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The prestigious NCEM Composers Award 2009, presented in association withBBC Radio 3 and The Tallis Scholars, has been won by 16 year-old Elizabeth Edwardsand 23 year-old Michael Perrett.

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Welcome to the NCEM’s educationand community newsletter - thespace for you to find out moreabout events and activities.

In this issue, find out about thenew Mantra educational resource,the performance in the SchoolsProm at the RoyalAlbert Hall andthe latestAimhigher initiative.

a chance for you to get involved!

ISSUE 6

NCEM COMPOSERSAWARD 2009WINNERSThe winners were announced at a special finalists’concert at the NCEM, where all six short-listedpieces were performed by the York-based EborSingers.The competition was judged by PeterPhillips, Director of The Tallis Scholars, Chris Wines,Senior Music Producer with BBC Radio 3 andDelma Tomlin, Director of the NCEM.

The competition saw over 50 entrants from upand down the country, with the youngest aged11 years old.The winning pieces, written for four-part a cappella (unaccompanied) choir, will bepremiered by the internationally renowned TheTallis Scholars at the opening concert of the YorkEarly Music Festival on Friday 10 July in YorkMinster. Highlights of the concert will be broadcaston BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show on Saturday25 July 2009.

There were two age categories in this competition– 18 years and under, and 19 to 25 years – andthe six short-listed candidates had the opportunityto work with the Ebor Singers and the composerChristopher Fox prior to the finalists’ concert.

Elizabeth Edwards from Camberley in Surrey wasthe youngest participant in the shortlist. She is partof the Colourstrings Saturday Music School inSouth London, where she learns cello and piano.At school, Elizabeth plays bass recorder in therecorder consort, string bass in the swing bandand sings in the senior choir. She has just won aplace as a music specialist at Wells CathedralSchool and will begin her ‘A’ level studies inSeptember. Her entry was entitled Arise, withtext from Isaiah chapter 60.

Michael Perrett, a clarinetist from Hampshire, iscurrently studying at the Royal Northern Collegeof Music in Manchester. Michael has recently givenperformances of Carter, Birtwistle and Holt andhis formal study of composition began onlyrecently. He now studies privately with MatthewSergeant and hopes to study composition atpostgraduate level. His piece, entitled God, is asetting of a minstrel song from Isaac Rosenberg’sverse-play Moses published in 1916.

Peter Phillips, Director of The Tallis Scholars nowhas the task of preparing the winning compositionsfor their premieres in York Minster. He said: “I wasimpressed by the dedication and seriousness withwhich these young finalists tackled thecompositional process and illustrated theirindividual styles. Every piece was idiomaticallywritten for a cappella singing and I am reallylooking forward to performing Elizabeth's andMichael’s winning entries. Michael’s composition inparticular will be a technical challenge for us, whichwill be exciting; and we relish the opportunity ofbeing able to support such talented people at thestart of their careers as composers.”

The other shortlisted candidates were: WilliamBlake (20yrs) from Beckenham, Kent, studying atQueens College, Oxford; Paul Edis (23yrs) fromDurham;Thomas Neal (18yrs) from Stockton onTees;Tom Harrold (17yrs) from Glasgow.

All compositions from short-listed candidates wererecorded by University of York music technologystudents and can be heard on the NCEM website.

Information about the 2010 NCEM ComposersAward will be available from September 2009at www.ncem.co.uk

www.ncem.co.uk

The award-winning Orlando Consort -Matthew Venner, Mark Dobell, Angus Smith andDonald Greig – is joined by three outstandingAsian musicians Kuljit Bhamra (tabla), JonathanMayer (sitar) and Shahid Khan (voice) in re-creating this historic cross-cultural encounterand applying their collective experiences todevise a radical and challenging new dialoguefor the 21st century.

The inspiration for this collaboration is sublimeIberian and Indian music from the early 1500s.On arriving in Goa, Portuguese missionaries setout to win the hearts, minds and souls of thelocal Goan population through the power ofmusic.The newly built churches of the 'Pearl ofthe Orient' were filled with singing and playing,as western and eastern voices and instrumentsrang out together, creating an extraordinaryblend of exotic and exuberant sounds.

Running alongside the Tour is a speciallydesigned education programme. Young peoplefrom All Saints RC School in York took part inthe premiere concert at the NCEM on 7 May2009. In advance of the concert they workedwith Orlando Consort singer Angus Smith andKuljit Bhamra to find out more about thesediverse traditions and devise their owncompositions and improvisations inspired by themusic they explored.

The on-line Mantra education resource hasbeen compiled to help secondary school musicteachers introduce and explore the inspirationbehind the Mantra project by looking at aspectsof Hindustani music, Western early music, andthe fusion of the two styles. It comprises aseries of downloadable information sheets,handouts for pupils and activity ideas, togetherwith links to video and audio clips.The activities

are appropriate for pupils in Key Stage 3, butcan also form the foundation of more extendedwork by GCSE and A-level students.

The resource, compiled in partnership withAlchemy, focuses on the arrival of Jesuitmissionaries in Goa in the 1540s. It exploresthe music they may have brought with them,together with the Indian musical styles theymight have encountered. It also speculates onthe kind of music that Western and Goanmusicians may have made together.

The Mantra Education Resource is available atwww.ncem.co.uk in the educational resourcessection.

YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITIONFINALISTS ANNOUNCEDSeven groups have been short-listed to takepart in this year’s York Early MusicInternational Young Artists Competition from16 – 18 July 2009.This prestigious biennialCompetition, which is part of theYork EarlyMusic Festival, has attracted interest fromaround the world.

The selected finalists are Concitato (USA);Ensemble Meridiana and Grand Désir(Switzerland); MetroMarina (Belgium); Le TicToc Choc (France); Purcelli Abubu (Austria)and The Marian Consort (UK).

Each will present a short recital on 16 and 17July under the guidance of one of the world’smost highly respected singing teachers, EvelynTubb and then will perform in the competitionfinal on the 18 July.

This competition is designed to developexcellence in Early Music Ensembles byproviding highly professional and experiencedadvice and guidance across all performingdisciplines in a nurturing and inspiringenvironment. Delma Tomlin, Director of theNCEM, is delighted by the response:“We lookforward to enjoying what promises to be athoroughly inspiring event for our audiencesand an intensely productive three days for allthe young artists involved in the competition.”

The winners of the 2009 competition willreceive a cheque for £1000 as well as a seriesof concerts organised by the National Centrefor Early Music and opportunities towork with BBC Radio 3 andLinn Records. Philip Hobbs,Recording Producer for

Linn Records said:“We are absolutely delightedto be able to support these young musicians atsuch a pivotal point in their careers.”

In addition the Friends of theYork Early MusicFestival will be presenting the prize to thosewho are judged to have offered a performancewhich ‘most appeals’ to the audience.

INDIAN & PORTUGESEMUSIC FUSED ON-LINEA new on-line educational resource exploring Indian and Portuguese musicof the 16th century has been launched by the NCEM to accompanyMantra: Musical Conversations Across the Indian Ocean – a national 11 datetour presented by The Orlando Consort which opened in York last month.

INDIAN & PORTUGESEMUSIC FUSED ON-LINE

HAPPY BIRTHDAYDEAR HENRY!

Funded by a grant of £45,000 from Sing Up tothe NCEM, the celebrations start with acollaborative education project joining togetherprofessional singers from The Sixteen andyoung people from four Cathedral Cities withmusic leaders from the Choir Schools’Association.

The project – which is led by members of theinternationally acclaimed vocal group TheSixteen – will involve over 600 young peopleaged between 8 and 11 years in performancesdesigned to celebrate the life of Henry Purcell.This piece – which is structured around the lifeof Henry Purcell - will then be staged by TheSixteen and the young people in a series ofmatinee performances in St Edmundsbury,Liverpool Metropolitan and Lichfield Cathedralsand Southwell Minster.

Harry Christophers, Conductor and Founder ofThe Sixteen, says: "We are thrilled to be a partof this project.The Sixteen has been workingfor several years in education work and isconstantly looking to expand the scope of itsactivity in this area.This is the first time we havebeen associated with something quite on thisscale and, indeed, more importantly with suchyoung children. We are delighted to have theopportunity to work with so many people fromthis age range and introduce them in anexciting way to the music of our heritage.”

Delma Tomlin, Director of the NCEM, was verypleased that the Centre had been able toinitiate such a hugely significant project.“Working with The Sixteen inCathedral cities across England willgive many young people thechance to learn about earlymusic and the joy of singing aswell as offering them anextra-ordinary opportunityto share the same stage asThe Sixteen and their worldfamous director HarryChristophers.”

The educational project has been developed byDr Cathryn Dew, the NCEM’s EducationalConsultant, to reflect the history, music andsense of the drama of the period and isstrongly linked to the National Curriculum.Songs used in the project include London’sBurning – reminding the young people of theFire of London in 1666, Ring a Ring a Roses tobring reference to the Plague which was stillraging through London in the 17th century andsome of Purcell’s most famous pieces includingthe ever cheerful Come Ye Sons of Art.

The project has allowed the NCEM to joinforces with many music professionals to passon a tremendous amount of knowledge andskill to young people and has truly put earlymusic on the national platform.

Sing Up regards this as a key project for theirprogramme. Baz Chapman, ProgrammeDirector, added: “We are excited to beworking on this project with The Sixteen andthe NCEM. Sing Up is thriving on

groundbreaking partnerships which result inthese exciting, high-quality projects.”

The NCEM and Sing Up will continue tocelebrate the music of Purcell throughout theyear. In the autumn, they will be working withover 500 primary school children from 11schools in York alongside the NCEM’s MinsterMinstrels to prepare a short piece to perform atthis year’s Schools Prom at The Royal AlbertHall on 9 November 2009.The piece, known as‘Ode on the 350th Birthday of Mr HenryPurcell’ has been especially commissioned fromCathedral composer Dr Richard Shephard.Theyoung peoples’ choir will be directed by SusanHollingworth, musical director of theScunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir whowon the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year in 2008.

In addition to these activities, the NationalCentre for Early Music is developing a freeon-line educational resource for Key Stage 2

teachers.The resource, which will be availablefrom www.ncem.co.uk in the autumn,will include special arrangements ofPurcell’s music for young voices andactivity ideas for teachers.

The NCEM is working with the National Singing Programme, Sing Up, tocelebrate the 350th anniversary of Henry Purcell – one of England’s finestcomposers – in a series of celebrations across England begining in Bury StEdmunds in May and concluding at the Music for Youth Schools Prom at theRoyal Albert Hall in November.

St Edmundsbury Cathedral Project

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For further information about any of the activities, events or resources mentioned in this Newsletter pleasecontact the NCEM on 01904 632220 or email info@ncem.co.uk

To book tickets for events, please contact the Box Office on 01904 658338 or visit www.ncem.co.uk

National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate,York YO1 9TL

All details are correct at the time of going to press but we reserve the right to amend the published programme if necessary.Promoted by York Early Music Foundation Registered Charity No. 1068331

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NAME CONFERENCEThe educational resource ‘Hopscotch’ basedaround playground songs and games will bedemonstrated at the National Association ofMusic Educators Conference in September at theUniversity of York. NCEM’s community musicianswill run a workshop outlining the development ofthis resource and will also explore the potentialof singing games across the 5 to 10 age range formusical, vocal, language, physical development,communication and social skills.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCEA new annual award will be introduced this yearto a member of the Minster Minstrels who hasdemonstrated the most enthusiasm, promise andachievement.The prize has been donated byJohn Marvin, former Chair of the York Early MusicFestival and the winner will be announced on12 July during the York Early Music Festival.

EVERYDAYOBJECTSMAKE MUSIC

HANDEL’S TIME MACHINE

Young people aged between 14 and 16 are takingpart in the ‘Found Sound’ project.They are fromthe following schools: Brayton College (Selby),Sherburn High School (Sherburn in Elmet), HolyFamily RC High School (Goole), South CravenSchool, Aireville School (Skipton), Harrogate HighSchool, Raincliffe School and Scalby School (both inScarborough).The project is designed to use musicas a means to engage with secondary schoolstudents from backgrounds where the continuationto higher education is particularly low. As well asmaking music, the workshops offer information

about the benefits of continuing into highereducation and look at the lifestyles of professionalmusicians.

All students taking part were treated to a specialopening concert and workshop in May.They hadthe opportunity to find out more about the vastarray of percussion instruments that the Quartetplay including the snare drum, djembe, marimba,bodhran, bongos, tambourine, bones and spoons!They were also given the opportunity to try outsome of these instruments for themselves and the

session ended with everyone joining together tocreate a piece using broomsticks and beaters!

Backbeat’s percussionist, Simone Rebello wasextremely excited about this project.“ The youngpeople will take many experiences with them fromthis project, It provides an insight into our worldand what we do as percussionists and also showsthat music is very accessible, everyone can join inand contribute their ideas and see how a piece ofmusic evolves.”

Basketballs, plastic bins and broomsticks are some of the objects used by BackBeatPercussion Quartet to create music on everyday instruments in a new two yeareducation project running in partnership with the NCEM and Aimhigher North Yorkshire.

There are still a few places available on this year’s Musical Play in aWeek which will run from10 to 14 August. Handel’s Time Machine is a mad musical adventure that sees a group of childrenwhirled out of their everyday life and into the past.The young adventurers are to meet the youngGeorge Fredrick Handel, as he struggles from an early age to become one of the world’s mostfamous composers.

The course is suitable for young people aged between 9 and 14 years.The cost is £80 and there is a downloadable application form onthe NCEM website at www.ncem.co.uk