Chapter II: Leading & Guiding
Seven examples of Leading & Guiding brought into practice
edited by Guy Wood & Detta Danford
This chapter explores examples of practices based on the principles highlighted in chapter 1. These ‘case-studies’ are intended to be used as inspiration and a knowledge source for musicians, artists and institutes looking to expand their context based practise. The content has been written by various facilitators and programme leaders thoroughly engaged within this field of work, offering a personal and in-depth insight into the content and development of their Leading and Guiding practise.
1. Future Band - by Detta Danford
Barbican / Guildhall School of Music & Drama London
‘I think that making music together is one of the purest forms of societal connection that we have available… there is a sense of freedom, almost as though collectively we can soar’
Future Band is a composing, performing ensemble. Every member is involved in the process of making and playing the music we create. For us composing is being in a room and having ideas, listening, responding, building and unbuilding. It is collaborative and involves working together through playing, improvising, listening, discussing, editing, structuring and rehearsing.
When we perform, we are sharing our music. We feel connected to the music and to each other through the process of making. The Future Band sound is new, fresh, original and of the moment. As an ensemble we are unconventional in terms of genre, instrumentation and approach and our membership is diverse in age, background and experience. Members of the band have a vast range of life experience and musical interests and include those who have just picked up an instrument for the first time through to those who have been playing for many years. Members include young musicians aged 8-18, students in higher education, guest artists, project leaders and partners.
As an ensemble we are committed to experimentation and we relish the opportunity to journey into the unknown. Part of this process involves taking risks and the possibility of failure. Over many years we have developed a philosophy of practice which enables us to face these challenges head on. Our approach is based on the following values: freedom, trust, mutual respect, openness, equality, listening, learning, expression, belonging and sharing.
In the words of Future Band leaders Detta Danford and Natasha Zielazinski:
- We are all artists - we are innately expressive and creative and need opportunities and space to make and play.
- Working together as an ensemble connects us and enables us to learn, grow and understand each other and ourselves- collaborating in an artistic space allows us to express our individual voices and share with others.
- There is strength in diversity - we each bring something unique and distinctive to our community of practice and we believe this is something to be celebrated and built upon.
- Collaboration challenges us to find meeting points, break down boundaries and discover new ground.
- Investing in the creation of new work and new ways of making together is a social and artistic imperative.”
1b. Projects and Background
Future Band was founded as part of a one year Fellowship programme undertaken by band leaders Detta Danford and Natasha Zielazinski at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2008-2009. The ensemble formed part of a programme of creative social and participatory work led by what was then Guildhall CONNECT. In 2010 Guildhall CONNECT joined forces with Barbican Education under the leadership of Sean Gregory to form Barbican Guildhall Creative Learning. Since then Future Band has been one of several long-running creative ensembles which form a part of the organisation's work.
Future Band is a space in which people come together to explore music making; to think, compose, interpret and play. Led by Detta and Natasha, it is a creative ensemble made up of 25-35 young musicians from across East London and the wider city area. The musical identity of the group reflects the personality and creative voice of every band member, as well as taking inspiration from musicians and artists from all over the globe.
Since its inception in 2008, Future Band has performed at the Barbican Concert Hall, Theatre and Free Stage, as well as venues across London, including the Vortex Jazz Club, Union Chapel and the Shoreditch Festival. Throughout this time we have explored jazz and free improvisation with members of London's Loop Collective, performed and recorded music using a Balinese gamelan orchestra with guest artist Aris Daryono and worked with visual artists, writers and theatre makers such as Sophie Clements, Gareth E. Rees, Louisa Borg Costanzi Potts among others. In 2011-2012 we were one of the key creative ensemble's involved with Barbican Creative Learning's Unleashed. In recent year's we have been exploring ways of expanding our output. Alongside regular performances and festival appearances, we have worked with artist Melissa Beagley on a limited edition release of hand-printed scores for our 2014 work, Trade Winds. In December 2015, we launched a month-long call out for scratch-card-score ideas which will be collectively re-worked to form a set of Future Band cards – ideas and starting points for initiating a creative process.
1c. The Creative Approach
I've tried to identify several elements that feel like they are a common part of the making process within a range of projects that I've been involved with, but with particular reference to the practice of Future Band as a primary example. I've tried to think about these questions:
What are the structures and processes that make up the scaffold of our practice?
How do these help to frame our work, whilst also giving us the space to try out and explore different ideas, to experiment and to challenge ourselves?
This is one of the foundational elements of making music within Future Band and is something that we (as a band and as band leaders) often discuss and think about together. What is our starting point for the project, for the session (also for the rehearsal) for any thinking and making together? Starting points for Future Band could be as diverse as – using a pre-written melody to eating a meal together to having a discussion together and seeing what grows out of this.
Some examples from Future Band's work are:
- A taught musical element – eg. A rhythm, a melody, a song, a chord progression.
- A concept or idea – eg. Outside/in, 'people's songs', 'trade winds', 'stream of sound'.
- A piece of repertoire eg. the music of a particular musician or a particular piece of music, music of a particular country or culture.
- Non-musical starting points: a picture, an exhibition, a journey, food, a person's life, a discussion, a book.
- Structures – a story or narrative, the cycle of a day and a night, a film.
- Musical and compositional processes eg. The standing up/sitting down game, sound-baths, rhythm building exercises, name games, anything you can make into a compositional process!
- Collecting and gathering – field recordings, data collection (eg. Personal information), Future Band 'research hour'.
1d. Commissioning and/or setting a brief
At a certain point within any Future Band project, we will decide to split into a number of smaller groups or ensembles. This is often when a brief or set of briefs are devised. These might be devised solely by the project leaders, in collaboration with the group, or through a process of self-commissioning.
This process often involves some exploratory work and discussion together on what the project is about, what the aims of the session or project are at that point and the gathering of ideas on how to tackle the next stage of making and composing together.
The design of the briefs might follow the direction/theme of the project – for example, if a starting point is a taught melody, the group might decide (or be asked) to create a chordal accompaniment or a groove for the melody. Another new section of music might be needed or a countermelody or harmony part.
If the starting point is something more abstract like food, the briefs might include making music around a particular flavour or aspect of the food, for example the starter, the main course or the dessert.
1e. Sharing and Feeding Back
Sharing and feeding back happens after any small group task. It serves several purposes:
- it celebrates the work that's been done
- it means everyone can hear what's been made
- it enables everyone to be a part of the compositional process in terms of what happens next
- it provides the group with a chance to listen to, appreciate and ask questions about the music other people have made
- it generates more ideas for how to develop the music and bring everyone back together as a whole ensemble
In Future Band, we are particularly interested in experimenting with different forms of feedback, ranging from open group discussions, to using more directed open questions (for example, what did you love/appreciate/find interesting/curious?) to more formal structures of giving feedback, for example sharing written feedback, or using model's such as Liz Lerman's Critical Response Theory.
2. The Messengers - by Sigrún Griffiths
Barbican and Guildhall School of Music & Drama London
Formed in 2012, The Messengers are a unique collaborative venture that sees people from vastly different backgrounds, with equally diverse stories, find a common purpose in writing and performing music together. The band is made up of music students from the Leadership Course at the Guildhall School and people who seek support from St Mungo’s Homeless Charity, as they recover from issues related to homelessness. The band takes inspiration from the Sun Ra Arkestra, African drumming patterns and contemporary electronic soundscapes. Recent collaborators have included Pete Wareham, Arun Ghosh and Sons of Kemet
2b. A Point of View on The Messengers - Guy Wood, Co-Leader & Drummer
The Messengers is a unique band made from the gathering of some of London’s most creative and passionate musicians. The music we have made over our four-year journey constantly challenges the borders of style and convention, it is created, debated, rehearsed and performed as one family, and this unity transcends to the audience. As a drummer, the project extends my ability to integrate with a large ensemble and pushes me to facilitate a rhythmic framework open to the most virtuosic guitarist and to the debut tambourine player!
This band has had a huge impact on the way I perceive my own music making both in stylistic inspiration and new influence from the global music we research and within it’s societal context. The Messengers has a unique place in society that brings together the audience and performer together in a high quality creative endeavour that creates a huge pride for all that become involved. It has helped me see my community through more open eyes and reinforces the importance of shared creativity and invention in today’s world.
The Guildhall Artist Masters Programme (Leadership Pathway) is designed to help professional arts practitioners meet the challenges of the future.
The Leadership Pathway focuses on the student’s ability to create new work through collaborating with people from all walks of life as well as artists of different disciplines or cultural backgrounds. The course offers students a fantastic range of placement opportunities from working in schools, homeless charities, hospitals and young offender's institutions in the City, East London and Islington to travelling across the globe to work with artists in the Gambia, Argentina, Palestine, Bali and Singapore. Throughout the vast range of different experiences, the students remain focussed on their own artistic practice and, through reflective practice, are able to articulate how the collaborations have resulted in specific discoveries, skill building and artistic inspiration.
In addition to the outstanding training our Leadership students receive, the outreach work itself is not just about encouraging participants to learn to play or to take to the stage. The projects unlock the power of music to enrich people’s lives in profound ways.
The Messengers is a particularly meaningful project for the Leadership Pathway. The Messengers is a band consisting of homeless and vulnerable adults from St Mungo’s Broadway – a homeless charity – and Leadership students from the Guildhall School. The band currently convenes over the course of two terms in Hackney to write and rehearse original songs and music in a broad range of styles. The fact that the participants create their own music and write their own songs is especially helpful as it breaks down barriers and allows for wide participation at all skill levels.
One participant from St Mungo’s commented: “The musicians, they treated everybody the way they were prepared to be, so they respected the individuality of people, and give the necessary help as to what they needed".
2c. (Im)Possibilities - by Sigrún Griffiths & Paul Griffiths
(Im)PossibleWorks is a multifaceted project model which has grown out of the Creative Learning ensemble (Im)Possibilities. The model is designed to enable the sharing of the ensemble’s repertoire and collaborative methods with large numbers of young people in East London boroughs, either through ‘One-Off’ sessions or more sustained engagement through Satellite Collectives.
The project will primarily focus on young people aged between 14-18. The ‘One-Off’ sessions will enable access to large numbers of young people, which will bring attention to Creative Learning opportunities as well as the Guildhall’s programmes, such as PACE and other undergraduate courses. The more sustained engagement through Satellite Collectives will offer a deeper insight into the creative and collaborative work, featured in the Creative Learning courses (PACE and Leadership), offer a progression route into (Im)Possibilities and work as a recruitment tool for PACE and other undergraduate courses.
2d. Dialogue - by Sigrún Griffiths
Our annual celebration of the talent, creativity and diversity of the people of east London. Each year, Dialogue brings together artists and musicians from Barbican/Guildhall Creative Learning with east Londoners of all generations. This annual high profile event celebrates the talent, creativity and diversity of the people of east London and the next generation of artists. Projects and performances take place in venues across east London communities.
Our 2016 celebration, Dialogue: Outside In takes place in Barking, bringing together Guildhall School students with community groups and musicians, poets and visual artists to produce new work inspired by the Strange and Familiar Britain as Revealed by International Photographer exhibition curated by British photographer Martin Parr.
Dialogue 2015 saw Guildhall Leadership students and tutors exploring the theme of ‘People Songs’, inspired by folk musician Alan Lomax. The project culminate in a series of performances in the Barbican Foyers.
Dialogue 2014 explored the theme of 'Compass Rose', and saw different community groups come together for an unforgettable evening of performances in the Guildhall School’s new Milton Court building. For photos and more information on last year’s Dialogue, performance, please visit our Leadership Tumblr.
Dialogue 2013 explored the theme of 'Seeing Things', encouraging us to look closely at the people and places around us, investigating the local environment and exploring how we can see things in a different light depending on our perspectives, local knowledge and life experiences.
3. Iceland Academy of the Arts - by Sigurður Halldórsson & Guy Wood
3a. Leading and Guiding - Impact to the music department of IAA as a whole
- Teachers and students participating in the L&G course have collaborated with all the first year. students on bachelor level during 3 - 4 days intensive workshops.
- Collaboration with teenage community centre and Iceland Airwaves Festival.
- Collaboration with Schools in and around Reykjavík and in Ísafjörður.
- Various creative-collaborative projects that have later become final Professional Integration Projects, and in some cases professional practice.
Further development of collaboration is underway, for example a regular life-long-learning intensive courses in Creative-collaborative practice for professional musicians in East-Iceland in collaboration with the East-Iceland Cultural Board.
3b. Assessment - what have students experienced in L&G
Assessment of the course is through ongoing reflective circle during the procedure. Then a final evaluation session is held where all participants can share their thoughts after the procedure and have feedback on their comments. Finally each student writes a short self-evaluation, focusing on their personal and professional development during the course. Very valuable comments and observations have come out of this. Of course different components harmonize better with some students then others, but the general feeling is that all the students become very much aware through this course that learning process is peripheral - or spiral and not linear. Some feel themselves overqualified for some of the workshop exercises and feel that a lot of them should be a part of undergraduate curriculum. Maybe in those cases we have failed to convey the content to those students to a sufficiently deep and thorough way - but indeed this curriculum certainly should be a part of undergraduate curriculum - and it is in.
3c. Students perspectives
Here are some of the reflections of the students at the IAA to give some examples of outcomes and observations:
“...I have become much freer in all artistic creation and have in recent months become more daring to take risks and try new approaches to the projects that I undertake as a singer, choir director and teacher.....it is especially the Leading and Guiding course and the group collaboration work in it that has had this impact on my as an artist. “
“I regard myself closer to it now then before to know my strengths and weaknesses as a leader in a creative process and analyze what I need to do to get a better control over that improvisation that could come in useful in my role as a piano teacher. I have learnt that the open mind of the teacher and flexibility are important qualities. Also to be capable of reading quickly into the nature of the situation and how the participants are feeling and to be catalyst in the circumstances. I realize my own fear for the unpredictability of a creative process, how that fear, trust and my responsibility for the project drives the work further and then how in fact the process itself takes control.”
“Being able to go through a process of directing my own music has been an experience of precious insight and it may not have happened without the confidence I gained during the introductory working week at Isafjördur....
.... It is a practice of letting go of my individual perspective and aspirations in art and accepting the input from others as nourishment to my own practice. Yes this was challenging for me and I find it important to always be put into situations we do not entirely approve. ...
....I specially learned to give up on some judgements and therefore I could experience myself in a way I never before did and also in an artistic style that is new to me. For this I am grateful. The most important thing I learned has been to recognize my own individual artistic pathway, but at the same time maintain openness and trust for unexpected situations, that can sometimes lead to higher artistic achievements....
....I can appreciate the aspects of“Leading and guiding” mostly as a matter of trust. I also feel that I have gained insight in being authentic and truthful towards myself despite every foreign situation and challenge that is presented to me. I believe that in this second part of the course Leading and guiding I gained a bigger knowledge through the communication between the participants of the workshop than through the artistic creation...
...the last session of general reflection was essential for me. It allowed me to recognize the different perspectives and intentions that each person brings into a working process.”
“...the causes of this growth can be traced back to three things, learning by watching others, by trying out things for myself and by reflecting after execution....”
“After the course finished I see that there are more ways to use a workshop setting then I had realized. At the same time I have understood how very fragile the form is. The workshop leader has to be totally connected to the situation all the time....
...... The methods that I think are most important to have learned are all the exercises that regard group empowering and those that are based around introducing all participants to each other. If this part of the work is neglected, the foundations of everything that comes after collapses. I have become more aware of how much impact the interconnection of all the participants has on the work.“
4d. Leading & Guiding from a NAIP facilitator’s perspective - by Guy Wood
As a member of the NAIP European Music Masters faculty I have been a guest Teacher at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts for several years, working alongside both their NAIP students and students from the undergraduate Creative Communications programme.
My role is to facilitate two industry collaborations between students, Arts Institutes, Festivals and other local / international artists. The 2 events are framed within the IA’s NAIP Leading & Guiding module and the main aims are to develop creative and performance based skills as well as nurture network development within the local artistic community.
Both the projects last for around 5 days, based on 4 creative production days and then a final performance day. The aim is to offer the students an integrated creative experience, collaborating with professional artists, community partners and local venues to create innovative performances that ‘talk’ directly to their society.
The projects are built upon developing institutional and artistic partnerships, which include: Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Airwaves Festival, Tectonics Festival, Hafdis Bjarnadottir, One Bird Orchestra, The Harpe venue and a local community space/school. The students take a lead role in curating the events, composing, devising and collaborating on new material and working alongside the faculty to develop the venue space and deliver the production.
The project days vary in their structure, but there is an intense series of laboratory sessions to create and develop material with all the participating members, small ensemble work, team meetings, venue preparation, and technical organisation. It is an intense experience and all the participating members achieve new goals and performance experiences. Improvisation and it’s related approaches form the centre of the artistic approach but the groups are open to make concrete music that can be developed in a variety of manners to achieve their goal.
5. Royal Conservatoire The Hague - by Renee Jonker, Detta Danford & Guy Wood
5a. Leading and Guiding Intensive Week
The Intensive course is a good example of shared leading, where 3 workshop facilitators orientate a group of around 30 musicians, all with independent wishes, to a shared learning arena. This project has provided a great opportunity for the facilitators to develop this practise and invite the students to learn through observation, practical activities and workshops and reflective discussion and evaluation.
This year the project took another step forward in it’s practise and rather than keeping a contained environment for learning, where the students and facilitators worked within their own context, we decided to invite a partner organisation to join the project. We allocated time throughout the week to prepare the students for 2 creative sessions (Thurs/Fri) and a performance with a group of local teenagers. Alongside the creative training there was also coaching from facilitator, Lelani Lewis, whose expertise in the field of youth social development, bought a cross industry perspective and insight into the context.
This experimental approach to the format and content of this project is testament to the sustainability of it and the inter development and trust within the facilitation team. The students, participants and Punt Comp participants all left with deeply felt sense of collective energy, individual participation and an invaluable learningexperience. Even before we added the community context, the group were challenged to work together in such a manner that allows them to realise individual achievements as well as a ‘real’ expose of how they orientate themselves within a group.
There are some questions and themes that recur year to year within this course:
questions around the nature of collaboration, working together and specifically group-based composition questions which explore roles, responsibilities and expectations within this context- specifically those of leader, participant, facilitator and performer, composer and improvisor. What are the qualities of these roles? How much are they fixed and how much are they fluid and shifting? What are the skills that we need as musicians to work collectively and within diverse contexts? What do we bring? What are our strengths and what do we need to work on? What is are the parameters and what is the context for a particular piece of work or a particular project? How does it happen? Who is involved? What is known and unknown? What can you bring as an artist? When does this happen? What is the scope of the work? What are the aims and how might these be achieved?
The Leading & Guiding intensive in Den Hague has been running for over 6 editions now. It is a 5-day intensive programme exploring the dynamic world of creative collaboration and workshop facilitation. The course consists of several creative sessions run by the facilitators, Detta Danford, Guy Wood and Jo Wills. Their co-leadership explores a variety of skill training including; group composition, leading and facilitating groups, group dynamics, improvisation, composition, arranging, conducting.
The week is based upon the following day schedule:
10:00-10:30 – Warm Ups and introductions to Creative Workshops
10:30-11:30 – Skills Session 1: Leadership; Group Conducting; Composition; Improvisation
11:30-11:45 – Break
11:45-13:00 - Skills Session 2: Leadership; Group Conducting; Composition; Improvisation
13:00-14:00 – Lunch – Mentoring and Buddy Time (Peer Mentoring)
14:00-15:30 – LABS – Student input lead sessions
15:30-15:45 – Break
15:45-16:30 - Skills Session 3: Leadership; Group Conducting; Composition; Improvisation
16:30-17:00 – Reflection and Q&A
In 2015 the project took another step forward in its practise and rather than keeping a contained environment for learning, where the students and facilitators worked within their own context, we decided to invite a partner organisation for the project. We allocated time throughout the week to prepare the students for 2 creative sessions (Thurs/Fri) and a performance with a group of local teenagers. Alongside the creative training there was also Social Development coaching from facilitator, Lelani Lewis, whose expertise in the field of Youth Development, bought a cross industry perspective and insight into the context.
This experimental approach to the format and content of this project is testament to the sustainability of it and the inter-development and trust within the facilitation team. The student’s and external participants all leave with a deep individual and group learning experience. Even before we added the community context, the group is challenged to work together in such a manner that allows them to realise individual achievements as well as a ‘real’ expose of how they orientate themselves within a group
6. Prins Claus Conservatoire Groningen - by Guy Wood
The Leading & Guiding module at the Prins Claus Conservatoire is a project-based programme that extends throughout each students 2-year pathway. The module comprises of three strands:
1 - Leading & Guiding sessions- facilitation, group composition, creative collaborative practise, workshop skills, leadership training. – 1st year (Semester 1 & 2)
2 – LAB – Open space creative platform to develop the student’s independent creative practise. – 1st year (Semester 1 & 2)
3 – Creative Ensemble – Both 1st and 2nd year students take part in an ensemble that devise, project manage, produce and create performance opportunities throughout the duration of their study. This ensemble is aimed to provide an intensive creative experience, where the students are challenged with combining the skills training of the Leading & Guiding and LAB sessions with professional engagements and high profile platforms.
The Leading & Guiding programme aims to provide an integrated approach to the students learning and development. It aims to combine the skills that the individual is exploring through their first study work and their PIP project and to facilitate creative approaches to music making and problem solving. The module works alongside the other core modules within the NAIP programme to help provide the student with a clear idea of the shared thinking and philosophical practise that defines NAIP.
All 3 strands of the PCC Leading & Guiding Module are underpinned by intensive Arts projects. As the students progress through the programme their role and responsibility increases within both the Creative Content and the Production of the events.
6b. ARW – Artistic Reflective Week
This project week is framed around integrating the entire 1st year Batchelor students of the PCC from all departments. The main aim of the project is, in large groups of 20 – 30 people, to devise a performance for a specific community context. The project has existed for over 10 years and through the project the Prins Claus Conservatoire has developed strong relationships with the partner institutes, Oosterhoogebrugschool (primary school) and De Brink (elderly home). Where other platforms of musical engagement now also exist. The project is based around a 4-day model with an afternoon prior to the launch where the facilitators and project team gather to organise final preparations. The first 3 days follow this template schedule:
10:00-11:30 – Creative Session 1
11:30-11:45 – Break
11:45-13:00 – Creative Session 2
13:00-14:00 – Lunch
14:00-15:30 – Creative Session 3
15:30-15:45 – Break
15:45-17:00 – Creative Session 4
The final day consists of the 4 performances in the 2 different partner venues and an evaluation session.
The project has had a transformative effect on many of the participants from both the student body and from within the partner institutes. The project has worked with over 1000 1st year Batchelor students and it continues to have a direct impact on the recruitment of the NAIP Masters programme in Groningen. The NAIP students take the role of assistant leaders and there is a close mentoring role between them and the facilitators.
6c. Minerva / Frank Mohr Collaboration
This project is a cross-arts platform for both 1st and 2nd year students collaborating with the Minerva Arts Academy, Groningen - Madtek and Painting Masters programmes. The context began with a NAIP/Groningen Museum collaboration run twice in 2012 for a creative project and performance development to celebrate that launch event of the Nordic Arts exhibition in the Groningen Museum. Then in 2015 the collaboration stepped up a gear with a project involving both the Minerva Academy and the Museum to celebrate the 75th anniversary of H.N. Werkman. The NAIP Creative Ensemble developed and curated a 3 ½ long installation and live performance space within the old Art Museum building. Due to the success of this collaboration there is now a formal relationship developing and a sustained joint education platform being discussed.
The project is facilitated by the NAIP faculty and teachers from the Minerva Academy.
6d. Eurosonic Festival - European Artistic Collaboration (In Development)
Overview: This project aims to build a new creative partnership between the Prins Claus Conservatorium (PCC) and Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS). Providing a platform to develop professional opportunities, creating a new festival venue, building International Artistic collaborations and integrating the local community in a dynamic creative space. In order to achieve this the project has two collaborative strands:
- Space / Venue - Facilitated in partnership with the NAIP European Music Masters, a pioneering education platform, exploring New Audiences and Innovative Practise, the project will produce a new collaborative and participatory cross-arts space and performance venue as part of ESNS 2017. This fully equipped venue, situated within the heart of the festival, is part of the PCC Radesingel building. We will use this space in collaboration with ESNS to produce a dynamic series of performances, exhibitions, multi-media events, artistic forums, q&a’s and industry discussions, engaging students, local community and ESNS audience in an interactive, intimate and inspiring music venue.
- Art / Music - We aim to explore the rich International and local cultural talent that the partner organisations cultivate by closely linking the context of the collaboration with the specific ESNS International focus (Portugal for the 2017 edition). Throughout the duration of the event the new venue would be home to an ‘Artist in Residence’ collaboration, bringing together an artist/s from the ESNS International focus roster with students from the NAIP European Masters community, PCC students and local community participants. The new creative group would work together for 3 days to develop and explore their art making, engaging in a series of open workshops and rehearsals, culminating in a final showcase of new work.
6e. Street Performance Project
The Street Performance Project is in it’s third year of production and is an open invitation to both 1st and 2nd year students to identify, produce and deliver their own context based performance event that engages a new and meaningful audience.
For the first 2 editions the PCC collaborated with the Santelli Circus School in Groningen to develop a ‘street’ show that could also be applied within an indoor context. In 2016 the project is working with the local community of the Oosterpoortwijk, Groningen, which surrounds the conservatoire. The 1st year students take the role of curating and project managing the event alongside the NAIP faculty of the PCC, whilst the 2nd year students contribute to the content of the event through the Creative Ensemble.
The main of the project is to bring together local community artists, professionals and student artists to create a dynamic event that breaks down the walls of the Conservatoire and the local neighbourhood, in order to create new audiences and open a dialogue between the institution and the community that lives around it.
N.B - The PCC NAIP Students also attend the Den Hague L&G Intensive in the 1st semester.
7. Teaching and Project Leading with Tokyo College of Music, Kobe College of Music and Showa University - by Detta Danford
I have been going to Japan to work in Tokyo and Kobe for over 8 years. My first visit was made with Sean Gregory and Jo Wills where I acted as an assistant leader and musician during some training workshops for undergraduate students at Showa University. Since then I have been a further four times with my colleage and friend, Natasha Zielazinski to facilitate training courses and creative workshops with students and young people. Over the last two years we have co-led the courses in Kobe College with our colleague, violinist and workshop leader, Eiko Azuma.
The work I have been involved with in Japan is the result of a collaborative partnership between three higher education institutions: Tokyo College of Music, Kobe College of Music and Dance and Showa University. The three individuals behind this collaborationare Motomi Tsugami, Midori Takeishi and Kyoko Takenami, three friends and colleagues who were brought together through a joint proposal to initiate creative music making training within their colleges.
Over the years Natasha and I have worked with a range of undergraduate students from all three colleges, and from a mix of year groups and courses, including classical performance, jazz and arts education and administration. We meet the student groups for 3 – 4 sessions over several days before inviting young people (mainly primary aged children) from the local community to come to the college of a day of creative music making workshops, followed by a performance. This year we also ran two days of training at Tokyo College of Music for graduates and early career musicians who were developing work within collaborative and participatory contexts.
Collaboration and Leadership:
This project models:
- Shared leadership with Natasha and Eiko.
- Shared leadership of the project and partnership between Motomi, Midori and Kyoko.
- Partnership and collaboration between the colleges.
Development of collaborative skills throughout the training and workshops:
- Trying out/experimenting/exploring/testing.
- Building together – music from ideas – structuring, composing.
- Sharing (of ourselves – how much, when?, of our music, of our group-ness?)
- Improvising, reacting in the moment, flowing, challenging, questioning.
- Investigating the interaction, connections and feelings between the individual and the group.
- Investigation and exploration of ourselves as performers, composers, improvisers.
- Leadership: How does and can it happen? What does it mean within a particular context? How are roles fluid and changing? What choices do we make and why? How does this impact a group? How do we bring ourselves to this role? What can we bring?
- Discussing and reflecting – what are we doing? What moments stand out? What are our roles? What and when are we giving? Exchanging? Taking? Responding? Leading? Following?
Creative Practise Themes and Processes:
Creative Collaborative Practise
Developing your own system
Creating the right Environment
Approaches / Style
History / Context
Creating an Idea
Music Materials: Melodic, Harmonic, Rhythmic, Textural, Lyric, Repertoire.
The Individual Approach: Facilitation, Leading.
Context: Community (Education/Community/Social/support & Development Sector)
Personal Artistic (Band/Ensemble/Collaborative/Cross Arts/Individual Practise…)
Developing an Idea
Small Group / Tutti / Individual
Task / Brief / Feedback / Edit
Full group collaborative approaches.
Arranging (Group / Individual) - styles……
Process & Product
Performance – Recording – creating an ‘end’ moment.
Leading & Directing an Ensemble