the ways culture can respond and prepare for climate change impacts.

March 2024

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

Hi all! 

Spring is getting springier and it feels like there is slightly less winter sogginess around! I would like to thank all the people who attended the first Musical Keys staff gathering in February at the Memorial Hall. We focussed primarily on getting to know each other as that was the main theme to have come from the Xmas drinks and I think we were successful in doing that. It was lovely to see so many of you in the same place at the same time and I got a genuine sense that we all felt we were a ‘part of something’. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to get through as much as I was hoping we might, but as this will now be a regular scheduled  event we will have lots more opportunities! 

After getting to know each other and spending some time updating everyone on what Musical Keys has been up to recently, we spent some time talking about future projects. Musical Keys is very much led by the skills, knowledge and experience of the people who deliver our services so it was wonderful to get your ideas on what we should try next. Ideas that were proposed on the night were: 

• Performances – we have a whole bunch of performers whether that’s you lot or the people who use our services – we definitely should be enabling people to put on performances! 

• Musical Keys ensemble – this is a fantastic idea that Oliver has been proposing for years. It really does feel like its time has come! 

• Accompanying people to gigs – this is a brilliant idea. My entire identity revolved around going to gigs when I was a (slightly) younger man and the thought of people not being able to get to gigs due to lack of support does not sit well with me. 

• Online platform – this is the world we live in now. I was talking to Graham Jones from the Borletti Buitoni Foundation a couple of months ago and he has set up a new website for filmmakers to submit 17 second films (the 17 seconds is loosely tied to the idea of Haiku’s). Graham seemed to think setting it up it was quite a straightforward process but I think we may need some technical help with this idea so if anyone knows someone give us a shout. 

• Parents carers group – this needs no more description. Its such a good idea and it begs the question: why haven’t we done this before? 

• Audiovisual podcasts - again this is a reflection of the times we are living in, but why shouldn’t Musical Keys have its voice out there in cyberspace? 

• Dance / collaborations / showcasing – we did an incredible project with Stepping Stones a couple of years ago with Rosa, who many of you will know as an amazing dance psychotherapist. We have maintained our links with Rosa and met fairly recently to discuss potential collaborations so there is good potential for us to work together again soon. 

• Working with people who are terminally ill - our work in hospitals and hospices was paused during Covid but we are back in most places now and this would be a lovely piece of work for someone. 

• Healing, meditative work – this was a very interesting idea and it would be great to explore the potential for this further. 

• Schools – working outside of schools. We had a bit of a discussion about how difficult it is to find funding to work within schools and the discussion moved around to thinking about what work might be done with school children – but outside of the actual school environment. I’ve spoken to a couple of people about the potential for after school clubs and it seems this might be an option to explore. 

We also agreed that the format of future meetings should include a guest slot (delivering a presentation, CPD, something relevant and interesting etc), followed by a period of open-forum skill sharing and conversation. We will be inviting guests in the coming weeks and so will confirm who they are in due course. If you have any suggestions then please let us know!

The meeting concluded with an awesome demonstration of the Brainterface by Dave who enabled us to see into Mary’s musical mind! It’s an incredible piece of equipment and we have now reached the stage where we are ‘live testing’ with a group of consultants with PMLD. The first session took place last week and the initial feedback was extremely positive. 

For those who weren’t able to make the meeting – or for those that didn’t get a chance to share their ideas please share them with us via email at info@musicalkeys.co.uk . We rely on your creativity to keep getting better at what we do! 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

The music industry’s over-reliance on TikTok shows how lazy it has become

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/01/music-industry-reliance-tiktok-universal-music-group

Mini Musicians compose a pioneering new way of teaching music in schools

https://news.merton.gov.uk/2024/02/27/mini-musicians-compose-a-pioneering-new-way-of-teaching-music-in-schools/

‘The whole ecosystem is collapsing’: inside the crisis in Britain’s live music scene

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/01/the-whole-ecosystem-is-collapsing-inside-the-crisis-in-britains-live-music-scene

The Ocean Room announces closure after 'battling' to stay open

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/mar/01/the-whole-ecosystem-is-collapsing-inside-the-crisis-in-britains-live-music-scene

How live music directly stimulates the affective brain, emotionally engaging listeners in real time

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20240304/How-live-music-directly-stimulates-the-affective-brain-emotionally-engaging-listeners-in-real-time.aspx

Navigating ambiguity and boundaries: The experiences of Arts, Health and Wellbeing facilitators working with individuals with challenging conditions or situations

This thesis examines how AHW facilitators manage the potential benefits and challenges of working with individuals living with challenging conditions or situations. Based on participatory qualitative research conducted in England through an online discussion group, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and research partner collaboration in 2020-21. Read about it here.

Young Children's Creativity Research

This research is being conducted by Magic Acorns on behalf of Arts Council England to help understand and identify examples of art practices that listen to the voices of very young children from birth to three. Support the research here.

Creativity and Wellbeing Week is a national festival celebrating the power of culture and creativity to improve our health and wellbeing and is running between 20 and 26 May this year. It's a great opportunity to showcase any creative health events or workshops on a national stage, whether they are in person or online, a regular event or something specially staged for this week. The week before is Mental Health Awareness Week too, so if you have events or projects that are focused on mental health and wellbeing, you have a whole fortnight of communication opportunities to let people know what you are doing.If you want to feature on the Creativity and Wellbeing Week website, head over here and see how to upload your event.

Flexible Working for parents & carers in music

Join the ISM and PiPA (Parents & Carers in Performing Arts) on Tuesday 19 March from 4-5pm, as they delve into the new ‘Day One Right to Flexible Working’ law coming into effect this April, and find out what it means for employers as well as parents and carers working in music. The new law has profound implications with the potential to eliminate obstacles and unlock a world of work opportunities for a more diverse and flexible workforce, but it’s how we respond as a sector that will make the real difference. Find out more >

The ethics of care in community music

The International Journal of Community Music has recently published 'The ethics of care in community music' online. The article is written by Roger Mantie, who from 2019 to 2022 helped oversee a sing-along programme at three retirement residences in Toronto, Canada, and looks at the ethics of care on a voluntary basis. Read the article here >

Spirit of 2012 Music and Wellbeing: The impacts of 17 participatory music-making projects

A review of 17 participatory music projects and their effectiveness in enhancing wellbeing and social connectedness. More details here.

HAND-PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

CALLOUT FOR SHORT FILMS EXPLORING MENTAL HEALTH

Arts & Health Hub are now accepting submissions for short films that explore lived experiences of mental health for a film screening night. The event, Phenomenology, will take place as part of Creativity and Wellbeing Week on 23rd May 2024, 7pm - 10pm, at BLOC (Queen Mary University London) in East London.

If you are an artist/creative that has an existing short film meeting the criteria listed on the website, you can now submit your short film for screening.

The deadline is 8th April @ 5pm. We are not able to accept applications after this.

We will notify you whether your application is successful or not by 19th April.

Successful applicants will receive renumeration of £75, provided that they meet the eligibility criteria. Payment will be made promptly after the screening event and after the receipt of an invoice.

As a small project funded organisation we are not able to provide feedback for unsuccessful applicants.

Read more and submit your film now!

Music Practitioners

Deadline:    8 NovemberLocation:    UK-wideThe Amber Trust is seeking freelance music practitioners to work with blind and partially sighted children and young people and their families, full details here.

Become a Singing for Breathing Session-Leader 

Playing for Cake is specifically looking for someone to join our small, committed and dedicated team to lead 'Singing for Breathing' sessions in North Norfolk. These sessions are closely linked to principles taught on Pulmonary Rehabilitation Courses so training under the Singing for Lung Health national programme is essential (for which Asthma + Lung UK bursaries are available). If you're interested in finding out more, check out the details on our website and get in touch here!   

Ground Up Residency in Norfolk

The GroundWork residency programme 2024 is open for applications. Taking the overall theme of Extraction for a fourth year, our title is ‘Ground Up’, intentionally with a double meaning. We want to continue to open out the themes to consider all possible aspects, from literal to lateral, from the physical to the more philosophical. Entry is available to artists working in any field. Deadline 02 April 2024 Details here.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

FREE MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING FOR CREATIVE HEALTH SECTOR from London Arts and Health. Sign up here. April 18th.

Survey on Music for Dementia

Help enhance the power of music for dementia! Whether you’re a support worker, volunteer, musician, music therapist or facilitator for music activities for people living with dementia, your insights are invaluable. We are conducting a survey that aims to explore what music activities exist and how technology may be used to support these. University research - Survey on Music for Dementia

Creative Health Review and Creative Health Toolkit Launched

The National Centre for Creative Health have launched both the Creative Health Review and a brand-new Creative Health Toolkit. Together with the Creative Health Quality Framework, this gives us a great grounding for 2024. Access the toolkit here.

Announcement of the 2024 Creative Wellbeing Lab Practitioners

Funded by The Baring Foundation, the programme covers the Practitioners’ role in Arts and Wellbeing settings – where participants will engage in practical workshops with industry professionals and group discussions, covering topics such as Mental Health awareness, Artists / Facilitator wellbeing, working with vulnerable people, and Facilitating / Planning / Funding participatory projects. Details here.

NASP Webinar: Nature and Heritage Buddying

In this webinar, we will explore how buddying roles can facilitate people's access to services that improve people's health and wellbeing. 28th February. Details here.

Arts Well's networking sessions are an informal opportunity to meet other people working in the field of arts, health and wellbeing and exchange ideas and information. We held an in-person event at the Royal Cornwall Museum in February and Olivia will be holding an online sesson on 13 March from 10 - 11 am.

Open to anyone interested, free of charge - but you will need to register here to get the Zoom link for the session.

Exploring identity, belonging, and authentic lyrical content in the world of young musicians

Join Youth Music and the NYA for a conversation on empowering young people through music-making. Details here.

MUSICAL KEYS NEWS

February! 

How on earth did it get to be February???  Next thing we know the daffodils will be painting the side of the roads in buttery yellow and I will need to start doing this years annual accounts with Sam (yuk)! 

Talking about numbers, Oliver has ‘done the numbers’ for 2023 and has calculated that Musical Keys delivered 1710 sessions to babies, children, young and older adults making 2140+ hours of music from nursery rhymes to hip hop with an astonishing 1100+ people directly supported  - and in many cases, their families and carers too. This is an amazing achievement, and shows how busy 2023 has been for us. I’m slightly worried that it might also suggest how much more need there is for our services these days, and certainly, from a subjective perspective I believe that demand has increased significantly over the past year. Unfortunately, funding has remained virtually static (although I’m very relieved that it hasn’t decreased - yet) so we have been quite focused on making what we have go further. 

While the quantity of our services has increased we have been looking for ways to try to increase the quality of our services (is that even possible???). In order to achieve this we need feedback from the people who come into contact with our charity – whether that’s in sessions or just through contact with me and Oliver so we have created a button on the website homepage (at the top right) that says “feedback” and when people click on it they are taken to a link to a webform which allows them to provide us with some quantitative and qualitative feedback on their experiences with Musical Keys. All feedback received will be collated and reported to our “quality assurance” Trustee Alison who will report back to each Trustee meeting. There is also a feedback email address if people prefer – its feedback@musicalkeys.co.uk and anyone – including all of you are very much invited to leave feedback – good or bad – which we will always take seriously and use to try to improve what we do. Could I also ask you all to spread the word about the new feedback feature to all of the participants you come into contact with? Feedback can be left anonymously, but if people would like a response they will need to leave an email address. 

We finally managed to have our Trustee meeting in January as it had been postponed from December due to so many people being poorly! We discussed a couple of safeguarding issues that have come up recently and Lucy Child (our safeguarding Trustee) has asked me to remind everyone that raising a safeguarding concern is something that needs to happen proactively (i.e. at the very earliest point at which you feel a concern) rather than leaving it until further incidents occur or you are ‘certain’. I am always available to talk through any safeguarding concerns you might have and if I’m not available, Oliver or Lucy will be. Even the vaguest of concerns can be good to talk through and often talking things through in the early stages can help to get people the support they need before the safeguarding issue needs to become a Safeguarding issue (with a capital S). 

I hope you are all looking forward to our whole team (tutors and volunteers) meeting on the 21st Feb (18:30 – 20:30) at the Memorial Hall? We are hoping for news regarding an invited specialist soon but if anyone has anything they want to put on the agenda please let me know and I will add it on. We will cover expenses to get to the meetings and provide a £10 fee as a gesture for joining. 

SECTOR NEWS & USEFUL FINDS

Playing a musical instrument good for brain health in later life - study

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68105868

Inside the Music Industry’s High-Stakes A.I. Experiments

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/inside-the-music-industrys-high-stakes-ai-experiments

'Women sit next to abusers at music industry parties' MPs warn

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-68126838

Music is the key to understanding life

https://iai.tv/articles/music-is-the-key-to-understanding-life-auid-2723https://iai.tv/articles/music-is-the-key-to-understanding-life-auid-2723

Guest blog: How do I navigate the landscape of arts and health evaluation?

Katey Warran introduces Arts and Health Evaluation: Navigating the Landscape, exploring the difference between research and evaluation and how the report might be useful. Details here.

What resources do you need to support your work?

Are you an artist/creative health practitioner, commissioner, or partner organisation delivering creative programmes to people living with challenging conditions/ circumstances? We'd like to hear what supports you in your work - the resources you use and what is needed. Find out more here.

The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH) and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPG AHW) launched the report of the Creative Health Review on 6th December 2023.

You can watch the launch here and read the full Review here.

Central to the Creative Health Review were a series of themed roundtables that were held between Autumn 2022 and Spring 2023.The themes of the roundtables were:

Mental Health and Wellbeing across the Life Course

Health Inequalities

Social Care

End of Life Care and Bereavement

Education and Training

Cost-effectiveness, Evidencing Value for Money and Funding Models

Leadership and Strategy - Embedding Creative Health in Integrated Care Systems

There is plenty of information about the Review and its findings on the NCCH website:

Find out about the themes and summaries from the roundtables here

Watch the roundtable discussions here

NCCH also commissioned a range of artists with their own lived experience to respond creatively to each of the Review's roundtable themes and you can find out more about the Creative Responses here.

As well as the roundtable discussions and consulting with the Review’s Lived Experience Advisory Panel, the Review also welcomed public input via a call for contributions and you can read case studies here.

HAND-PICKED OPPORTUNITIES

Trauman-informed practice for community musicians

This Evolve Music online training is designed for community musicians who want to deepen their understanding of trauma-informed practice. 15 Feb, online. Details here.

Frozen Light is looking for an Associate Producer to support the delivery of their exciting artistic programme.

Frozen Light is looking for an experienced and enthusiastic freelance producer to join our team for three months to support the Co-Artistic Directors and Executive Director on the delivery of the four theatre productions they are rolling out this year. Details here.

Centre for Advanced Training Officer.

DanceEast is looking for a dynamic and responsible team member to support the leadership and development of the DanceEast Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme.

Based in the purpose-built Jerwood DanceHouse on the Ipswich waterfront, the CAT Officer will form a central part of the small, fast-paced team responsible for the development and delivery of the core CAT programme within the wider Creative Team. Details here.

Suffolk Libraries Programme 2024

This is an open call for performance and participatory artists and organisations to put forward their material for Suffolk Libraries upcoming programme. Deadline 07 February 2024, details here.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Practising Mindful Heritage podcast

Practising Mindful Practice supports heritage professionals to better understand the mental health and addiction recovery sector. Listen here.

Cultures of Creative Health lecture series, 17 January–20 March

This new series run by the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Huddersfield will take place online (and on campus) from January to March 2024. Full details here.

Laura Bailey, host and producer of Creative Health Podcast has recorded a bonus episode asking Londoners working at the intersection of creative health what they think about London as a Creative Health Capital City; what needs to happen to make it a reality and what difference it would make to their work. The conversations highlight both the opportunities and challenges in making the ambition a reality and offer perspectives from different communities, practices and art forms. Listen to the episode here

Open Call for arts, communities and social impact peer-to-peer exchange programme March 2024Through this peer-to-peer exchange, we are gathering a group of 15 individuals who are passionate in driving social change through cultural work. We invite anyone who is working at the intersection of arts, communities and social impact to join us. 

NASP Webinar: Nature and Heritage BuddyingIn this webinar, we will explore how buddying roles can facilitate people's access to services that improve people's health and wellbeing. 28th Feb. 

Leading with Kindness: Trauma Informed Practice TrainingDeepen your understanding and ability to work safely with trauma in this unique workshop with Clean Break. 29th Feb.

Social Arts Practice - modes of artistic leadership.ResearchWorks - Guildhall School of Music & Drama is presenting work with band The Messengers, involving people who are homeless/in temporary accommodation, students, and professional artists. 18 Feb, Online, details here.Item description