Introduction

I hope this newsletter finds you well.

We’ve had a really busy few months and so I am very pleased to report a few updates on what we are currently working on in Dalcroze UK.   We are committed to expanding and developing our training programmes and courses as we grow and develop as a charity to serve you, our Members.

More Members than ever are now engaged in debate on our Facebook Page and Private Facebook Group, are coming to the Spring and Summer courses, are enrolled on training courses and are logging on and contributing to the wonderful Zoom Café networking and CPD sessions.  Thank you all for your continued support.

2023 International Summer School

This summer is already very busy with other Dalcroze events, including the Sixth International Conference in Dalcroze Studies in Pittsburgh, however, circumstances have also changed here and very sadly we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel our 2023 International Summer School.  We have not taken this decision lightly but we know, of course, that despite early interest, we cannot guarantee a minimum number of participants.  Having discussed this, we believe that small numbers do not give participants the best Dalcroze experience and consequently feel that this is in the best interests of everyone at this time of financial difficulty for many.

To ensure that we support those training with us first, we have re-arranged the planned examinations and contacted all those who had already booked to refund their fees and discuss the best way for each to take their Dalcroze studies further.  We will now turn to planning our Summer series of Zoom Cafes, with intensive courses and Discover Dalcroze Days to commence in the Autumn.

Trustee News

This year we are delighted to have recruited another new trustee, this time in the role of treasurer.

Fiona Weir is a former accountant who now uses her professional skills for the benefit of the charity sector.  Her previous role was at Growing Well, which is a mental health charity located on an organic farm in Cumbria. She has been co-opted by the Board as our new Treasurer and we are looking forward to working closely with her as we seek to ensure that we have the financial foundations and income generation strategy to grow and develop our services.

AGM 2023

The Dalcroze UK AGM was held on 20th March via Zoom with a strong attendance from trustees and Members.  It was lovely to see everyone virtually. The new trustees were welcomed and voted in, and we received the financial reports and heard plans from the Director of Studies and Director of Projects, Karin Greenhead and Jacqueline Vann, for the coming year.

Intensive Training Courses 2022-23

We have been running a new Foundation course at our Croydon base this year, as well as a second track of students who are studying weekly in West London. The Croydon students are meeting for one weekend a month, while the London-based students have classes every Monday evening. The students are due to complete their exams during May.

The Licence course has also continued into its second year at Croydon and will remain there for its third and final year during 2023 – 24. The students on this course are starting to complete their written work and to take their personal practical exams.

Please contact Sandi at admin@dalcroze.org.uk  if you are interested in completing training at Intermediate level or if you are interested in joining the new Foundation course next year.

Taster Days/Discover Dalcroze

We will continue to run further taster days around the country next academic year, to continue to get the message of the power of Dalcroze out to more people around the country.   At the same time, we are planning to change the format and name of these Taster Days to better reflect the needs of those who we want to reach.

If you have ideas, especially around how to reach more people, and you’d like to be involved in this, please get in touch with Jacqueline Vann.

CPD

We are keen to increase the number of continuing professional development opportunities for members, DE Certificate holders and Intermediate graduates and will be holding more CPD days in 2023-24. The opportunities will be concentrated in Croydon, Birmingham, and Manchester, but could also include Bristol and Scotland if the interest is there. The days will be run by a variety of Diplomees and Licentiates and will be free for Dalcroze UK members.

“Whole-body musicianship in preparation for instrumental learning”

This was the title chosen by the Head of the Wolverhampton Music Service for a tailored CPD session we ran for 50 Wolverhampton and Dudley Music Service teachers in May.  There were two separate sessions on one day delivered by Kaye Barker which were very well received.  We understood that most of the participants would be new to Dalcroze Eurhythmics but we were keen to meet the request from the Head of Service, who felt that his staff would benefit.

Spring Course 2023

The Spring course for 2023 was held from 2nd April to 5th April at the RNCM in Manchester. Teachers included Eugenia Arus, Karin Greenhead, Jacqueline Vann, and Kaye Barker. The course was full with almost forty participants and there was a fantastic atmosphere in all the sessions and around the college. Thank you to all those who taught and participated on the course, and we hope to see as many members as possible for our Spring Course in 2024 which will be at the RNCM in Manchester again.

Finance and Investments

Dalcroze UK is slowly recovering from the pandemic and is balancing the need to consolidate and be cautious in these difficult economic times with the important work of promoting Dalcroze all around the UK and training more teachers to bring the method to more people in the country. We have moved our investment portfolio to one with a less risky profile and will continue to monitor the financial health of the society carefully. In the next six months, we will be making a medium-term financial plan to ensure that we can continue to grow and reach our goals, while remaining financially sustainable.

Partnerships

We are celebrating the completion of our successful new partnership with Music Masters – a charity bringing instrumentalists into the classroom. They run a Music PCGEi in group instrumental teaching in conjunction with Birmingham City University.  The first cohort benefitting from Dalcroze as part of their training completed their course in May and we have been invited to continue this partnership next year.

We are also strengthening and renewing our partnership with ESTA (the European String Teaching Association) and are looking to do the same with EPTA (the European Piano Teaching Association).

Where should we be?

We understand that our training base at Croydon and course in London are convenient for some – but not all – and are very mindful of the considerable distances that some students commit to when they begin intensive training.  Consequently, we are working behind the scenes on finding a new permanent and more centrally-located home and base for our organisation and training and are working to develop partnerships to this end. DO watch out for more news and information coming soon on this!

May I take this opportunity again to thank you again for your continued Membership and support. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all members to write to me on chair@dalcroze.org.uk  or our Development Manager, Christine Wardle on development@dalcroze.org.uk with any suggestions of how we can improve our offerings and services for members or how we could attract new members of the Society.

Many thanks

Kathryn Templeman

Chair of Trustees