Coop Steel play Coop Winter concert

Over the last decade I have been a peri at the Primrose/Cooperative School/Academy, been acting Head of Music during a maternity leave, and been the part-time second music teacher. And on a regular basis the Sparrows have played the Awards Evenings and International Days.





And each time I look at the set of pans that Xanthe bought for the school with our help from the Music Service help nearly twenty years ago. And give them a little stroke of love and hope.







Now with the arrival of Sharleen pans, and hope, are back on the agenda. Yippee!

excitement in my back room

We had the pans tuned in September. Grafton and I went to the school one Friday evening: G tuned the basses and guitars on the spot. I took the seconds and soprano pan home where Grafton tuned the soprano, but, in the excitement of doing StClair and Melvin's pans, we missed the double seconds.

Carrying one half, trolleying the other

I took these to London in the van when the Sparrows played St Paul's, gave them to Grafton, then he brought them to Kings Cross when I went down to an NUT meeting and staggered back to Leeds with them on the train - to the surprise of my union colleagues.

Awards Evening 2014

Awards Evening 2015

International Day 2015

All these efforts were more than rewarded by the arrival of Ellie, Ronita and Jess on the scene. They started learning on September the 19th and played the winter concert on December 14th. We performed as a quintet: me on the tune, the girls on chords and bass and Ben on kit. All I can say is power and accuracy. What a team!

I teach steelpans through Leeds ArtForms Music Service where I am

Steel Pan Development Officer and Head of Steelpans

Leeds Pan Central Rock the Co-operative Academy

Well the days are long gone that you could call for the kids you want, jump in the minibus and go downtown. You can't even book them in advance not unless it's the Town Hall, and even then I usually only now get them for the show itself, not the morning rehearsal.

My latest letter to the paper [on sister blog]:

http://victoriajaquissmusiceducator.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/music-raises-exam-results-good-but-not.html]


enumerates, and not for the first time, all the great great benefits that music, playing music, playing well enough to play in public, confers on a human being. . . . . . .

Well, cutting this long one short, we are me [Victoria], Yi Bai, Georgia and Joyce. Next up is Chloe [flute player and singer] who has played four times in her life so far, and never the songs we are about to take on. Then the three amazing Czech boys from the Co-operative Academy [Primrose High School as was]. I checked out the Czechs the day before; yes, Nicolas can drum calypso; yes Adrian can change chords by ear, and on the day here is Timi, who with some heavy guidance can hit the bass note on cue. And then, just as you thought this was a already proper band, I spot Gavin before he spots me!
It was a trip down Memory Lane. There's Richard, Nadia, Jacky, Marie, Diane for a start.

The whole show is about what makes Britain great, and it's its many different cultures. The break-your-heart act was the Slovenian choir with the girl lead/soloist [with Timi accompanying on piano! Now that's what I call live music]. Because I don't which school students, if any have parental permission to be on this blog, we tried pics with players leaning at silly angles, or turned round.