The Music Workshop Company Blog 

Each month the Music Workshop Company publishes two blogs. One blog, written by the MWC team addresses a key issue in Music Education or gives information about a particular genre or period of music. The other blog is written by a guest writer, highlighting good practice or key events in Music Education. We hope you enjoy reading the blogs. 
 
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To contribute as a guest writer please email Maria@music-workshop.co.uk 
Each year, the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival takes place in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The event features book seller and publisher stands as well as a range of activities and talks for children, families and parents spanning all types of culture, from music to animation. This year, the Music Workshop Company’s Artistic Director, Maria Thomas, was there delivering music workshops. In this post, she reflects on her experience of the festival. 
 
Image: Maria prepares to deliver a workshop at the festival's School of Talents. 
Handel wrote ‘Zadock the Priest’ for the Coronation of George II in 1727. The work has been performed at the coronation of every British monarch since this date, most recently at the Coronation of King Charles III and Camilla on 6th May 2023. 
 
The work is recommended for Year 4 and above in the Model Music Curriculum. Our activities inspired by the work explore how to create drama and anticipation in music. 
For this guest blog we hear from drama teacher Sam Marsden, who reflects on the broader benefits of introducing drama games into lessons of all kinds. The activities Sam uses in her teaching can offer a powerful new way for young people to tap into their creativity, build confidence and more – all of which also play an important role in the wider performing arts. Here, Sam highlights some of the benefits of adding some drama to your classes, and shares three activities that teachers could try for themselves with their students. 
 
 
Image: Sam Marsden; credit: Rosalind Hobley 
Cécile Chaminade was a prolific composer, publishing more than 400 pieces in her lifetime, as well as being a successful international touring solo pianist.  
 
Perhaps her most well known piece is her “Flute Concertino in D Major” Op. 107, which is listed in the Model Music Curriculum, however her vast repertoire is well worth exploring. She composed piano pieces (solo and duo), Piano Trios, songs, a ballet, an opera and concerto style works. 
 
In her many recital tours, Chaminade would feature programmes entirely made up of her own music. 
 
On the 80th anniversary of her death, we explore her life and most famous piece. Our activity this month explores composition within limitations. 
 
 
Image: Cécile Chaminade 
Originally from en:Wikipedia en:Image:Cecile chaminade.jpg 
Henrici, L. O. Representative Women. Kansas City, Mo.: The Crafters Publishers. 1913 
Original source: What We Hear in Music, Anne S. Faulkner, Victor Talking Machine Co., 1913. 
Yukee logo
Our guest post this month comes from Mark Gordon, composer, founder of Score Draw Music and one of the producers behind Yukee, a new CBeebies show that puts music centre-stage. The programme, which hit TV screens in February, gives its preschool audiences a gentle introduction to musical concepts, and crucially, shows them that music is for everyone. 
 
Here, Mark explains where the idea for the show came from, and how he and his team set about bringing it to life with the help of some talented musicians and educators. Read on to learn more and access the show’s free learning resources… 
J. S. Bach’s St John Passion was first performed on Good Friday, 7th April 1724. This year we celebrate the 300th anniversary of this remarkable work. 
 
Bach is one of the most famous composers of the Baroque era and his work has been celebrated by many notable composers including Mendelssohn. 
 
The Chorale from the first part of St John Passion is recommended in the New Model Music Curriculum. 
 
Taking inspiration from Bach's use of written text, our activity explores some things to consider when writing songs based on poems. 
 
Image: Johann Sebastian Bach (aged 61) in a portrait by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, second version of his 1746 canvas. Bach is holding a copy of the six-part canon BWV 1076. 

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