Animateur

As an animateur/workshop leader, I have worked with a wide variety of participant groups, for instance:

• Children in mainstream education (primary and secondary)
• Young children and families
• Older adults with additional needs (eg living with dementia)
• Children with special educational needs
• Disabled adults

The aim of the projects is to use inclusive music-making to enable participants to enjoy themselves through increased musical participation and their creative contributions. Through these, participants’ confidence, agency, well-being, etc, is improved. Projects often lead to the creation of songs and pieces which are performed in the final session, or to spontaneous musicking where individuals improvise with each other as well as with professional musicians.

Alongside these projects, I may also lead teacher/staff training sessions.

Example projects

OrchLab is a LPO project in collaboration with Drake Music, providing year-long residences in care homes and centres for disabled adults. Further information: orchlab.org. Below is ths 2023 OrchLab film:

reCreate was an Academy of St Martins in the Fields project which took place in Sydney. Working with young musicians in the Sydney area, we created a new piece in 3 days which was performed at Sydney Opera House. ABC made this documentary about the project.

Create Young Carers Project. One of the target participant groups the charity Create works with is Young Carers. For an online music project during lockdown, we created the soundtrack to this short film.

Little Missenden Festival. A song written by Year 2 at Hyde Heath infant school as part of the Festival’s education project. Marcus Bates (hosepipe), Sarah Robins (Ilimba), Jane Smith (flute), Andrew Melvin (piano), John Webb (conductor).

Young Artist and Musician training

I’m lucky enough to work with Live Music Now mentoring musicians on their scheme and to run Create’s Nurturing Talent programme which works with young artists from various artistic backgrounds developing their skills as workshop leaders. I also work with students at the Royal Academy of Music through their Open Academy department.

Organisations

Over the last 25 years as a freelance composer/animateur I have worked for a large number of organisations. These include:

• Academy of St Martins in the Fields                          
• Britten Sinfonia
• City of London Sinfonia                                              
• Create
• Drake Music   
• English National Opera                                                            
• Hackney Music Development Trust
• Little Missenden Festival                                           
• Live Music Now                                              
• London Philharmonic Orchestra                               
• London Sinfonietta                                         
• London Vegetable Orchestra                                    
• Mid-Wales Music Trust 
• Music in the Round  
• National Children’s Orchestra                               
• National Theatre                                                        
• Operahouse Music Projects                           
• Oxford International Song Festival                                                    
• Royal Academy of Music 
• Royal Central School of Speech and Drama                              
• Royal Opera House                                                    
• Spitalfields Festival                                        
• Sound Connections                                                    
• Wigmore Hall

Photo at top of page: Robert Piwko