Southampton Music Hub’s senior wind band, Southampton Youth Wind Band (SYWB) have been invited to perform at the prestigious Symphony Hall, Birmingham on Friday 5 July 2024.

SYWB have been selected following their performance for the regional Music for Youth Festivals. The band submitted a digital entry performing; Fanfare for The 3rd Planet & Wall of Sound.

Music for Youth mentor Andy Grappy commented on the band’s performance that SYWB play with, “Excitement in your performing” and that, “You play with enthusiasm!”, adding, “You perform with great confidence”. The band’s performance can be viewed below.

Following the regional festivals around the country, a few high caliber performers have been selected to participate in the National Festival, SYWB are thrilled to have been one of those. SYWB percussionist, Reuben, 17, said about this opportunity:

“I’m really excited to perform at such an amazing venue, I know we’ll sound amazing in Symphony Hall. I’m also really looking forward to hearing other groups from around the country.”

The band will now be rehearsing hard to give their very best performance possible. SYWB Musical Director, John Hanchett, spoke about representing Southampton:

“We are so pleased to be celebrating the fantastic work of Southampton Music Service on this national occasion. The band would simply not be able to perform to the standard we do if it wasn’t for the incredible team of teachers and support staff that deliver brilliant music education to schools and colleges across the city. Southampton should be really proud and celebrate the achievement of SYWB!”.

Zoe Hunting, Ensemble Manager, Southampton Music Services:

“The Southampton Music Services are incredibly proud of what SYWB have achieved. The result is very well deserved after all the hard work of every player and director John Hanchett and assistant director Kevin Withell. We wish them all the very best for 5 July which is going to be such an amazing experience for all.”

We wish SYWB all the best, we know you’ll be brilliant!

You can watch SYWB in concert locally when they present their Summer Celebration Concert at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church on Saturday 6th July.

As we approach the festive season it is always a very busy time for the Southampton Music Services ensembles. Almost all of the ensembles have performed over the last few weeks — some more than once.  With many young musicians in more than one ensemble the players have been incredibly busy, as have their parents and carers ensuring they get to the right venue at the right time.

"The standard of playing from our ensembles over the last couple of weeks has been simply incredible.  Many of our youngest players have bravely fought off immense levels of nervousness to give their very first performance outside of their school whilst our more advanced players have given performances professionals would have been proud of. Each and everyone should be congratulated on their achievements. What has come through the most is the enjoyment and enthusiasm for their music making" — Zoe Hunting, Ensemble Manager

Girls Make Music is back again this month with another session to explore music production, recording, songwriting and live events!

Starting on Saturday 4 November 2023, FLOW sessions are back at MAST Music Studio.

Young rappers (or aspiring rappers) ages 11-16 can get support to tighten up their rhymes and improve their flow!

Southampton Music Hub has four exciting — free — music opportunities to share with you as part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) Programme!

1. Girls Make Music: Production Collective — a new, ten week, opportunity for girls aged 11–16 to explore music production, songwriting and live events

2. Music Production Collective — monthly music production group sessions providing space for collaboration between beatmakers, producers and songwriters aged 11-16

3. FLOW — Saturday rap group sessions for 11-16 year olds

4. Share and Shout About New Music — a chance for 13-25 year olds interested in music, social media, music journalism, blogging and live events to be part of a new team who will share new music and music opportunities with other young people

From jazz to Led Zeppelin, Holst to the stage and screen, and everything in-between this concert had it all! Saturday 11th March saw the SYCS Spring Spectacular take place at Thornden Hall. 

Clarinetist Katherine said 'We all relaxed into it and I really think we sound better when we work as a team like that. Mars was the most challenging, having to hit very high notes over a sustained period.

These sentiments were echoed by their conductor Kevin Withell. He said “Mars was absolutely fantastic to conduct but needed significant stamina from the orchestra to sustain all of the dramatic moments.”

This concert was Kevin's last as conductor of SYCS and the evening was a fitting send off with all involved in the orchestra eager to show their appreciation for all his hard work over the past eight and a half years. As Kevin himself said 'it's been a privilege to work with such a great team, and by that I mean a team of 80 young people and staff'.

As 2022 comes to an end, we’re highlighting some of the most memorable moments from the year:

Earlier in the year

Southampton Music Hub ensembles and choirs have been busy performing over the last few weeks.  Performances have taken place across a wide range of venues in Southampton, Hedge End and Chandlers Ford and have been attended friends and family as well as an increasing number of members of the general public.  

"The end of the autumn term is always an exciting time for our groups as they give their first performances of the academic year and get everyone in the mood for the upcoming Festive season.  My huge congratulations goes out to all our young performers and their directors and assistant directors on all of their achievements this term"  Zoe Hunting, Southampton Music Hub Ensemble Manager

The standard of playing has been incredibly high as always, with great commitment, enjoyment and enthusiasm being shown throughout.  This energy and commitment to music making comes through clearly in the thoughts of some of our players:

"The concert was an incredible experience, the repertoire was very fun to play and being on stage with such a talented orchestra was a delight! I am proud of being part of SYCS and really looking forward to future concerts." SYCS member - Violin

'I was really excited and full of adrenalin for my first sycs concert. It lived up to my expectations and more! The concert had a mix of great humour and fantastic music. I'm really looking forward to my tour experience in Feb 2023 to the Midlands.' — SYCS member - clarinet 

Staff are equally proud of the achievements of all the young performers:

'I am extremely proud of the orchestra's achievements this term. They have worked incredibly hard which showed in a programme which truly reflected the SYCS-MAS spirit! This makes me extremely excited for the rest of the season and what the orchestra will deliver next!' Anna Robinson- Director of SYCS 

"On 21st November Acorn musicians did themselves proud in what was, for most of them, their first ever live concert. The ensemble performed a selection of easy pieces highlighting their new skills in playing together and following a conductor. The concert also provided the opportunity for nine of the ensemble to perform a solo piece to their parents and peers. " Chris Nichols - Director, Acorn Strings

Eliza Carthy sat down with FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) members last night to chat about her musical journey, advice for young musicians and her life as a touring artist.

Eliza is mid way though her sell out ‘Queen of the Whirl’ tour, celebrating 30 years as a professional musician; daughter of Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy she truly is folk music royalty, she is also the president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.

FAYE is run in partnership by Southamton Music Hub and FolkActive CIC.

FolkActive director Tom Gregory:

“It’s wonderful do be able to use our connections in the folk world to provide opportunities like this for these young musicians. It’s so exciting to see these young people developing not just as instrumentalists, but as artists within the local folk community. We’d like to thank Eliza for her time and passion for the next generation of folk musicians and also Turner Sims for their continuing support for FAYE.”

Find out about Hub partners FolkActive including FAYE and the Southamton Folk Orchestra:

Check out ‘This is Me"‘, the first track from J Digwa, who has been taking part in FLOW rap sessions with Southampton Music Hub.

FLOW sessions are part of the Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, are free to join, and support young rappers to tighten up their rhythms, sharpen their rhymes, and improve their flow.

On Saturday 16 July Southampton Music Hub brought performances and workshops to Southampton Mela as part of Art Asia’s vibrant celebration of the city’s cultures and creativity.

With performances from Southampton Youth Wind Band, Harmony Junction, and FLOW rap workshops from the DNA Team, the Mela was a celebration of many of the themes of the year at Southampton Music Hub.

Live Music is BACK

Southampton Youth Wind Band played a phenomenal set at the Mela, and they are just one of the hub’s many groups, bands and orchestras who have enjoyed performing live music this year. Since last September, the city and it’s young people have seen an exciting return of live music. We’ve seen performances for schools, at MAST and the community. We’ve seen performances from young people often alongside and supported by incredible established artists and groups, including rappers, orchestras and more.

Co-creation and Partnership

Harmony Junction was a co-created by Southampton Music Hub and Art Asia and is a great example of the way Southampton Music Hub works in partnership with others to help support diverse and authentic expressions of music and music education. From our Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded Rap and Literacy project, to the Proud to Be events, to young people at the heart of the city’s cultural celebrations, this year has been all about partnership, and that will only continue to grow in the future,

Young People Take The Lead

Our freestyle workshop, with freestyle rapper Tenchoo, at the Mela, is a great example of how this year young people have increasingly been taking the lead in shaping the music offer that is available to them. Our DNA programme includes support for young people to find their voice with songwriting and production, and then use that voice to help pick the programme of masterclasses, groups and workshops to help them flourish. Young people are having an increasing voice in shaping the future of music-making and learning in the city.

A Vibrant Local Ecosystem of Music Education

As Southampton Music Hub closes one year, and looks ahead to the next, its clear to see that music education in the city is about to take another huge step forward following the announcement of the new National Plan for Music Education. Part Southampton' Music Hub’s response will be to grow and develop our support of the vibrant local ecosystem of music education which we saw on display at the Mela festival on Saturday. There is real excitement across the city — from schools, education settings, hub partners and beyond — to see music education in the city become more diverse, more inclusive and more accessible to all.

News highlights of the year:

Southampton Music Hub's summer concert season started on Friday 24 June with the Lower Tier Concert which included performances from Brassroots, Acorn Strings, Los Twangolitos, Twango, Bella and Soton Voce, and Boom. This performance gave some of the city's younger performers the opportunity to showcase their incredible talents. This was a wonderful varied evening of music making from the beautiful soothing sounds of the guitar groups through to the energy and drama of the percussion group Boom.

"It has been a wonderful concert with such a variety of music. This concert provides a great experience for our younger groups to to perform to a wider audience" — Zoe Hunting

Monday 27 June saw the start of the hub's week long residency at MAST. Elgar Strings started the week off with a varied programme of dance music as well as some familiar repertoire.

"I was so impressed with how the players of Elgar strings coped with playing at such a prestigious venue. Many would have been completely fazed but not Elgar who buckled down and played to the best of their ability with great character and enthusiasm. I am so proud of what they have achieved this year." — Zoe Hunting, Director, Elgar Strings

The second night at MAST brought Airplay and Fusion Brass together - or as they are now known - Fab Band. With lots of numbers from shows and musicals the groups soon had the audience tapping their feet along to the numbers. This was concert saw the first presentation of the Steph Watkins Cup. Steph started Airplay over 15 years ago. Under her leadership the band got the reputation of performing to a level well beyond their years. Unfortunately Steph lost her battle with battle last year and we were delighted her family have presented Airplay with this cup in Steph's memory which will be awarded annually to an outstanding player from the band. We were very touched that Steph's husband and family were able to join us for this performance.

Wednesday evening at MAST brough a complete change of mood with the hubs two rock bands, Groove Foundation and Groove Merchant performing some rock classics. They were also joined by the Guitar ensemble from Upper Shirley High. Many players in this latter group only started learning the guitar in September it was incredible to hear what they have achieved in such a short time. We were also delighted to welcome Carol Cunio to this concert. A former mayor of Southampton Carol presented the Music Services with a cup to be awarded annually to an outstanding young musician. This year's very worthy recipient was the drummer from Groove Foundation, Joseph Orford.

The week-long performance residency at MAST continued on Thursday 30 July with a stunning concert given by Southampton Youth Wind Band conducted by John Hanchett. John only took the band over in January following the retirement of David and Elaine King after 37 years at the helm. It was delightful to the hear the band still performing to an incredibly high level and displaying a range of techniques through a varied programme of traditional wind band music to more popular well known numbers. Part of the programme included a performance of the incredibly complex Jubilee Overture as performed by the Royal Marines Band at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. With lots of plans for the future - including a tour to Montacatini in July 2023 this is a band going places.

Friday evening was a very different event with Hub partners, FolkActive's Youth Ensemble - FAYE - taking to the stage. Players took the audience through a range of traditional tunes from reels to airs. Some were played by the whole band others by solo instrumentalists. Throughout the group performed from memory. It is quite an undertaking for such young players to perform a whole concert without a single note written down. Audience participation was encouraged by one of the group's leaders Tom Gregory, who literally got everyone dancing in the aisles.

Southampton Youth Brass Band performed at MAST Mayflower theatre in Studio 2 on Saturday 2 July as their final concert of this academic year. Under the direction of new band director Andy Wareham, they played a fantastically wide ranging programme including everything from Shostakovich to classic brass band repertoire with plenty of entertaining pieces and a wonderfully enthusiastic audience of friends and family. Whilst the MAST residency came to an end on 2 July, Southampton Music Hub Concerts continued.

Monday 4 July saw the guitar groups Los Twangolitos and Twango give a "picnic" concert in the courtyard at Cantell School. It had been hoped this would be a relaxing evening of musical entertainment on a warm and sunny evening, The music certainly did it's job with beautiful performances from the groups and individuals throughout. Alas the weather didn't oblige with audience members huddled in cardigans and jackets to keep warm against a strong breeze. Not for one note though did this effect the quality of playing.

Tuesday 5 July saw Fusion Brass give a joint concert with Ocean Brass. With both groups affected by absences due to Covid the show went on. Fusion Brass players were clearly excited and inspired by hearing local amateur band Ocean Brass in concert. Most importantly they were able to hold their own in a joint concert of this quality receiving rapturous applause from the audience and fellow brass players alike.

On Saturday 11 June Southampton Music Hub ran the first of its new music group sessions for children and young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). Young people of all ages attended from Rosewood Free School and Rose Road Association. Led by Ignacio Agrimbau and Oliver Downer, participants were given opportunities to explore the sounds of a variety of traditional hand held percussion alongside the software Clarion, together creating evocative soundscapes.

"It was beautiful to hear how the young people responded to the different starting points provided by Ignacio and Oliver and how they responded to each other to create such atmospheric music. The hub was so grateful to all the support given by staff from Rosewood and Rose Road alongside that of Ignacio and Oliver. We are all looking forward to taking this group forward in the future." — Zoe Hunting, Music Services Manager

On Sunday 6 June young performers from 13 different schools in Southampton came together for a special performance at the Big Platinum Festival in Mayflower Park. They opened the festival to an audience of thousands with a rousing rendition of the hub's own Jubilee song, 'It's Our Jubilee' written by Jo Downs. They then drummed along with Forever Queen to the ever popular 'We Will Rock You'.

Kath Page, Hub Manager, says:

“We are thrilled to be a part of the Jubilee celebrations. This is a brand new festival choir that has been put together specially for this event, but thousands of children have been involved in singing the jubilee song in the run up to the Platinum Jubilee as part of our own Jubilee Celebrations. Huge congratulations to Unity Radio for putting together such a great party!”

One of the young performers says:

“ I can't believe there are so many people here!! It's a bit scary, but I'm so excited to be singing and to have made new friends with people. I'm going to carry on singing after this!”

Southampton Music Hub ensembles, Airplay and Fusion Brass, came together for a weekend of music and team building at Braeside in Wiltshire in the middle of May.

Zoe Hunting, Ensembles Manager at Southampton Music Hub, says:

“It is really lovely to see our ensembles working together and giving Southampton's young musicians such amazing opportunities outside their normal weekly rehearsals.”

Anna Robinson, Director of Airplay, says:

“It was great for Airplay and Fusion to have the opportunity to play together as a band and get to know one another socially. It was enjoyable for all involved, so much so we are now rebranding the joint band with the name F.A.B band (Fusion Airplay Band). I am sure this is going to be the first of many concerts and events Airplay and Fusion unite for.”

Some of the young musicians also shared their experiences:

“The balance between music and socializing was great and the facilities were great too!”

“The food was absolutely glorious and I loved the jacket potatoes.”

‘“It was an unmissable, musical experience.”

“The climbing wall was very fun (and scary!) I also enjoyed Bushcraft.”

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On Saturday 21 May, young musicians from the FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) wowed audiences in St. Lawrence's Church with two gigs as part of the Winchester MayFest. They performed the entire set from memory, which included some smaller group performances and step dancing, led by the wonderful Jo Harmer.

In between gigs the ensemble got to enjoy the sights and sounds of MayFest, where the streets of Winchester are alive with different types of morris dance, sword dancing, clog dancing and Appalachian dancing.

Ensemble director Chris Nichols says:

“FAYE performed superbly on Saturday. Their joy and enthusiasm in both sets was infectious, and they left both audiences smiling and wanting more. I can't wait to get stuck into our final two sessions in preparation for the showcase gig in July.”

On Sunday 22 May the newly formed Music Hub Festival Choir performed at MAST Mayflower Studios’ big birthday bash. The choir performed  'It's Our Jubilee' , the hubs newly commissioned song to celebrate the queen's jubilee. 

The choir was formed of community members and representatives from 14 schools across the city. 

Composer Jo Downs, who also sang in the choir says:

“It was wonderful to see my song coming to life. I loved the inclusion of signing in the performance and I was blown away by the standard of singing after two rehearsals.”

Akindu, one of the singers, says:

“It was really good fun to sing at the concert. I really liked the jubilee song.”

Southampton Youth Brass Band (SYBB) and Southampton Youth Wind Band (SYWB) joined forces at Bitterne Park School for their first concert together in over three years. The programme started with a rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem and the audience were entertained with band repertoire from Glenn Miller to film music from Gladiator, and a poignant moment was Prayer for Ukraine performed by SYWB.

“It's my first term in the wind band and it's been a great experience. I love the music we are doing, and I'm very excited to perform in front of a live audience".” - Josh

John Hanchett, Director of SYWB says:

“It's great to bring two of our top tier ensembles together and see them enjoying live performances again. I'm very proud and excited to share the bands progress and what will they accomplish in the future.”

Thursday 31 March 2022 was a big evening for members of Boom and Airplay, performing at MAST Mayflower Studios. For many of these young performers it was their first concert in such a big venue.

“I was really excited to do my first concert with Airplay. I was a bit nervous but the nerves went away as soon as we performed our first piece.” - Poppy, a new member of Airplay

The ensembles joined forces for one number, the first time they had been able to play together and the concert finished with a rousing performance of Star Wars by Airplay.

Tom Gregory, director of Boom says:

“hey performed brilliantly, what a fantastic first performance. I'm really proud of them.”

On Monday 28 March, Studio Two in MAST Mayflower Studios was treated to a fabulous diverse concert, featuring performances from Bella and Soton Voce, Twango, Los Twangolitos, and Jazz Workshop. The performance included a special arrangement of a Ukrainian Folk Song as performers stood united with Ukraine.

For many of the performers, this was their first concert experience and they played to a sold out audience of supportive friends and family.

Nia Collins, Director for Soton Voce, says:

“What a delight the evening was with such a fantastically eclectic programme which both participants and audience enjoyed!

Alex, a young musician on the night, says:

“It made me really proud to perform on stage. It was really good fun performing in front of people and the crowd went wild. I really enjoy it and love playing with other people. I love having friends outside school.”

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