SMA Bulletin 186

Supporting Music & the Arts in Schools

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SCHOOLS MUSIC ASSOCIATION part of the Incorporated Society of Musicians AUTUMN 2014 No. 186 £2.50

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ULLETIN

Hon. editor: Carole Lindsay-Douglas secretary@schoolsmusic.org.uk tel: 01767-260815 ISM, 4-5 Inverness Mews, London,W2 3QB

l. to r. Carole Lindsay-Douglas, (former SMA Hon. Secretary), Governor of Gibraltar - Sir Robert Fulton and Cathy Batchelor - SMA Local Coordinator for Gibraltar, on the occasion of the SMA’s 70th Anniversary concert in Gibraltar in 2008

Thanks from Gibraltar to the SMA

Cathy Batchelor (pictured above) recalls her experiences since becoming a member I am delighted to have been a member of the SMA since 2006, (and the Gibraltar local co-ordinator since 2011) and have attended 6 annual conferences since then. There have been many highlights for me and I have brought back to Gibraltar many new ideas and resources. It has had a huge input on my professional development as a music teacher. All of the presenters have been extremely professional, innovative and inspiring. Some of my favourite sessions have been: 2007 - Paul Whittaker’s Keynote speech on ‘Music and the Deaf’; 2008 - Steven Sproat’s Ukulele session; 2010 - Jane Sebba introducing ‘Inspira’ sponsored by Charanga Digital resources; 2011 - David and Christa Liggins – Wider Opportunities – ocarina whole class playing; 2012 - Jess Gold’s ‘Project Earth Rock’; 2013:- Jiang-Li on Chinese Music. Also, the composer and explorer, David Fanshawe’s legendary journeys through Arabia, Africa and the Pacific with mesmerising soundscapes, and Douglas Coombes’ conduct-

ing courses all very inspiring. I also met some terrific composers who brought their books to life and showed us all how to interpret them. Here are just some of the composers and the books they demonstrated, all of which I use in school now: Sue Nichols ‘Pat-a-Cake’ & ‘The Song Stack’ Sarah Watts ’Red Hot Recorders’ series Ann Bryant ‘Classical Music through Stories’ series Val Whitlock ‘Singing Sherlock’ series Lin Marsh ‘Songscape’ series I have been inspired to teach whole class ocarina playing since hearing about Ocarina Workshop, and have used the children’s ocarina performances for my MA thesis in 2010, ‘Performing for participation or performing for assessment: How are motivation, progress and enjoyment affected by performing context?’ which obtained a distinction no less – so thank you Ocarina Workshop! Not only that, the SMA joined up with Ocarina Workshop to raise funds for Barnardo’s with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2013 and at the same time, broke the Guinness continued overleaf…