Southampton Music Services would like to wish all Southampton Music Hub Partners, teachers, pupils and subscribers to this newsletter a very merry Christmas! We hope to see you at some Christmas concerts this month, the posters and links of which you can find below:

Christmas Concerts:

More Christmas Concerts (links included)

01/12 - Acorn Strings Concert 4.30pm Cantell School
01/12 - Elgar Strings Concert 5.30pm Cantell School
02-04/12 - SSMA Concert Featuring Brassroots and Southampton Wind Band
04/12 - Clarinet Chorale Christmas Carols, Haskins Garden Centre.
04-6/12 - Debut Youth Theatre Presents Grease, Hanger Farm Arts Centre.
11/12 - Twango / Airplay Christmas Charity Concert, Cantell School.
12/12 - SYBB Carol Concet, Royal British Legion.

Also coming up...

Debut Youth Theatre presents.... GREASE

Debut Youth Theatre are proud to present a series of performances of the 1950s themed musical, Grease, at The Hanger Farm Arts Centre in Totton.

Performances will take place at 7.30pm between 4-6 December and a Saturday Matinee at 2.30pm. Click for further information about the show.

Southampton Music Service contact details: 023 8083 3648    music@southampton.gov.uk

November Highlights

Southampton Music Hub Wins National Jazz Award

The Southampton Music Hub is delighted to announce that alongside the Hampshire Music Hub, it has won the Diploma of Special Merit at the Will Michael Jazz Education Awards for demonstrating an outstanding commitment to jazz education.

The awards are the only means of according national recognition for jazz education and they acknowledge the work of those field practitioners delivering jazz education and helping to combat “jazz phobia” among classroom music teachers and instrumental tutors. Most notably, the award celebrates the contribution to Jazz education made by Dan Mar-Molinero, Director of Southampton Youth Jazz Orchestra and the rest of the Jazz team across the two hubs.

Read more about SMH's proud accomplisment here.

Entry open for Music For Youth Southampton Festival

Entry is now open for 40,000 young musicians to take part in Music for Youth – the world’s largest youth music festival. MFY is an annual series whereby young musicians take part in Regional Festivals across the country during February and March, with a cross section of performers from the regional festivals being invited to perform at the national festival, taking place in Birmingham in July and the Schools Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in November.
A Southampton Regional Festival has been secured this year, which will take place at Richard Taunton Sixth Form College on Tuesday 10 February. Entries are welcome from any style and level of experience – this is a festival and not a competition!
For more information and to enter, visit the Music for Youth website.

RTSFC braves giant Ice Bucket Challenge

Photo: Greg Hannah / James Chance. Solent Creatives

Staff and students alike from Richard Taunton Sixth Form College took part in a giant college Ice Bucket Challenge to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

The charity event had been organised following the recent diagnosis of a teacher who has worked at Richard Taunton Sixth Form College for 25 years with Motor Neurone Disease. Despite taking part on a very chilly November lunchtime, they managed to raise £846 and money is still rolling in!

Principal Alice Wrighton said “Students and staff took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge to show solidarity with our colleague who has been affected by this awful disease. All members of the college community wanted to do something special to support him and I’m very proud of everyone who participated."

To donate to their campaign, please visit the College's Wisepay page.  

Music In The Air Finishes for 2014

28 November was the final performance of the Music In The Air 2014 winter season; a programme which sees local musicians perform at Southampton Airport to raise money for the Southampton Music Hub. 

Take a look on our website for photos of performances from Soul And Fire, The Sea Slugs, Jazzmanix, Tenderlore, Ocean Brass Band and The Southampton Swing Band.

Thanks to Southampton Airport, the generous airport customers and all of the performers for making this season of Music In The Air a great success.

Southampton Music Hub student set to study at Purcell Music school

Nick Willsher, who plays Alto Sax in Jazz Workshop and SYJO, has been accepted into The Purcell School Jazz Department to board and study his A-Levels, starting in September 2015. The Purcell School is a specialist Music School for young musicians aged 9 to 18 based in Bushey on the outskirts of London.

Southampton Music Services would like to congratulate Nick on his fantastic acheivement, and wish him all the best with his higher education starting in September 2015.

Read more...