CELEBRATING MUSICAL TALENT IN PORTSMOUTH SCHOOLS

On 5 July the Wedgewood Rooms were filled with the sounds of aspiring young rock bands from Portsmouth schools and colleges.

'Rock the Rooms' is an annual gig which gives pupils an opportunity to showcase their performing skills in a professional venue. Bands from King Richard School, Portsmouth College and Portsmouth Grammar School took to the stage, as well as Portsmouth Music Hub's senior rock band, The Warriors.

There was a fantastic range of music, from 'Hotel California' by The Eagles to 'The Sky is A Neighbourhood' by the Foo Fighters. Some bands displayed their versatility by performing medleys combining multiple songs in creative ways, and others performed original songs written by the band members themselves.

Portsmouth Music Hub runs three rock bands from beginner to advanced which rehearse weekly during term time. To find out more visit www.portsmouthmusichub.org/ensembles

PORTSMOUTH MUSIC HUB CELEBRATES NHS 70

On Thursday 5 July 2018 the NHS turned 70, and Portsmouth Music Hub celebrated the occasion by training a further 500 pupils in the lifesaving skill of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) using their award winning publication, 'It's CPR'.

With five original songs that explain step by step how to perform CPR, written at the speed that is necessary for giving chest compressions - 100-120 beats per minute - 'It's CPR' has been used to train thousands of pupils in Portsmouth and beyond. Songs such as 'Keep That Heartbeat' and 'CPR Rap' are fun, catchy and memorable, reinforcing the facts about what to do in an emergency and providing pupils with a simple way of ensuring that chest compressions are performed at the appropriate rate.

Under the guidance of the CPR Team, pupils at Copnor Primary and Cottage Grove Primary enjoyed singing the songs, practising their CPR skills on dummies and performing chest compressions in time with the music.

Sue Beckett, CEO of Portsmouth Music Hub, said “We are delighted that thousands of young people have been trained this term using the nationally acclaimed award-winning songs from 'Its CPR'. Huge thanks to our fantastic training team but most of all, congratulations to the young people for their determination, concentration and enthusiasm in learning life-saving skills.”

Those Summer Nights....

SUMMER TERM PERFORMANCE EVENING

On Thursday 14 June pupils from schools across Portsmouth came together to perform in the Portsmouth Music Hub Summer Performance Evening.

From trumpet to ukulele, piano to singing, a huge variety of solo and group performances delighted the assembled audience of family and friends.

The Performance Evenings are held every term and provide an excellent forum for young musicians to celebrate their progress and develop their performance skills.

FREEDOM TRAIN

International Make Music Day was celebrated on 21 June when over one hundred children from local schools joined together to form a massed choir, performing spirituals and gospel songs in a special concert at St. Mary's Church in Portsmouth.

Involving pupils from Milton Park Primary School, Wimborne Junior School and Weyford Nursery and Primary School, the event was presented in partnership with Portsmouth Festivities, which this year celebrated the theme of freedom to mark the centenary of women's suffrage and the hundredth birthday of Nelson Mandela.

As well as the massed choir performing songs such as 'The Gospel Train' and 'Wade in the Water' with a live band, the concert included solo songs from each school as well as readings and poems on the theme of freedom.

Kate Barrett from Portsmouth Music Hub, who conducted the choir, said "It is so important for children to understand and respect the freedoms they enjoy - freedom of choice, freedom of belief, freedom to be themselves - but also to know that with freedom comes responsibility. Learning the words to these songs, and a little about the history behind them, has enabled us all to understand more about our freedoms and how hard people have fought for them throughout history."

All About The Song

Our Hub Partner, the Urban Vocal Group, in partnership with the Wedgewood Rooms and Portsmouth Festivities, are co-hosting this years 'All About the Song'; a competition for local songwriters aged 13 - 25 with the winner receiving £600 worth of prizes. 

For further information please visit: https://theuvg.co.uk/all-about-the-song/

Out of this World

On Monday 29 March Primary-aged children from schools across Portsmouth went on a galactic journey at Portsmouth's Guildhall for a very special concert of interstellar music and entertainment.

The children were there to take part in Space-scape, a musical all about the planets, comets, shooting stars and the universe beyond.

The stage was packed with hundreds of young singers dressed in every conceivable costume, which included astronauts and aliens, rockets and stars, there was even a young performer ambitiously dressed as the International Space Station!

Space-scape is one in a series of songbooks which has been composed to support the teaching curriculum in schools. Like all Portsmouth Music Hub publications Space-scape has been created with children in mind; inspiring their imaginations and nurturing their passion for music.

The Portsmouth Music Hub Band was there to support the show and hundreds of parents and family members joined the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Portsmouth for two hours of live music that was 'out of this world'. The concert included the children's favourite songs Big Bang Planet, Through the Black Hole and Moon Rock Boogie, which had members of the audience dancing in the aisles.

Sue Beckett, CEO of Portsmouth Music Hub, who conducted the show said afterwards: "The children have been rehearsing for weeks and tonight was the culmination of all their hard work. Space-scape really has inspired the children, not only have they all come dressed in the most amazing costumes, but the performances have been excellent. The teachers and parents should be very proud of all the young performers who took to the stage to give us all such a wonderful night of music and entertainment. If anyone was in any doubt about Portsmouth's cultural future then Space-scape has shown us all that an enthusiastic new generation of young performers are more than ready to take to the stage."

Infant Voices Festival

On Tuesday 20 March thousands of proud parents and family members filled the Kings Theatre in Southsea to see the culmination of the week-long Infant Voices Festival.

The festival brings together primary schools from across the city for a week of musical education and rehearsals, and more than 500 infant children took to the Kings Theatre stage to perform the culmination of their weeks work, with a concert packed with songs taken from Portsmouth Music Hub's recently composed songbook 'My Dream Job'.

The songbook, created by the award-winning team of composers from the Music Hub, is all about the jobs that we all imagined we would do when we grew up.

The young children sang about becoming firefighters, vets and footballers, but it wasn't just the traditional careers, the evening included songs about becoming website developers, paramedics and band members.

The children came dressed in their favourite costumes, and the stage was full of firefighters, doctors and nurses, even Harry Potter made an appearance!

Sue Beckett, CEO of Portsmouth Music Hub was one of the conductors on the night, she said: "It's been a heart-melting night of wonderful music performed by our very young performers. The Infant Voices Festival is a wonderful occasion, and I congratulate all the primary schools, the teachers and the hundreds of children for all their hard work, and for making it such an amazing concert. I defy anyone not to be both impressed and moved by the children's enthusiasm and excitement. They represent the future of our city, and seeing so much creativity on stage, we can rest assured that Portsmouth's cultural future is in safe hands."

Hub Wins Top Award

On Wednesday 14 March at a special ceremony in Winchester Portsmouth Music Hub received the High Sheriff of Hampshire's Award for its music education publication called It's CPR.

The songbook has been created to teach primary-aged children Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and it brings together music and medicine to teach children the skills they might one day need to help save a life.

All the songs meet the medical standards required to implement CPR, and they have been written at the speed of 100 - 120 beats per minute which is the speed for giving chest compressions. Heartbeats Heroes, The Defibrillator Song and The CPR Rap are just some of the songs which are inspiring children, and it's the combination of words, music and actions that has produced such a positive response from teachers, children and their parents.

In the past year the songbook has been enjoyed by thousands of children in Portsmouth and recently other Music Hubs have started to teach the songs to children in their areas. The songbook is fast becoming a teaching tool which is used around the country.

Speaking at the Awards Ceremony on Wednesday Sue Beckett, Chief Executive of Portsmouth Music Hub said: "From the start our goal was to develop a songbook that had real appeal for children, that's always been the benchmark for the work we do and for all the songbooks we've composed in the past. However, It's CPR is different, it still has the music and lyrics that children enjoy, it's still engaging and exciting, but we've deliberately developed a songbook that has an important key message. It's a songbook that can change lives, a songbook with a social agenda, and we believe that developing cultural initiatives that impact on the wider community is part of our job; it's not just about creativity for its own sake, it can be about influencing and improving the world around us."

The Awards Ceremony, which took place in Winchester Great Hall, recognises the work of individuals and groups in Hampshire that make a difference to the wider society.

The High Sheriff, Mary Montagu-Scott, speaking after the Awards Ceremony, said: “The Awards Ceremony was a truly enjoyable occasion and I am delighted to recognise the inspirational work of Portsmouth Music Hub in teaching young people across Hampshire these vital life-saving skills through music education. The Hub provides a resource that both children and adults can use to save lives, which can make a valuable difference not only to the residents of Hampshire but much further afield. I congratulate Portsmouth Music Hub for their contribution in making Hampshire a safer place to live, keep up your fantastic work”

Soundsational!

Young people from schools, academies and colleges from across Portsmouth took part in a production of Soundsational at Portsmouth's Guildhall on Wednesday 14 March.

The cabaret-style annual event gives young performers from all over the city the chance to show off their creative skills. The evening included performances from Charter Academy, Priory School, King Richard School, Mayfield School, Havant and South Downs College, Springfield School, Trafalgar School, Admiral Lord Nelson School, St. Edmunds Catholic School and Portsmouth College.

The large cast had been rehearsing for weeks, and on the night hundreds of proud parents and members of the public were treated to a wide range of world-famous music, including hits from Adele, the Artic Monkeys and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Parys Reid, aged 15, from Portsmouth Music Hub's own Rock Band 'The Warriors' composed and performed 'Waste of Time', which was followed by the Band playing Blondie's hit 'Call Me'.

Children from Admiral Lord Nelson School performed songs from the hit musical 'Matilda', and the audience were given rousing renditions of 'The Smell of Rebellion' and a firm favourite with the audience and all the young performers 'Revolting Children'.

Catherine Brentnall from Portsmouth Music Hub said: "It's been a fantastic evening of singing, dancing, and performing live music, and all those who have come along to support the young cast have had the chance to experience a night of really high-quality music and entertainment. The young people in our city really do bring the stage to life with their enthusiasm and commitment, and the energy they bring to their performances is unforgettable."