Partnerships

Shireland CBSO Academy

After nearly two years of networking and planning we were thrilled (after being daunted for a little time) to have delivered the first ever Dalcroze Focus Day at the only state school in the UK to be partnered with an orchestra.  The Shireland CBSO Academy in West Bromwich, opened with its first intake of 150 Year 7s in September 2023.  The students do not necessarily have any music background, but they all learn an instrument as part of the core curriculum and the CBSO visit regularly to deliver workshops and performances.  We met the Director of Music, Dave Harris and were asked if we could take over one of their Focus Days.  Read Jacqueline Vann’s report to find out how it went!

Warwick School

The challenge was to find a venue outside London where we could deliver Intensive Training courses – starting with a new Foundation Course in September 2024.  We found willing hosts in the Midlands at Warwick School.  This is an independent Foundation School with an emphasis on music excellence.  There are five separate schools for children from aged 3 to 16 taught across a 55-acre Campus in Warwick which is home to some 2,600 pupils:

The School already has partnerships with the Orchestra of the Swan, Warwick Singing Town and two schools for children with additional needs.

In addition to the opportunity to work with these partners, and of course the stunning music facilities, what we really liked was the warm welcome from the Foundation Principal, Richard Nicholson and the Executive Lead for Music, Stuart Thompson.  A former chorister at Southwell Minster, Richard Nicholson was a Music Scholar at Denstone College before being elected as Organ Scholar at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he read Music.  Stuart was previously Deputy Head at Loughborough High School, studied church music at the RAM and was Director of Music for the Diocese of Leeds for 9 years.

Both are very keen to be able to call us partners and to have access to Dalcroze Eurhythmics for their pupils and activities.  They certainly have the space we need and we hope the School will prove to be an attractive alternative to training in London.

Look out for dates on the website and on our Facebook page.

 

Celebrate the Legacy of Dalcroze in the UK

Photo courtesy of Sadlers Wells Catering

You are invited!

We are delighted to invite all Members, Honorary Members and friends to a celebration of the Legacy of Dalcroze in the UK at a Reception on Friday 13th September, from 3-5pm at Sadlers Wells in central London.  We would really love to see as many of you as possible – perhaps the first time we’ve got together in this way for at least ten years.

You will be treated to a presentation by Dr John Habron-James and a Plastique Animée specially devised for the occasion by Mary Price-O’Connor and Kaye Barker.

John is the holder of the Dalcroze UK 2024 Ingham Memorial Award in recognition of his work as Dalcroze UK archivist.   He will be presenting his project on Narratives of Music and Movement: The Voices of Dalcroze Students in Britain, 1945-1960.

Mary started her MA Dance Research for Professional Practitioners at the Rambert School in the Autumn of 2022.  Her research is investigating and recontextualising the embodiment of music through and in movement (Plastique Animée) using somatic approaches.

Percy and Ethel Ingham founded the LSDE in 1913. Its graduates went on to spread the Dalcroze method throughout the world. The school ceased to operate as a separate organisation in 1955 and the Dalcroze Society UK has supported Dalcroze training in the UK ever since. Percy Ingham is in this photograph, right, with Emile Jaques-Dalcroze at the piano.

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What has Legacy got to do with it?

Gifts in Wills are the reason why Dalcroze UK has been able to continue providing Intensive Training courses and Membership Services since its inception over 100 years ago.  Legacies represent the only income the Society has and they subsidise training and courses, which always cost more than we can charge in fees.

With a new financial strategy for 2024, we’ve put the two together so those Dalcroze pioneers and teachers have wanted to ensure their work and inspiration will continue for generations to come are recognised through funds which support Intensive Training, support for bursaries, for children’s demonstration classes and for study in Geneva.

Please come and celebrate the Legacy of Dalcroze in the UK with us in September.  We’ll send you an invitation by email but in the meantime, please let us know if there is anyone important to Dalcroze in the UK you think we should be inviting.