An integral part of my work as a musician is leading workshops — whether it’s teaching 6-year-old Capulet and Montague gangs, exploring ballets with people living with Parkinson’s Disease, or persuading Royal Academy postgraduates to sing while encumbered by a human crinoline skirt.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is involvement in projects that take music and movement to sectors of the community who might not otherwise have that access. As an Associate Artist with English National Ballet, I co-lead their Dance for Parkinson’s programme with dance artists Roosa Leimu-Brown and Louisa Dalton. We also deliver music and movement workshops as MuMo Creative.
I’ve joined forces with a number of dance artists to create live music sessions in hospitals and homes, and have co-led Dance for Dementia workshops in Henley, sessions for outreach teachers with Scottish Ballet in Glasgow, and People Dancing in De Montfort University, Leicester, and creative workshops for English National Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall and at their studios in the Mulryan Centre of Dance.
MuMo and Community arts company Cohere Arts, collaborated on community opera HerStory, The Catchpole Chronicles, which was developed into a film involving several UK groups. The film was launched in Suffolk and presented at the World Parkinson’s Congress in Barcelona.
Other workshops I’ve led include ‘Make a Musical in a Day’ sessions for Didcot’s Cornerstone Arts Centre; Creation Theatre’s ‘Put on a Musical Play in a Week’ workshops; and ‘Write an Operatic Aria’ for Oxford Opera Company — geared at a range of ages from 6 to 16. Other projects have included sessions for teenagers at the Birmingham Hippodrome, sessions in primary and secondary schools and for a special needs school; and MDing groups at the Pauline Quirke Academy, Stepping Stones Performing Arts, and other performing arts institutions.
DBS checked.
As a member of the Musicians’ Union, I follow MU guidance on fees. Please do drop me a line if you would like to know the current rates.