From 1 May till the end of October 2012, Drake Music Scotland will be delivering inclusive music technology sessions using Soundbeam for 16 members of Rosebery, Braid House, Acredale and St Michael’s Day Care Centres in West Lothian.

The project is funded by West Lothian Challenge Fund.

“Drake’s work is very impressive and they have a tremendous reputation.” says Eric Adair, Director of PARC Craigmillar Ltd  ” This project will give young people in Craigmillar a fantastic opportunity to experience the fun and pleasure of music and it’s a privilege to be able to support it.”

Get Involved

If you are in the 11-18 age range, have a disability of any kind, and live in or near the Craigmillar area and would like a chance to be involved, get in touch with us by sending an email to: info@drakemusicscotland.org with Summertime as the subject, or phone 0131 659 4766.

Summer Music-Making is generously supported by 

Read the BBC article

There is an also audio version available, which showcases one of Chris Jacquin’s compositions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17596333

About Technophonia and New Music 20×12

Drake Music Scotland is taking centre-stage in the Cultural Olympiad celebrations with the world premiere of Technophonia by Oliver Searle on Friday 15 June 2012 at The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.  Commissioned as part of New Music 20×12, Technophonia will showcase the talents of three young musicians with disabilities and pupils of City of Edinburgh Music School.

The concert will also celebrate our 15^th anniversary highlighting some of the musicians cutting edge technology from our fifteen years in Scotland of supporting participants of all ages and a wide range of disabilities to play, perform and compose music.

Tickets (£10 and £5 conc.) are now on sale at The Queen’s Hall Box Office (0131 668 2019 or online)

Buy tickets

Technophonia - World Premiere

Friday 15 June 2012, 7:30pm

The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh

Francesca Borghi, Sarah Findlay, Rebecca Queen, Rebekah Searle, Achillaes Sourlas and Hazel Turnbull have each given up at least four hours of their time every week to provide invaluable assistance to our group and individual tuition sessions for children and adults with disabilities.

“We are so lucky to have such a talented team of volunteers” says Education Training Manager Cath Sewell “The programme has benefited enormously from their enthusiasm and music skills and I’m sure the experience has been great for them too!”

MusicSPACE now takes a break over the Easter holidays and we are delighted that all of the volunteers (with the exception of Achillaes who is moving to Taiwan!) are keen to continue supporting our sessions next term.

From August to December 2012, Drake Music Scotland will run three new Figurenotes Lunchtime Clubs at three Schools in Scotland at which children will learn how to play musical instruments such as keyboards and guitar independently using Figurenotes notation.

Figurenotes is a notation system developed in Finland which has proven successful in enabling children and adults with learning disabilities to read music. It uses a simple system of coloured shapes instead of conventional musical notes which players match up with identical stickers placed on keyboards or guitar finger boards.

The two-day programme included presentations and practical interactive workshops from Laura Huhtinen-Hilden - Senior Lecturer in Music Education at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Markku Kaikkonen – Director of Resonaari Music School, Pete Sparkes – Artistic Director of Drake Music Scotland and Caroline Wilkie – Drake Associate Musician and specialist in early years music.

The Gathering identified the skills required and challenges faced by music educators  in our field and training and continuing professional development routes currently available,  with the aim of  developing ‘inclusive good practice’ amongst future music teachers.

The partnership will also include mapping research carried out by Senior Lecture Charles Byrne who will examine the use of Figurenotes in a variety of different settings throughout Scotland.

“This is a key partnership for the development of our Figurenotes project. The notation has clear potential for enabling non-music specialists to deliver simple participatory music sessions with their pupils” says Drake Music Scotland Artistic Director, Pete Sparkes.

Drake Music Scotland’s Figurenotes project is supported by Creative Scotland and the Esmèe Fairbairn Foundation.

In front of a packed and appreciate audience, the 21 students presented an entertaining and wide ranging programme including christmas songs, folk tunes and the music of Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder.

As well as arranging all the music themselves, the students organised and promoted the concert as part of their degree work.

‘Being involved in this concert has been the highlight of B Ed so far.” says Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Student Hannah Gill “We are all so proud of the money raised and are delighted that the proceeds are going to such a brilliant organisation.  Thank you to all who supported us!”

This is a fantastic amount to raise and we are thrilled the students have chosen to donate the proceeds to Drake Music Scotland.

More information and how to apply

Keegan & Pennykid Managing Director Ken Pennykid says “Our 2 year sponsorship of Arts & Business Scotland enabled us to qualify for a New Arts Sponsorship Grant and we were delighted to choose Drake Music Scotland to benefit from the partnership”

Drake Music Scotland Chief Executive Thursa Sanderson says “This is fantastic support from Keegan & Pennykid and Arts & Business Scotland – the drum kit produces the sound of any percussion instrument giving our musicians the choice of any type of beat from rock to samba and, because it is digital and easier to transport than a conventional Drum Kit, we’ll be able to use it in our projects across Scotland.”

“It’s cool!” Participant James Fleming says  “I can plug in headphones so I can practice when I don’t want people to hear me!”