Sound of singing heard at Tremough with launch of new Performance project

Professional vocal animateurs, teachers from all over Cornwall and Devon, BA(Hons) Music students from University College Falmouth (UCF) and secondary school Young Music Leaders (YMLs) have been putting their singing voices to the test to launch a participatory project at the Tremough Campus in Penryn.

Supported by Sing Up, a Government-led initiative that places singing at the heart of communities, and Widening Participation team at UCF this project forms part of Platform, the programme of performances that will herald the relocation of Dartington College of Arts, the arrival of Performing Arts courses in Cornwall and the launch of UCF's new £15M Performance Centre at Tremough this October.

This major collaboration between UCF and Sing Up enables six schools from across Cornwall and Devon - including Penryn Primary - to receive regular singing sessions and free vocal training over the next six months to combine in a 200-strong choir that will take centre stage in the Performance Centre on Sunday 31 October as part of a special weekend of community events.

Young composer, Josie Newton, from the South West Music School, has been commissioned by Sing Up to write a celebratory piece, in collaboration with the six primary schools, to be performed at the event. This special song, together with other selected works, will all share the themes of friendship, journeys, transition and togetherness.

The twenty participants in the launch of this Sing Up project included four professional vocal animateurs, six teachers from Penryn, Kilkhampton, Pennoweth, Curnow special school, Mevagissey and Dartington Primary schools, the head of music and six Young Music Leaders (YMLs) from Penryn College, and a number of BA(Hons) Music students from UCF.

There was a great deal of excitement generated by the launch of the project and Marie Hunter, Head of Penryn College commented: "This project offers fantastic opportunities to develop our Young Music Leaders and fulfil our aim towards developing more singing in school. We hope that the students involved on this project will learn a lot from both SING UP and UCF students and be able to lead school activities in the future."

"This multi-stranded project not only creates opportunities for primary teachers to encourage singing in schools, but also enables UCF students to work alongside professional vocal animateurs and mentor YMLs from the secondary schools involved," explained Lesley-Ann Eaton who is the Producer of UCF's Platform programme. "UCF students and YMLs will play a key supporting role in the choir's performance on the day, which will also include a free family singing event and we hope that many local families will join us to celebrate this momentous occasion for Falmouth, for Cornwall and the wider South West."

"The aim of Sing Up, which is the Music Manifesto's national singing programme, is to place singing at the heart of every primary school child's life, in the firm belief that singing has power to change lives and help to build stronger communities," explains Cornwall's Sing Up Coordinator, Angela Renshaw. "What better way to celebrate the relocation of Dartington College of Arts to Cornwall than by joining together in song?"

This project is supported by UCF's Widening Participation unit which encourages everyone to experience and aspire to university education. The Sing Up project has also created an opportunity for Michael Chambers, a young photographer with mobility difficulties, to document the project as a part of a UCF work placement organised by the University College's Equality & Diversity Office and The Brandon Trust Supported Employment Team.

The launch of UCF's Performance Centre will be celebrated on 29, 30 and 31 October with a packed programme of Theatre, Dance and Music.

As well as showcasing the creative achievements of students, professional performers and the wider community, the event will also provide a unique opportunity to view UCF's newly-established Cornish Performance archive that will feature artefacts from award-winning playwright, Nick Darke and Kneehigh theatre company.

From October 2010, UCF's Performance courses in Music, Theatre and Dance will relocate from the Dartington Campus in Devon to the new Performance Centre at the Tremough Campus in Cornwall that will offer world-class facilities in a stimulating learning environment.

Platform - the programme of public events that will complement this new beginning - will offer contemporary performance from UCF staff, students and alumni as well as local, national and international companies; and offer a wealth of opportunities for emerging artists for the enjoyment of everyone in the region.

For further information about Performance courses at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/performance, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213730.

For further information about Platform, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/events

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name.  It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing.  The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unique to the South West.

The University College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR, MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk

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