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. 
 
To contribute as a guest writer please email Maria@music-workshop.co.uk 
A photograph of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor seated looking at the camera.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is a composer whose popularity has grown and receded many times since he achieved fame with his trilogy of cantatas The Song of Hiawatha, which premiered in 1898. The Model Music Curriculum suggests listening to his Symphonic Variations on an African Air and possibly learning to sing the main melody, but this could also be a good introduction to starting to read a musical score. 
 
British musicologist Herbert Antcliffe commented: "To those who really wish to know Coleridge-Taylor... no single work of his will reveal him more fully." Here, we explore the work and the man behind the music. 
Photo: Adrian Pingstone, used under Creative Commons licence 
This month the Music Workshop Company’s Artistic Director, Maria Thomas, reports back from two key music events – the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Music Education and the UK Music Summer Party. Both are key for highlighting to MPs the great work of the music industry and the importance of music education. 
This month, we introduce Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with a focus on his popular serenade, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Mozart’s talents gained him a reputation as a world-class musician during his lifetime, and he is still today regarded as one of the foremost composers not just of the Classical era, but of all time. 
 
Although he only lived to be 35, Mozart was a prolific composer, producing hundreds of works across multiple genres, many of which remain in the repertoire today. But of course, one of his best-known works, which was completed towards the end of his life, on 10 August 1787, is Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. The piece is not only a staple of the classical repertoire, but it has been used for decades in popular culture – from film to advertising – making it one of the most instantly recognised classical works today. 
 
This month, singing specialist Olivia Sparkhall shares her top tips for helping young singers look after their voices. It’s a topic that Olivia has developed a wealth of expertise in as a choir trainer, an award-winning choral conductor and as a secondary school music teacher for over 20 years.  
 
With her new book, A Young Person’s Guide To Vocal Health, available now, Olivia reveals some key advice – and dispels some myths – to help teachers support their students to stay healthy and get the best from their voices. 
It’s been 400 years since his death on 4 July 1623, but the composer William Byrd’s music is still a staple of religious services today. With an enormous output that ranged from simple choral pieces to complex exhibitions of polyphony, Byrd’s music was intrinsically linked to his own Catholic faith and to the Protestant religion that dominated during his life. We look at the impact of his work for his peers, and at the legacy he left for music lovers today. 
Back in 2016, the London Music Fund blogged for us about some of the opportunities the charity provides for young people in the capital to fulfil their musical potential. This month, we caught up with Georgina Skinner, the charity’s Programmes Manager, about their inspiring work helping young people access high quality music education, and the impact this work has had. 
Designed and created by it'seeze
Our site uses cookies. For more information, see our cookie policy. Accept cookies and close
Reject cookies Manage settings