| November 2003 -
About the 'Sounding Out' Weekend, part of the Local Motion and the Engine
Shed Project
The Sounding Out music composition weekend held at the Royal British Legion in October "was a resounding success" said Jacqueline Thomas, Arts Development Officer, for the Engine Shed Project. "We had a sunny day on Saturday, with sparkling water and over 30 people taking part in a variety of workshops, and likewise on Sunday." On Saturday, participants were asked to form small groups and taken on field trips by 5 workshop leaders. A sound walk in Wivenhoe woods led to the creation of a mesmerising soundscape using found instruments and leaves, acorns and a robin's song. By combining natural sounds and breathing exercises, this group managed not only to recall the sound of a walk in the woods but they also captured the purity of the experience with utter simplicity and musicality. The piece was amplified through microphones and relayed through a digital loop. Hearing the resulting piece of music I realised that for me, a walk in the woods would never sound the same again. Something even more active went on at the St. John Ambulance Hall. Mish Kelly coached her group through the use of aikido sticks for a combination of slowed down martial arts and sexed up morris dancing. Billed by Mish as a bit like stomp, a bit like percuss-anything, this group came up with a bunch of rhythm and brooms which got everyone moving. Tony Woodley and Michele Claiborne moved a marvellous collection of drums upstairs at the Royal British Legion for a Drum workshop. Dragon drums, congas, bongos, a talking drum, bodhrums and lots of other fun things to bang together were used in a percussive evocation of turning leaves in Autumn. Special mention is due to Michele, who undertook all this physicality, despite suffering from a severe slipped disc. Downstairs at Royal British Legion, Philip Shephard from the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, got a group of electric guitars and voices to work on using "October Sonnet" by Carol Holding as a rock lyric. Carol had written the poem as part of the September Creative Arts open day. The combination of Amanda and Vanessa's voices was surprisingly Bjork-like. Contributions from a workshop run by Julia Usher and Lola Barnes at Stuart Pawsey Court had earlier yielded a song about memories of the river. This song, "Where the river flows", was the source of a composition for a harmonic voices workshop led by Julia Usher. The piece also combined a dockside "call to work" and a litany of shipwright's tools, which took its inspiration from the display of boat building tools in the Nottage Institute. By adding snatches of overheard conversation and gossip, this group was able to create a musical impression of the voices of all those who have walked alongside the river. The "call and response" exercise proposed by Philip came up with some hilarious ideas, which had everyone whooping with giggles. We were also able to look back at some of the work done during the September 13th Open Day through a showing of the video compilation put together by the Bury My Heart trio. Sunday was about pulling all the work together into a cohesive whole. There was music one minute and loud peals of laughter. Enthusiasm broke out into a post-lunch jam, which took hold of the whole group. It was an unstoppable moment of exuberance and it certainly drew in the crowds; we started the afternoon with three extra, extra small recruits. Through Philip Sheppard's careful direction the momentum creative effort was maintained. Along with two other Academy musicians, Helen Shillito and the irrepressible funster, Steve Tees we were able to draw on some amazing music making expertise." Special thanks are due to the ladies who did lunch on both days- Pat Smith, Jeannie Coverley; Pat Green; Barbara Telfer and Hazel Laurence. For Pictures click here AIMS of
the October Sounding Out
Weekend The piece of music created will be performed at the Academy's Playing Out concert on November 29th 7.30pm at Charter Hall. (Note: For performers, there are two rehearsal dates arranged. Tuesday November 25th at YMCA 7.30-9pm and Saturday November 29th at Charter Hall from 10am. The concert will start at 7.30 but performers will need to be there at 7.15pm latest.) Future Arts Activity Jacqueline Thomas, Engine Shed Arts Development Officer Tel. 01206 826930 |
Thanks: For this series of events, the Engine Shed Project would like to thank: * Julia Usher and her
team from
Arts Action East |
| For more information about about Local Motion, Sounding Out, the Creative Arts Fun weekend and the Engine Shed Project click here or call Jacqueline Thomas, Arts Development Officer, the Engine Shed Project Tel: 01206 826930 |