Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows at Music 4 Youth Harrogate

February 24 2018. The Sparrows are back at St Aidan's, Harrogate for yet another National Festival For Youth Regional Event.

pans in waiting

Our songs this year are 50s, 60s, 80s, Some Enchanted Evening, California Girls and Living on a Prayer. We had planned also to include Tragedy but our playing of it was just that: a tragedy!

It took us a lifetime to arrange Living on a Prayer. I asked Pippa to do the initial groundwork, then she and I ran it through on the Manchester Carnival Saturday night inbetween. This required a coupla cans. After that the Sparrows and I rearranged and rearranged till we were happy with the structure, the intros, the intros, a unison section. There was nothing we didn't mess about with. 

As ever the evening before I took the pans across, unloaded them and left them ready for an easy set up the next day. The upside of having no storage space at present for the six basses is that we don't have to take them to gigs , and this in turn means I can use my own little Transit van for the whole band.

Players were Alice on cello pans, Annie on bass and single second, Claudia on double tenors, Ella on single guitar, Isha on oversize single second,  Kurum on double guitars, Kirsten on soprano and bass, Owen on soprano and bass, Natalie guesting on kit.

Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows play for Music For Youth at Brooksbank School Elland

winning performance 2009

Last year the Sparrows lost their rehearsal space of seventeen years. It was 1999, I was a parent, a teacher, a peri and a governor at City of Leeds so it seemed like a good place to place the band. Based at this school, and with half the band [as it will happen] coming from the school, we won through to the National Festival of Music For Youth in the Birmingham Conservatoire [now that does sound posh!] every year from 2005 to 2010 inclusive, and, as is well known, there we won the overall World Music Award  in 2009 and thus played at the Royal Albert Hall.

Chamberlain Sq 2010

25 players, 19 nationalities

Chamberlain Sq 2006

Royal Albert Hall 2009

marching onto RAH stage 2009

After 2010, despite our standards remaining as high, we never made it through again. We think there are just many more steelbands around, but were disappointed as a whole cohort came and went without the pleasure.







 . . . Although the Music For Youth team did recommend us in 2011 to the Southbank Festival Hall, London to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain and Trinidad All Stars Percussion Orchestra's first UK gig. So not all bad!

Here we played two sets with our two bands [Sparrows and Doves] and then led the other three steelbands in a massed rendition of We Nah Goin' Home. After which the man from Trinidad shook my hand quite a lot and said a lot of nice things.

aerial view of Sparrows 2011 at Festival Hall for Festival of Britain anniversary

leader Trinbago at Festival Hall

So we keep on entering, and different doors keep on opening, especially at Harrogate International Festival, and here we are again, this time at the Halifax Festival which is actually in Elland.

Meantime, City of Leeds has become an academy, and now an award-winning steelband doesn't cut the mustard. We did try another school, but the PFI firm weren't impressed either. It was November before we located the lovely Shire Oak Primary where we have been allowed to take root and flourish.

Cooperative Concert

And then enter the lovely Jess, Ronita and Ellie from the Co-operative Academy [ex-Primrose School], taught by v supportive Mrs Shaw. I taught our three chosen songs at their school, then in the three weeks leading up to Music For Youth, first Bella [from Roundhay], then Annie and Ella and Bella [all from Roundhay] came up to the Coop; Ronita and Ellie got over to Shire Oak.  . . . . .

Meantime, Claudia, not quite finished her run in Romeo and Juliet, comes for one practice, learns the lot; and Millie S, in her last year of "Youth" comes up from Derby Uni, does the same at a Foxwood practice at New Moorsides [thanks Raj for the rehearsal space] while a birthday party decorates the function room around us. Lol.

And on Sunday March 26th 2017, Mothers Day, here we all are at Brooksbank School. We are me and Bex with support from YiBai and Vicky, and parents: Ellie's mum and dad, Alice's dad, Annie's mum, Ella's mum, Owen's mum, Kirsten's mum, Bella's mum.

And here is Hazel and Vicky from Trinity in Halifax where I helped them set up their pans a couple of years back. We lend them YiBai for one number, and they play three songs that I gave them. Just too exciting!

The Sparrows were Georgia, Millie, Claudia, Ronita, Ellie, Alice, Kirsten, Annie, Isha, Ella, Owen. And they were awesome. We played part of Mozart's Symphony Number 40, Sean-Paul and Clean Bandit's Rockabye, and then Wings of a Dove by Prince Buster.

Every song was the best we ever heard them, and we couldn't have been more proud.

The Lovely Teacher Trainees of Huddersfield in Halifax

In the all the excitement that was the London Underground I forgot the blog for Huddersfield and Halifax. So here it is, irritatingly for me, one blog out of sequence and making absolutely no difference to the reader. [Reader, I live in hope!]

In what is optimistically called the spring term half term holiday, I woke up before I normally go to bed, and was in Halifax before I normally get up. Ralph picked me up from the station, and took me up to Trinity.

After the shock of getting up at 5am the workshop was ace. Hazel let me loose on all her pans; the students were to a woman and a man, lovely [thanks to Lucy for dancing], and the biscuits - Garibaldi [say no more!]

I love teaching music graduates, especially those thinking of teaching. They have all the talents and all the skills while still being happy to go back to the beginning: chord, and an other chords, change chords, share out chords with a partner, songs with two chords in, with three, with two chords in one bar [now that's advanced] tunes for a bar, for two bars, what you want to the whole eight bars! A sixteen bar song?

And I met Kevin, who was Head of Service, who looked at me and said, "Music For Youth 2005?". And then he recalled seeing the Sparrows walking on stage at the Birmingham Conservatoire; he was sitting behind the judges; he said you walked with I can only describe an interesting set of teenagers, and you started to play. Words to the effect that the hairs on his arms stood up; the judges in front of him stopped writing and slowly rose their heads. At the end they just said "Wow".

Confidence jumped off the stage and decided to conduct

Thinking back, that was our first year, and was 2006; I think we started, as ever, with something slow and haunting, and it was probably Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet. I asked Kevin if he had any more stories like that. So good for the self-esteem. [Have now looked back through records and that we played Clocks and Swan Lake calypso].

Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows play M4Y and Joanne takes a stand

Well, it's the time I always dreaded: university and other distractions claim half the Sparrows in one go. The others are all in the sixth form and/or have jobs, and can't do every week. Only Milly S is a regular safe hand. Two Year 8s [Kirsten and  Lucy] have joined from Wanda's wonderful Oulton School

Band, and Caitlin from Natalie's City of Leeds class. Sometimes there's only four of them. Then, here's Alice from Allerton Grange; Ashley has a burst of really regular attendance; in November Deangelo newly arrived from Turks and Kakos joins us, and late January Owen appears [still at Oulton Primary but good and bold enough for us]. So, if you count Claudia and Georgia as one player, that's a regular attendance of seven or eight. Then sometimes Millie C pays a flying visit, and we have Yi Bai, me and Bex who can play, and really, it's another fine ensemble. Good enough for Music For Youth.

Bex has arranged Jess Glynne's Hold My Hand; Coldplay's Fix You has been podding along nicely for a while; we add Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head [David/Bacharach] for contrast. Suddenly this half new, half older band is a contender. We are now totally proud and confident to be taking them out.

Then in February racing driver Tube train-driver takes me out [not on the tracks you understand, was thrown across the carriage]! I'm in St Thomas's Hospital, big operation, back up to Leeds in an ambulance, and I had only gone to London for an MU Teachers' Section Meeting!


Next two weeks Bex does the honours on her own, polishes up all those songs, and now we are Harrogate bound. Alice introduces the songs. I handle not setting up or leading the band on stage quite well. But glad to take a bow at the end, not feeling quite so much a guest at my own party.

There was a sour note, which was a bit sad really. We were due to play at about 12.45 as the last act of the morning session. We were determined that the Sparrows should see and support as many of the other ensembles as possible and aim to be there from 11. Georgia even borrows the car so she can bring her three children to watch all the acts. But now I can't drive at the moment and Wanda can't pick me, Deangelo and parent, Sandy up until 11a.m. and we will miss some of them. Turns out four bands don't turn up and everyone else has played by the time Dee and me arrive. Oh well.

Mark announces, "Leeds is here, hope you wait to hear them". Joanne [Sparrows parent] hears an adult from band behind her say, "Why should we, they weren't here to hear us?" Joanne took a stand, and declared that that wasn't a fair comment. I am proud of a feisty Sparrows parent; she was still upset when she told us. I think she would have been more upset if she hadn't put the other person straight.

Then, of course the tuck shop, without which no gig is complete. Mark P at St Aidan's has, as usual, made as feel welcome, and although it a trek to either Harrogate [or Garforth] it's always nice.

The music? Oh yeah, Fix You made me and Gig cry. So proud. Millie S held the melody on her own for two tunes, and the rest of the band kept the mix down in order to accommodate. Yo. New Sparrows - worthy successors.

Owen receives award

Pads watches it over again on ipad

Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows play Music For Youth Birmingham

The night before we were due to hit Birmingham, I took the tickets out for one last check, as you do, and, as only I do, discovered that I had bought eight, and not ten. Did I panic?

 

 

 

 

 

No, I went online and bought another ticket, and I phoned Diane and asked if she would go down in the van with Rick, after all. Then I drove down to the station [luckily five driving minutes away from my house] and collected the extra ticket - just to be sure.

 

 

 We met at the station next morning, panicked briefly at one player's late arrival, all took the 10.15 train, changed at Donnie, arrived Birmingham, set off for the Official High Street Busking Spot. Alas this was being dug up, so not as picturesque as it might have been.

 

We were staff: me [Victoria], Bex, Natalie, Yi Bai, Diane and Sparrows: Chloe, Claudia, Georgia, George, Naomi, Bella. We were down on numbers thanks to work and general A level celebrations, so the pan-playing staff had to stand in and play themselves - not really a sacrifice.

Played the High Street; a lady from Trinidad told us to keep on trying. I didn't tell her that we have been told that we sounded as good as bands as people have heard over there - at the birthplace of pan, nor that we won the overall UK World Music Award in 2009, nor that I personally have been playing for over 3 decades, and Bex and Natalie nearly 2!

 

But today we were doing 20 minutes of classical, pop and swing, with only a little nod to soca. I couldn't tell whether she really didn't think much of us, or whether she didn't really want us to be any good. It happens from time to time. But, at a weak moment, it can be disheartening.

 

After that we packed the van, so the driver could head back to Leeds in plenty of time to unload and get it back to ArtForms for next day's steelpan workshop.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of all hit the Adrian Boult Hall where we saw an inspiring array of high quality bands from all over the UK. Our favourite by a mile was the youngest band from Holy Trinity CE School, London [I see arranged /taught by Chris with whom we shared a Festival Hall stage a few years back].

After that it was the 7.03 from New Street [where we found Bex taking a selfie with pigeon], back to Leeds  briefly to the land of nod, and for some of us another 3 gigs all in one Friday! Madness!

Sparrows at Music For Youth, always good at St Aidan's

It's that time of year again, ten years since our first performance at a regional festival. First time we went to Garforth, then a couple of times to Hemsworth, then St Aidan's where we mostly have stayed, straying briefly to Garforth again last year. After a few times of going in various cars, we settled on taking the train. It's an adventure on tracks.






This year Sparrows are Bella, Claudia, Georgia, Millie, Millie, Chloe, Ashley, Naomi and George. This is the smallest Sparrows we have ever had, but the quality is undimmed! Sadly the change to Thursday practices was a day too far for Peter, but he gave us a wonderful arrangement of Hips Don't Lie. We messed about with it a bit more, and it was, predictably the hit of the set.







As a nod to the BBC's Ten Pieces, we called our set, Five Pieces and launched into a romp through the genres. The Entertainer, Don't it Make it My Brown Eyes Blue, Hips Don't Lie, Morning, In the Hall of the Mountain King.







I started welling up almost immediately, and the audience applause was the longest since Birmingham 2009, which was the year Sparrows won the World Music Award. I think my favourite moment was when Millie C took to the basses for Brown Eyes Blue, holding the music in one hand and playing bass casually one-handedly with the other. And she got a special mention from the mentors [adjudicators] for her bass playing.

Naomi lost Morning so we watched her peer over Claudia's shoulder to read it [see pic below right]. And Chloe and Ashley got over their stage shyness to do dancing for Hips. Georgia hid so well at the back that I have included the pic above of them waiting to play, just so she gets in this blog!

At the Festival I was really pleased to met Emma [and family] who is setting up her own band in Harrogate. And if she were to see the a Sparrows concert, she couldn't have seen a better one.

Here is Bella trying out pan de neck for the first time, but she is on holiday when it the Harrogate Festival so it won't happen yet.



[The best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft a-gley, but I do try!]

To see video clips of our tunes go to our facebook page. Plus I will link them when we get them youtubed.

The Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows is a Leeds ArtForms senior ensemble, with leaders: Victoria Jaquiss and Bex Ainge. Best age to join is between 11 and 14, but up to 17 is still good. Contact Leeds ArtForms if you would like to observe or try out a session. Previous [musical] experience is desirable but not essential.