Magical Music in May at Polgwynne 2018

Magical Music in May at Polgwynne 2018

As Cornwall basked in glorious weather last weekend the gardens at Polgwynne, near Feock, resonated to the sound of young Cornish musicians at the Magical Music in May festival.

CMST were delighted to have been invited back by Amanda Piercy, the owner of Polgwynne House and Gardens, to raise funds for the Trust and to give an amazing opportunity for some of CMST's young musicians to perform in a stunning setting. 

Here are some photos of the event which raised approximately £1200 for CMST funds.

 

Marvellous Music at The Minack!

Marvellous Music at The Minack!

The World-Famous Minack Theatre hosted a concert recently in which several CMST ensembles performed including

Sax Is Our Business

Cornwall Youth Brass Ensemble

Penzance Youth Wind Band

Terpsichore (Baroque ensemble)

Flautistas

Two Guitar Ensembles

We would like to thank Lynn Batten for taking these fantastic photos during the event!

 

AMATA Summer School

AMATA Summer School

From 30 July to 3 August AMATA is hosting a music and dance collaborative Summer School run by Patrick Bailey and Grace Clayton. It is open for young people between the ages of 14 to 18 and will allow the musicians to explore composition, technique, improvisation, choreography and a variety of skills involved in creating dance and music collaboratively. There are still Early Bird tickets available for music. See flyer, below, for details.

Music and Dance Summer School A5 flyer1.jpg
Music and Dance Summer School A5 flyer2.jpg

Cornwall Music Service Trust Pupil Of The Month Award (POTMA) - March 2018 Winner

Cornwall Music Service Trust Pupil Of The Month Award (POTMA) - March 2018 Winner

PoTM March 2018.jpg

 

Congratulations go to Rafi Oakes who has been awarded the CMST Pupil of The Month Award for March, 2018.

Rafi is a committed Trumpeter who has shown great development and a lot of this is due to fantastic support at home along with a structured rehearsal routine. He has also flourished as an ensemble member which, he says is a major contributing factor in helping his rapid progress. Rafi is taught by Claire Churcher, Brass Team Member, and she had some wonderful things to report on when being spoken to about the POTMA award.


“Rafi always comes to his lessons well prepared and very keen to learn. He was so keen to join a county ensemble that he is, I believe, the youngest member of Cornwall Youth Wind Orchestra (CYWO) and I am informed that he and his parents often stay behind and help with the packing down of the kit.”

Claire continued to say “He has thrived on doing exams and has reached a grade 5 standard in a relatively short amount of time. Rafi is an extremely polite young man and an absolute pleasure to teach, he has even been helping his dad at home with his trumpet work.”

Gareth Churcher, Head of Service for CMST, commented “I have had the privilege of working with Rafi in preparation for his exams, and although not everyone chooses to take the examination route, it has been a real driving force for his progression. I also can very clearly see that in the majority of cases, when analysing the statistics, that those children who learn an instrument and take part in an ensemble demonstrate higher rates of progression. More importantly the social skills and well being development are evident and have been proven in many research studies.”

Mr Churcher summarised by saying “This in conjunction with studies that prove children who learn an instrument do so well academically all adds to the argument that more music is better for your overall education. Well done Rafi and keep up the good work!”
 

Cornwall Flute Festival 24 and 25 March 2018

Cornwall Flute Festival 24 and 25 March 2018

Over 50 flute players of all ages and abilities took part in the 3rd Cornwall Flute Festival on 24 and 25 March 2018. This event encompassed a whole weekend of inspiration, enjoyment and flute fun. Guests for the weekend were UK leading flautist and composer Ian Clarke and renowned accompanist Tim Carey.

Activities included workshops, warm up activities, rehearsals with piano, flute choirs, masterclasses, foyer performances, junior flute workshops, chamber music.

Kate Whetter, CMST event organiser, said "Ian Clarke has really inspired our local flautists, in particular with regard to some of the new exciting techniques seen in contemporary repertoire - it was wonderful to have such a high calibre flautist here in Cornwall teaching and performing".  She continued "one of the most exciting parts of the weekend was when a scratch massed flute choir was formed to perform Ian’s ‘Walk Like This’".

 

Some photos from the weekend 

The Saturday evening recital by Ian and Tim was a highlight of the weekend. Their programme included a first performance of Ian’s new work ‘White Staircase’ as well as by Faure, Hindemith and Debussy. 

The event was supported by Truro School, Just Flutes, Wonderful Winds, Jessica Rance Instrument repairs and Cornwall Music Education Hub.

#cornwallflutefest