Looking back at 2022/23

By Head of Schools and Creative Programmes Daf Evans

Mariah Carey. Walkie-talkies. Pizza.

What do all of these have in common? Well, apart from being some of my favourite things, it’s actually this year with Music Masters that ties them together. Bear with me…

Describing my highlights of the last year in just 600 words is pretty hard. My job is made special by the people I work with, and I simply cannot describe them all in one short article. However, I can definitely tell you about some of the special things we achieved together.

The Autumn term can be pretty tough. It gets darker, colder and harder to get out of bed… Luckily, I was inspired to get to work by a few special moments. Not least of these, was the concert kicking off our annual Big Give campaign. Although Beyoncé might be my Number One, there’s no denying Mariah is the Queen of Christmas. Hearing our Champions and Graduate Ambassadors perform All I Want For Christmas Is You in full orchestra – with a crucial guest performance from me on the cabasa – was the perfect end to 2022.

For me, the Spring term was dominated by the premiere of Many Voices: Ensemble – not just a highlight of the year, but of my career. After nearly two years of work – recruiting 10 talented composers, running co-creation workshops with over 200 children, all resulting in 10 vibrant new ensemble pieces – we premiered the music at Wigmore Hall with Kaleidoscope Collective and young musicians age 8-20.  On top  of all of the magic and inspiration of that new music, it was hard  to beat the self-importance I felt with our brand-new walkie talkies and ear pieces! I’ll be using them at every event from now on, big or small.

Our final term was crowned by our  15-year anniversary celebrations – The Sound of the Future at St John’s Smith Square. Co-hosted by Sheku Kanneh-Mason, one of our fantastic Artist Ambassadors, the evening showcased musical talent from performers as young as five years old. Whether it was boogying down to Violins at the Disco, the lush strings from our school orchestra performing Myfanwy, or the tear-jerking rendition of Hallelujah by Sheku, Plínio Fernandes and our young graduate Anna Lea – no emotion was left unfelt. However, no disrespect to Sheku, the evening may have been won by the free pizza given out backstage to our young performers and team members. Although, having said that, I don’t remember getting a slice myself…

So much goes unmentioned. Packed halls of children listening to the incomparable Christian Howes; a jamming session with Omar Puente; a pop music performance with our Pathways students and Love Ssega at the National Gallery; the beaming smiles on the faces of our teachers whose students passed their music exams with flying colours; successful recruitment of our next cohort of brilliant Emerging Educators for 2023-24; post-training drinks with our hard-working teachers and team members. The list goes on, including our Summer Concerts, Year 6 parties, and performances in our classrooms, school halls, community centres and even on the street.

Sometimes, even little things can become big highlights. For me, this is best demonstrated by the family member of a Year 6 student graduating our programme this year, who made the following comment to me:

“This has been one of the best journeys of my son’s life.”

Sunny holidays and lie-ins aside, that’s what I’ll be thinking about when I clock out for a well-earned summer break.