• Developing Young Professionals 2006
• Equal Opportunities and Marketing training 2005
• The BREAKOUT! scheme to support member societies in performing and commissioning contemporary music – 2003/04

Biggleswade (Bedfordshire)

• Biggleswade & District Choral Society
• Phoenix Choir
• Stratton Upper School

Young professionals involved: Suzi Dent (marketer), Nicole Lyons (trumpet) and Joanna Sleight (mezzo-soprano).
Activities: between January and March the group organised a marketing seminar, a joint concert by all group members and young professionals, and a singing workshop.

Cambridge

• Cambridge Orchestra
• Choir 2000
• Cambridge City Brass Band
• Cambridge Music Circle

• Cromer Music Evenings (a promoting society)
• Cromer & Sheringham Brass
• Norwich Student Jazz Orchestra
• Jay Singers

• City of Peterborough Symphony Orchestra
• Peterborough Choral Society
• Peterborough Male Voice Choir
• St Peters Singers

Young professional involved: Suzi Dent (marketer)
Activities: In July the group set up a website and prepared an application to Awards for all for further developments and a launch event.

Back in the early months of 2006, four Making Music organisations in Peterborough started up PETERBOROUGH MUSIC MAKING as part of the Developing Young Professionals project initiated by Making Music. With the help of a Marketing Expert they set up the website and local anti-clash diary within it.

All went well with lots of local similar voluntary organisations using the Events Diary and word was spreading. By the time of the official launch by Aled Jones at Easter 2007 it had expanded from 4 organisations to 14 and developed into not just a website but much more a co-operation and opportunity for locally based groups to communicate and work together to make live music.

All full members have their own web page for briefly explaining about their organisation and linked to their own site, for which there is a small annual admin charge. The members meet at least twice a year to see how they can help each other and our variety of organisations (from brass band, recorder group, children’s choir, choral societies, orchestras, Am-drams to Barbershop groups) has led to some unusual requests and suggestions – the usual ones of course “how can we get more men involved in music making, particularly tenors”, “how can we get the next generation to join us” etc but as yet we have not found a composer who can produce a work to encompass all the members talents for a joint enterprise! However it has enabled a first joint large event in April 2008 – a performance of Mahler 2 with 5 choral groups and one orchestra – all members of PMM. It was a great event and supported well financially from local companies – future plans for similar large scale events are in the pipeline. It has also given all organisations a stronger voice in the city and we are hopeful of making use of this to the advantage of us all.

We are now in the process of extending the website to accommodate useful links to other music service providers in the form of adverts that will help with administration costs, and we are looking at an e-newsletter and members forum page too. By May 2008 PMM had 16 members and has just won an Awards for All grant to produce two large print run leaflets for distribution to the whole community which should spread the word on the amateur music making even further.

Naturally it is not done without some dedicated hard work, but most of this can be easily shared. The best bit is however, getting to know how other organisations tick, many of whom are not members of Making Music, but who are keen to exchange ideas and hopefully we shall avoid the many clashes that have occurred in the past.

Other groups in the Region are trying out this arrangement too and if anyone requires more detailed information please do contact me. Do check out our website peterboroughmusicmaking.org.uk

Liz Noble, email: liznoble@lineone.net
Making Music Eastern, Cambridgeshire Representative
Secretary Peterborough Music Making

• Ramsey Choral Society
• Ramsey Arts Festival
• Fenharmonic

Young professionals involved: Naomi Rose (marketer), Nicola Smedley (flute), Melanie Lodge (mezzo-soprano).
Activities: between March and July the group organised flute master classes at the Abbey School, a singing workshop day, two choral society concerts one with Nicola Smedley and Fenharmonic and the other with Melanie Lodge, and a cabaret night with Melanie Lodge and Fenharmonic

During February and March 2005 Making Music Eastern’s Training and Development Officer organised four training evenings on these topics. Sessions were held in Brentwood, Scole (Norfolk), Rickmansworth and Ely. The sessions were led by either Robin Osterley or Robin Simpson from Making Music Central Office. In total 40 people representing 22 societies took part. In addition 20 individuals from non-member societies took part.

The main aims of this project were to encourage voluntary music groups in the Eastern region to perform and promote more contemporary music and to involve the wider community via education/community participation and audience development. The scheme was open to all groups whether or not they were members of Making Music. It was funded by the Regional Arts Lottery Programme (RALP).

Two strands were developed for this project, one for performing societies and one for promoting societies. In the former, ten societies had a composer-in-residence assigned to them who wrote a bespoke piece for the society. The RALP application included six composer-in-residence projects but funding was later found for four additional projects. In the second strand four small chamber ensembles were offered at a discounted rate to promoting societies. These ensembles included a piece commissioned through BREAKOUT! in their concerts and in addition were the animateurs in an education workshop organised in the local community by the promoting society.

*This was actually funded by Howard Burrell of the University of Hertfordshire but became an unofficial part of the project.