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ProjectsThis page details our current and past projects. Current Projects:
See the DAV page by clicking in the navigation bar above! The R Factor
The R Factor is a fantastic new Cumbrian talent quest open to every primary school in the county. The competition features Resource Cumbria’s search for song that will encourage Cumbrian people to reduce, reuse and recycle. Resource Cumbria have teamed up with local music charity MusicLinks and also all 4 local radio stations – Lakeland Radio, CFM, The Bay and Abbey FM – to deliver this quite unique countywide competition. The R factor offers a unique opportunity for the children of Cumbria to express their musical talents to a team of judges just like on the “X Factor”. And not only that but also be in with a chance to be aired on local radio, and encourage thousands of people to reduce, reuse and recycle. Past Projects:
Over three years working in partnership with the National Trust and The Lake District National Park Authority, MusicLinks worked with schools and community groups learning about the national park and finding new ways of interpreting the things we found there. During these sessions we got to learn about instrument making leading to the construction of an outdoor music classroom in Fellfoot Park. We also explored wildlife sanctuaries and learnt about birdwatching and charcoal firing. The resulting experiences formed the basis of new compositions and artworks. The young people particularly enjoyed the ceramic montages we made and used as graphic scores.
Cumbrio
The Cumbrio Touring Network was developed in partnership with Generator North East and coordinated locally by MusicLinks. The network provides bursaries for local promoters in six venues around cumbria. The network supports original music made by local bands and has been running successfully for over five years. Cumbrio has helped raise the profile of local music and has had some tangible success. Local bands have travelled down to the In The City festival in Manchester and have gone on to sign deals with major labels. There have also been a number of young promoters inspired along the way.
Seven bands recorded new material during the demo bus project: The Human Abstract, The Berlinners, Dangerous Cargo, Zenith, Easy Dub, Resounding Zero (aka Songs of Praise) and Calefaction. We were impressed with the talent and professional approach of the bands involved. The resulting sessions were compiled onto a CD and have been made available through the MusicShare distribution network. All the bands performed confidently to an appreciative audience at the gig marking the end of the project.
MusicShare
MusicLinks in partnership with The County Library Service devised and coordinated the MusicShare project. The Music Share project aimed to increase the audience for original music made by local bands and musicians of all ages, by creating a local MusicShare section in county and school libraries. CDs are still distributed through scheme, and should be of good quality, jewel cased, with a professional style cover and on-body artwork.
CWOTE
CWOTE offered people living in rural areas the chance to discover and celebrate local history, and to reaffirm their sense of community and cultural identity. Participants drew information from local history archives and reference books, recorded oral histories and increased their understanding of the challenges rural communities have faced both in the past and today. We worked alongside local historians and other experts, as well as interested villagers who helped us to carry out the initial research and gain a clear picture of the villages as they once were. Research was assisted through the creation of a local history research guide offering advice on oral history methods and Internet research and commissioned a booklet entitled Exploring the History of your Community for the project. We also developed a module with the OCN, Researching Local History, which can now be used by others to offer OCN accreditation in this subject. We met with a number of interested, helpful and noteworthy people in each village, and held meetings with relevant committees. Along with the preliminary research and information, we gathered oral histories and daily journals from young people, and older members of the local community. We also regularly checked the local press to uncover any contemporary issues we may have missed. As a result of this work we have learned of, and subsequently looked to assist, the successful campaign for a new village shop in Witherslack.
We realised early on in the the project that we needed to give people a creative focus and an idea of the type of show we are looking to produce. It was agreed with participants that Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas could be adapted to tell the story of A Day in the Life of a Lakeland Village, and that this would be an ideal starting point for the composition process. We used research gathered to help young people focus the composition process and to source traditional Westmorland songs. We also used environmental field recordings and music from around the world in order to help bring local sounds into the compositions and to learn from different cultures about their responses to comparable challenges. A number of our workshop leaders are experienced song-writers in their own right, and we have benefited from the knowledge they have brought to the project. We used improvisation as the primary composition tool, using methods such as grid-scoring and rhyming/song games to create original pieces We have worked with village schools which draw – or drew – students from a wide catchment area. Children from Lowick and Satterthwaite now go to Penny Bridge School and young people who live in the Lyth Valley area regularly attend Crosthwaite Primary, Witherslack Youth Club, Levens Primary School or local secondary’s in Kendal, Grange, Milnthorpe and Ulverston.
Support for CWOTE has been sought through a broader range of schools, village halls, youth clubs and community groups than we originally anticipated. This has allowed us to forge links with children from a range of schools in the South Lakeland area. We ran regular Bright Sparks workshops in Levens, Penny Bridge, Hawkshead and Arnside and MATCHBOX sessions in Witherslack. These were welcomed by the local communities. To listen to some samples taken from the Oral History recordings that were conducted for CWOTE click
For a full list of MusicLinks past projects or to learn more about our current work, please feel free to contact us directly on:01539 742626 |
Partner Organisations       
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