All you need is Love! - Mdmt.org.uk

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Their music was greatly appreciated by all as the applause and cheers showed. Our two ... All you need is Love! ... girls' choir, cello and piano which we hope to.
friends of the Newsletter 9 | July 2007

Welcome to our summer newsletter. We are pleased to bring you news from Kenya of our two music volunteers, who are working together to present the musical ‘Oliver!’ in July, alongside details of recent and forthcoming fund-raising activities, information about our brand-new website and reports on how your valuable donations are being used. Thank you as always for your continued support of Martyn’s Trust. Stephanie Donaldson Friends Co-ordinator

New MDMT Website up and running! Trustee Chris Brown has been hard at work re-designing our Trust website in the last few months. The new site not only features our new logo, but also has lots of information about the Trust, our aims and our events (and there’s more to be added!) and even an electronic signup page for new Friends!

Please do have a look and pass the address on to any of your family, friends or colleagues who may be interested. Check it out at www.mdmt.org.uk.

All you need is Love! MDMT 60’s evening a huge success... As the guests arrived at the Tytherington Club for the 60’s evening, Kathryn Ashcroft was waiting to snap them in their 60’s gear - mini-skirts, boots and lots of beads! People then moved on to inspect the sealed-bid auction prizes or attempt a Beatles picture quiz. Two special birthdays were celebrated in song with a presentation of card and champagne before we searched for our places on the tables named after 60’s icons and found on each table a copy of a 60’s quiz, to be answered collectively (luckily) and although we had two mines of information on our table we were beaten and the winners received a bottle of champagne. Next the auction winners were announced and prizes collected. Following the meal was the highlight of the evening - The “Cheatles” Beatles tribute band with some familiar faces under the black wigs, entertaining us for over an hour. Their music was greatly appreciated by all as the applause and cheers showed. Our two DJs, James Bright and Dan Chaloner took over for the last part of the evening again playing 60s music familiar to us all. At midnight we all departed, some with balloons, photos and auction prizes but all having thoroughly enjoyed themselves while contributing to a worthy cause.

Newsletter 9 | July 2007

friends of the

Music Volunteers Update from Kenya! Niamh Molloy and Chris Walters left the UK for Kenya in January, to take up their positions as volunteer music teachers at Starehe Girls’ School and Boys’ School respectively. Here we catch up with their first few months in Africa. Niamh writes… I’m having an absolute ball here, the girls’ school is beautiful, my apartment is really clean and I have everything I need, fridge microwave etc! The staff are very friendly - because it’s only a young school with less than 20 staff members, it’s been really easy to get to know everybody. I’m the only mzungu (white person) for miles around which they all find very entertaining - the matron has taken it upon herself to be my kikuyu teacher and surrogate mother! The second term at Starehe Girls School is hectic! Chris and I are rehearsing as much as possible for “Oliver” the musical. It’s going really well - there are 15 girls taking part and around 40 boys. I think the girls are going to really show the boys how it’s done! They’re all taking it extremely seriously and are full of suggestions for the choreography and direction! We go to the boys’ school every Sunday to piece the scenes and the songs together. We’re also preparing for the Kenya Music Festival. The girls’ choir is great, really fast at learning and I’ve written a song for girls’ choir, cello and piano which we hope to perform. SGC won most of the prizes last year so the pressure is on! In other news, I have started giving the Form One music students piano lessons so I now have 33 students, all desperately trying to practice on one piano... it’s not easy. But the girls have responded really well, given that most of them would never have seen a piano before, they’re keen to learn. The girls have set up a music club as well - I brought over my ipod and speakers so we have sessions of listening to all kinds of music, although to be honest they mostly want to listen to my extensive Westlife collection! Niamh Molloy Chris writes… My journey to Kenya began early on January 5th.  I met Niamh at the check in desks and said one last goodbye to my Mum and Dad. I was feeling a little weird - for six months I had been living with the idea that I was going off to Kenya for a serious amount of time.  Now the day had finally arrived. By the time we had landed we were about two 2

hours late.  But our welcome party was all smiles and we were escorted out to the school van.  By this stage I was exhausted, but even so the conversation on the journey to the school was lively.  As we approached Starehe the van lurched to avoid pot-holes and we passed small groups of men sitting round fires by the roadside, settling down for the night   The next day Niamh was collected by a team from Starehe Girls’ Centre and we said our farewells for the time being.  Later she texted to say how beautiful the school was.  I unpacked and tried to get settled.   Over the next few weeks, I met everyone and got used to how things worked.  My nextdoor-neighbour, Sister Frances, was a big help, as was John Odor, a friend from the accounts department.  On the first Monday I attended my first departmental meeting, where I met the three music teachers, plus the bandmaster, who trains the excellent Starehe band, who march and play every Friday afternoon for the school’s entertainment.  The meeting began with a prayer of thanks for the fact that all the members of the department were alive. It was decided that the school would have a musical for the first time in nine years, and that I should be put in charge.  I decided on ‘Oliver!’, which suited our needs well - a large cast of boys with fifteen or so girls who would be provided by Starehe Girls’ Centre.  We started rehearsals immediately, working mainly at 9pm two or three nights a week.  The boys have extremely busy schedules, so the 9pm slot was all that could be spared.  At first it wasn’t easy to explain what a musical was - none of the boys currently at the school could remember the last one.  After a few weeks I held auditions for the main parts.  It was strange to think that boys who had only just started to use taps or sleep on mattresses were now being asked to audition for a musical. One of the highlights of the rehearsal process was a debate we had about whether it was appropriate to mime eating - as the boys are required to do in the song ‘Food Glorious Food’ - without miming saying grace beforehand.  In the end we agreed that it was not a sin to omit grace as long as the eating was only a mime.  The boys are sincerely religious and such issues are very important to them.

The collaboration of the boys’ and girls’ schools on the musical has gone down very well in terms of allowing each school to socialise with the other - not something that happens very often, but now with musical rehearsals, something that happens every Sunday for an entire day.  The way the boys and girls speak to each other is beautifully polite.  At the lunch break, it is possible to take a walk around the school and see a boy/girl couple on every bench, sitting in formal posture and facing forward, occasionally turning their faces toward each other in order to ask a polite question.  When the girls’ bus pulls away at the end of the day, a raucous debriefing session takes place among the boys, to establish the progress of each couple. Living in Kenya for me is two different experiences - inside the school and outside it.  Inside, I am always smiled at and appreciated, but outside and in Nairobi generally I am just another rich mzungu (Swahili for white person).  Mzungus get shouted at frequently and are of course a target for petty criminals.  After a while a strategy for dealing with this comes, but at first it can feel unpleasant and frightening.  But as I write I am beginning to feel more and more like Nairobi is home.  And Kenya is a beautiful country.  At Easter I went on a short Safari in the Maasai Mara, which was a wonderful experience.  So all in all I feel lucky to be here doing all this.  And by the time ‘Oliver!’ finally makes it to the stage, I am confident that every grey hair will have been worthwhile. Chris Walters

Newsletter 9 | July 2007

friends of the

Primary Pupils at the Proms!

Birmingham Music for MDMT In March, Birmingham Conservatoire students Nick Marr and Matt Roberts presented a fund-raising concert on behalf of MDMT as part of their final year assessment, raising over £250. Here are Matt’s thoughts on the occasion:

MDMT has been able to support this year’s series of Music for Youth Primary Proms. These free concerts target innercity children and are aimed at enhancing their creative and spiritual development through music. The concerts, performed by young musicians, are staged in major concert venues and provide a unique opportunity to experience live music of all kinds, from boy bands to orchestras. For the majority of the 4 to 11 year-olds the Primary Proms represent their first encounter with live instrumental and vocal music making.

“The Project was a brilliant success thanks to the groups, the orchestra and everyone who supported it. Both myself (Matt Roberts) and Nick Marr are tremendously proud of the evening that we all helped create and was enjoyed by all.

Music for Youth works closely with the Education Departments of major concert providers such as the Royal Albert Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall and with music organisers across the UK to introduce young children to music of all kinds performed by their peers. Every year over 30,000 requests are received for the 14,700 free tickets available. Here are some comments from the staff of Birmingham Conservatoire’s Concert Office, who were fortunate enough to attend the Primary Proms taking place at Symphony Hall earlier this year: It was lovely to see so many kids enjoying performances given by other children. They seemed to really appreciate how much hard work and energy had gone into the concert and whole groups (along with their teachers!) could be seen swaying and joining in with a great rendition of Mustang sally!! If only every Monday could start like this! Kelly Williams Such a well-organised event (as usual). All the performances were amazing, so entertaining. It was good watching the kids’ faces as they recognised the tunes. Abraham Darby, a great jazz band, and Souled Out were fantastic, such energy! And what a superb presenter, he kept the kids interested throughout. Emily Smith

I have just finished putting the final touches to the live CD of the evening and it has come out very well. Especially the Film Orchestra who at times you forget that you’re not listening to the original recording. The CDs are being given to friends, participants and supporters of the project for a donation to the Martyn Donaldson Music Trust as a memento of the evening and I would like to mention a special thank you to Stephanie Donaldson who has supported us without question and lent us her guidance for this project. I hope that what we have managed to raise will be a help to the foundation and those it supports.” Matt Roberts CDs of the evening’s performance are available priced only £2.50 – all proceeds to MDMT. Please contact a Trustee if you would like to purchase one.

I think that the work that Music For youth do is amazing. Anything that that can encourage and captivate children these days is to be commended – which is why Music for Youth is such a fantastic organisation. The energy and enthusiasm of children is astounding – and Music for Youth really excels at capturing it and turning it into something memorable – for the audience as well as those taking part. In the short time that I have had experience of Music for Youth, I have been bowled over by how much effort and commitment goes into the organisation from the staff, children and sponsors and I think that anyone that has the time, patience or money to help such an organisation to progress, ought to be applauded. Libby Hall 3

Newsletter 9 | July 2007

friends of the

Bollington Brass Band ‘Music from the shows’ at Macclesfield Methodist Church Saturday 16th June saw the welcome return of the first group to give a concert on behalf of MDMT back in 2003. Bollington Brass Band’s programme this time was ‘Music from the Shows’ and a sure fire winner it proved to be, complemented by local singing star Steve Clayton from The Macclesfield Majestic Theatre Group. The band opened with appropriately ‘There’s no Business like Show Business’ and moved on to excerpts from ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ arranged expertly by band member Mike Cheetham and equally classy arrangements of the Elephant from The Carnival of Animals also by Mike and Nellie the Elephant by another band member Matt Shaw.

Your Friendly Trustees Chairman: Andy Donaldson Vice-Chairman and Friends Co-ordinator: Stephanie Donaldson Secretary: Linda Donaldson Treasurer: Matthew Berry

Both pieces featured young bass player Sean Martin who, of course, was playing the Eb Bass MDMT has provided for him. Later the band changed moods with selections among others from Oklahoma, The Sound of Music and West Side Story. In between Steve entertained with songs from Les Miserables, Chess and Jekyll and Hyde delivering them with the style and panache of a natural performer. A great evening ably compered by Roger Johnson and enjoyed by an appreciative audience.

Publicity: Chris Brown Fund-raiser: Katie Muncaster

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Fund-raiser: Julie Johnson

Tina May with the Nikki Iles Quartet

MDMT Trustee: Colin North

Saturday 15th September 2007, Macclesfield Methodist Church

featuring Nikki Iles (piano), Mike Hall (Saxophones), Steve Berry (Bass) and Eryl Roberts (Drums). A really special event takes place in mid-September. MDMT Friend John Quinn celebrated a landmark birthday earlier this year (21 again!) and to celebrate he has generously booked jazz diva Tina May to perform in Macclesfield in aid of MDMT!

Friends Co-ordinator: Steve Smith

Since forming her first quartet in the early 1990s, Tina May’s astonishing vocal ability and hypnotic stage presence has won her world wide acclaim. Music lovers know her as the gifted vocalist famous for performing both standards and contemporary song, from Kern, Ellington and Gershwin, to Paul Simon and Chick Corea. A consummate jazz artist and sparkling entertainer, Tina’s three-octave, dusky soprano voice is truly award-winning. Tina May is at the forefront of contemporary jazz singing and has one of the most engaging and beautiful voices. Tina has a unique style of vocal interpretation that she applies to the classic songbook repertoire. Warm, sensual and imaginative: Tina May is, quite simply, one of the great jazz vocalists. Appearing with her award-winning pianist Nikki Iles, there is a rapport that takes a partnership between singer and pianist to a stage far beyond mere voice plus accompaniment. Expect to hear standard songs such as: ‘Speak Low, ‘Do Nothing ‘Til You Hear From Me’, ‘Autumn Leaves’,’Come Rain Come Shine’, ‘Body and Soul’, ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ and ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’. Also expect to hear Jazz Tunes with lyrics added (many with lyrics written by Tina herself) such as ‘Black Narcissus’-Joe Henderson, ’Stolen Moments’-Oliver Nelson, ’Speak No Evil’-Wayne Shorter, ’Cubano Chant’-Ray Bryant and ‘Well You Needn’t’ – Thelonius Monk. This is a one-off opportunity to see a jazz legend live in Macc! Please don’t miss out! Tickets will be available soon with a special offer price for Friends of MDMT. The Trustees would like to offer our grateful thanks and appreciation to John Quinn for making this event possible. Join us to celebrate John’s birthday with a swing!

7 Manor Crescent | Tytherington | Macclesfield | SK10 2EN Tel: 01625 433187 | e-mail: [email protected] | www.mdmt.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1096844 4

Written by: Stephanie Donaldson, Andy Donaldson, Cow. Designed by: James Bainbridge