I do hope you’ve all had an enjoyable summer break and are refreshed and looking forward to another busy year ahead.

Since the announcement of the additional funding from the Welsh Government for CânSing (until March 2012) we have been busy selecting some new material for the Songbank. Many thanks to those of you who got in touch with suggestions, we have done our best to respond to the feedback given and are now in the process of arranging and recording these new tracks and will make them available on the site as soon as possible.

We are also working towards recruiting the new clusters of schools to participate in the training programme. We will be discussing these plans with the local Music Service Providers and Music Curriculum Advisors, so if you would like your school to be involved please contact your local partners and let them know you would like to take part.

Best wishes for a successful and tuneful year!

 

Suzanne Barnes

 Project Manager 

I am delighted to report that Leighton Andrews, Minister for Education and Skills, has agreed support for CânSing into the next academic year. As you know, CânSing has been a pilot project, and this announcement is the culmination of two years of hard work and a bank of evidence that has been gathered from working with teachers across Wales.

The continued support from the Welsh Government is a very positive step for the CânSing programme and ensures that the online resources will remain available until at least March 2012. This investment will enable more schools to receive the full CânSing support package and for many to receive ‘refresher’ training, highlighting new materials and techniques to those who have already participated in the pilot, ensuring momentum is not lost.

We will continue to gather evidence of the success of the programme and use this to help secure a more stable long-term future for CânSing. 

In the meantime, I want to personally congratulate everyone involved in securing this funding.

Best wishes for a lovely and tuneful summer!

 

Suzanne Barnes

CânSing Project Manager

ContinYou Cymru

 

 

 

Young People aged 11-19 from Great Britain and Northern Ireland are being encouraged to register for Next Brit Thing – a major new nationwide music competition. This exiting competition is  backed by the UK music industry and the Welsh and Westminster Governments. The competition is open to 11-19 year olds and entries can be by performers or composers, in any music style. It offers entrants a raft of prizes and opportunities, including support and guidance from professional musicians and songwriters. There will be access to tutorials and resources to help develop skills and explore careers in the creative industries. The Next Brit Thing website, http://www.nextbritthing.com/ is already open for registration. From September, entrants can submit video and audio of their performances, that will be assessed by their peers. The best and most popular will progress to regional finals in November 2011, culminating in a UK final in early 2012.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

hello@nextbritthing.com

Twitter:@nextbritthing

Would you like to add your voice to the thrilling sound of a huge choir, soaring up into the space of one of the world's finest opera houses, singing some of the greatest music ever written, under the baton of an inspiring conductor? Or would you simply love to hear it?

 

Well, now you have the chance - by taking part in Mega Messiah at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Sunday 6 November 2011. This ambitious one-day event assembles a thousand singers, to perform the choruses of Handel’s masterpiece ‘Messiah’, in the magnificent Donald Gordon Theatre. The orchestra and soloists are rising stars from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. The performance is conducted by David Lawrence, one of the UK 's finest choral conductors who appears regularly on BBC Songs of Praise.

 

Tickets are now on sale and can be booked via the Centre box office at wmc.org.uk (tel: 029 2063 6464) where more information about the event is available. Tickets cost £15 for singers, or £12 if you book 10 or more (by phone or in person only). Audience tickets are £10.

 

A rehearsal will be held at 1.30 so you can warm up your voice and prepare for the best performance possible of the most famous piece of choral music in the world. The Mega Messiah performance starts at 6pm. Meal deals are available at the Centre and there will be free entertainment on the Glanfa stage in the break between rehearsal and performance.

Mega Messiah is a great way to launch the Christmas season, and to benefit two great charities. Fairbridge Cymru, part of The Prince’s Trust (fairbridge.org.uk/wales) works with disengaged young people to bring them back into society, and Wales Millennium Centre's Learning and Participation projects (wmc.org.uk/support) bring arts activity to thousands of people around Wales.

 Please pass this on to members of any choirs you’re involved with, or indeed anyone who loves to sing or listen to great music.

 Best wishes

Following this link to see a full copy of the English Evaluation Report for the CânSing project.
 
 

Dilynwch y cyswllt canlynol er mwyn gweld copi llawn o Adroddiad Gwerthusiad project CânSing.

 http://www.continyou.org.uk/cymru_wales/cansing/gwerthusiad_cansing_-_adroddiad_terfynol_gorffennaf_2011 

Many thanks to everyone who took part in our first National CânSing Day on June 21st! Thousands of children and young people took part; we already know that there were events in Conwy, Denbighshire, Wrexham, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Bleanau Gwent, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot and are collating reports from these and other events to share with you all in a special edition of the bulletin which will be issued shortly. Please email your photos, videos & reports to suzanne.barnes@continyou.org.uk  so that we can share your achievements.

We were also very pleased with the coverage we had in the media, in particular items on

 

BBC Radio Cymru (http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b0121lg7/ 19mins in),

BBC Radio Wales (http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b011jw75/ - 37 mins into broadcast) 

S4C news on the programme at 19.30 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/welsh/hi/newsid_9510000/newsid_9519100/9519179.stm).

 

If you are aware of other coverage in the local or national printed press please let us know as we may not be aware of it all, particularly in the local newspapers.

Again, sincere thanks to everyone involved in making National CânSing Day such a massive success, especially our 5 Animateurs. Let's hope it's the first of many!
 
Suzanne Barnes
Project Manager

As many of you know, the CânSing pilot has recently undergone an independent evaluation. The People and Work Unit (PWU) was commissioned to carry out this task, which they did with great enthusiasm and professionalism. The evaluation results are very positive. The PWU found that:

91% of teachers who participated in the training during the pilot indicated that they expected the toolkit to have a positive impact on their teaching and pupils’ learning. Many staff commented on the user-friendliness of thetoolkit.

Approximately 95% agreed that the content of the training was specific to their needs on both training days. The fun and interactive aspect of the training was reported to have had a motivational effect on staff.

90% of survey respondents said that they were more confident in delivering singing activities. The evaluation states that there is ‘strong evidence of its effectiveness and popularity with both schools and children and young people within the programme; there is therefore a strong case for maintaining the programme.’

We are delighted with these results, and they confirm what we, as the team delivering the programme, have seen throughout the pilot. We have used the evaluation as the basis for our proposal to The Department for Education and Skills to continue CânSing beyond the pilot. We eagerly await the Minister’s decision, which we are expecting shortly. We will, of course, make an announcement as soon as possible, but for now watch this space…

In the meantime, we are holding our first National CânSing Day on Tuesday, 21 June. Schools involved in the CânSing pilot are invited to celebrate their achievements on this day. Schools across Wales will be bringing pupils together and uniting voices, by using the  CânSing resources. We are delighted that so many schools are taking up this opportunity to celebrate their achievements with CânSing. It demonstrates the success of the pilot, and we are confident that the experience will have a lasting impression on both teachers and children, and will encourage them to use their voices today and well into the future.

We hope that National CânSing Day will become an annual event that enables schools to showcase their success.

For more information about CânSing, or to find out about local celebrations, please email suzanne.barnes@continyou.org.uk.

 

 

National CânSing Day - Tuesday 21 June 2011

 All schools who've participated in the CânSing pilot are being invited to participate in a day of celebration.

National CânSing Day will be held on Tuesday 21 June 2011 – to coincide with World Music Day! Schools who have participated in the programme will receive an e-pack of brand new materials including new songs, support materials, warm-ups, posters, etc and much more.

Also, we would like to encourage all schools to organise events to celebrate their involvement in the programme. Schools have already had discussions about how they might develop these plans including everything from individual class sessions to larger cluster or local authority events.

The five CânSing Animateurs are available on the day to work with local authorities on request. Please note that these will be agreed on a first come, first served basis so please submit your requests by email without delay (suzanne.barnes@continyou.org.uk) to avoid disappointment.

We hope to arrange press coverage for the various events – possibly including radio and TV broadcasts – again, if you would be interested in hosting something of this nature please notify me as soon as possible.

I look forward to hearing about all your imaginative ways to celebrate CânSing!

With best wishes

 Suzanne Barnes
CânSing Project Manager

Latest News

As you are aware, CânSing is a pilot project, and we have commissioned the People and Work Unit to evaluate the programme and assess the impact it has made. Any further funding from the Welsh Assembly Government to roll out the programme across Wales will depend on the results of this independent evaluation and therefore your involvement is vital.

Please follow the link below and complete the survey online as soon as possible:

Online survey for school staff (such as teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and deputy headteachers) ENGLISH language: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5JYMKRX

Online survey for schools staff (such as teachers, teachering assistants, headteachers and deputy headteachers) WELSHlanguage: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8MLLLVG

Online survey for local authorities (such as LA co-ordinators, Music Service leads) ENGLISH language: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8DS3JTG

Online survey for local authorities (such as LA co-ordinators, Music Service leads) WELSH language: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LLLJJPX

Many thanks

 

Suzanne Barnes

CânSing Project Manager