Our musicians 'go digital' for our annual Schools Tour, our bassoonist Linton discusses Black Lives Matter and we're looking for a new Chair of Trustees!
We've been busy here at Multi-Story and are back with not one, but two brand new lockdown stories to share with you.
Many of you will know that at the heart of Multi-Story is our desire to bring classical music to those who have not had the opportunity to experience it before, which goes hand in hand with our commitment to reaching disadvantaged young people. Since lockdown began, we have had to find new and innovative ways to fulfil this mission, and have been delivering projects digitally for the first time through your new favourite platform Zoom!
As part of our first ever 'digital schools tour', four of our fabulous musicians broadcast live sessions straight into the homes and classrooms of pupils in Peckham and Gloucester. This has been a great way for us to develop and strengthen our relationships with schools and community groups, as well as providing much-needed and entertaining educational content during this time.
We have carried out 24 sessions, reaching 6 schools and over 350 students!
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Jude Carlton, our incredible percussionist, tells us about his experience of working with Multi-Story during lockdown, and how he has had to adapt to a new digital way of keeping music education alive.
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Jude Carlton's Lockdown Story
'Over the last month or so Fra, Jenny, Linton and I have been doing these little interactive presentations over Zoom for schools in Peckham and Gloucester as an alternative to the schools-tour that had originally been planned. Pretty much all my work - concerts, education projects, music courses - were simply cancelled over this lockdown period, so I was very happy that Multi-Story were able to pivot and still deliver something to these kids over this time.'
Click here to read Jude's lockdown story.
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Black Lives Matter
You may have noticed that in June we published a statement responding to the Black Lives Matter movement, which gained significant momentum in light of the tragic death of George Floyd. At the core of everything we do here at Multi-story, we strive to a discrimination-free, fair and inclusive organisation. With two hats on - as our bassoonist and new Audience Development Officer - Linton Stephens took this opportunity to write about his experience as a black classical musician and challenges he has faced in his career.
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Linton Stephens' Lockdown Story
'Music is universal language, I’m sure you’ve heard the cliché. In theory there is no reason Black musicians should be underrepresented, even in what is traditionally a white western art form. After all, if White musicians can be successful in jazz (a genre of black origin) there is no reason why Black musicians cannot succeed in classical, right? The mastery and enjoyment of art can transcend the things we customarily use to divide ourselves into ‘us’ and ‘other’. Be it race, religion or nationality. That’s the unmitigated beauty of art. But in my opinion, this exemplifies the problems in our discipline.'
Click here to read Linton's lockdown story.
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If you have any questions about our digital schools tour project, or would like to respond to our lockdown stories, don't hesitate to get in touch by replying to this email. We'd love to hear from you!
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We're recruiting a new Chair of Trustees!
We are looking to appoint a new Chair to lead our board into the next stage of the organisation’s development. This is an opportunity for someone with time and willingness to get practically involved in steering the work of an innovative classical orchestra.
Click here to view the full job description, and please do share it with anyone who you think might be interested in applying
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