Edinburgh Mela is based at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, and the organisation has been working with young people in North Edinburgh on various projects that were first performed at the Mela festival in September. The Mela’s G-Code project has been running on Thursday evenings, working with young local musicians on developing new music.
The G-Code project has flourished over the past few months with the young people taking part in a variety of performances including performing alongside Tinderbox Orchestra at the Dalai Lama’s World Peace event.
The participants also wrote and produced two tracks – ‘Inner Peace’ and ‘Journey’ – and the young musicians showcased their musical achievements at North Edinburgh Arts Centre last Friday where they hosted an album launch, music event and exhibition before being interviewed by young people from Muirhouse Youth Development Group.
For more information about the Mela G-Code project contact Angela on 0131 315 2151.
Short films produced by local schoolchildren through the Cashback for Creativity initiative were premiered at North Edinburgh Arts Centre last night, and both ‘Danny’ and ‘The Clock Strikes Fate’ were real quality productions.
Participants from Broughton High School, CORE, Pilton Youth and Children’s Project and Muirhouse Youth Development Group worked with professionals from Pilton-based Screen Education Edinburgh to produce the two short films, with the young people were involved at every stage of the process – from script writing and finding locations to acting, selecting soundtracks and editing. The young filmmakers discovered that an awful lot of preparation and hard work goes into creating even a short film, but their efforts were richly rewarded with two fine short films.
Introducing the films, SEE project manager James McKenzie said: “I think you will agree that these films are remarkable, given that most of the young people involved had no experience of filmmaking. I am sure they will be very proud when they see what they have produced – these are excellent films”.
Danny dealt with the issue of schizophrenia in an unusually entertaining way, while ‘The Clock Strikes Fate’ was a silent movie, simple yet touching.
In a question and answer session with SEE engagement officer Neil Rolland after the screenings, the filmmakers were unanimous in saying that they had learned a lot from the process and all expressed a wish to go on to make more movies.
Kyle Fitzpatrick said: “I thought to begin with I would only be acting but we all got involved in lots of different aspects, things we hadn’t thought we would be doing – for me it was using film cameras, for example. It was a great experience and we learned a lot over the course of producing the films. This was the first time we’d seen the finished films and I think they look pretty good!”
The films will now be entered into film festivals and will appear on SEE’s website – www.screen-ed.org – sometime soon. The young filmmakers will also get their wish for more opportunities to male movies – Screen Education Edinburgh plan to set up a North Edinburgh Young People’s Film Group in the not too distant future. So you never know, Danny Two – the full length sequel?
Criminal profits have been put to good use with the launch of two short films created by local young people. Screen Education Edinburgh (SEE) (formerly Pilton Video) will be screening ‘Danny’ and ‘The Clock Strikes Fate’ at North Edinburgh Arts Centre on Tuesday 18 September at 6.30pm.
SEE worked with young people from the outset on the projects which were made possible through funding from the Cashback for Creativity programme, a fund which takes cash confiscated from criminals and ploughs the money back into the communities they prey upon.
Cashback for Creativity (formally Creative Identities) is Creative Scotland’s programme that provides young people across Scotland with access to high quality dance, film and music activities, funded by the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities programme which reinvests the proceeds of crime back into communities to benefit Scotland’s young people.
As part of the scheme, Screen Education Edinburgh are running an intensive programme of short film making for young people aged 12- 19 across the City of Edinburgh, with priority given to those living in areas of deprivation.
In North Edinburgh, a series of taster workshops took place in partnership with Broughton High School, Community Organisation for Race Equality, Muirhouse Youth Development Group and Pilton Youth and Children’s Project, leading to the most interested young people moving forward to form a core filmmaking group based at SEE. Learning the skills of screenwriting, acting, camera, sound and editing, the group have completed two short film’s ‘Danny’ and ‘When The Clock Strikes Fate’.
The two films will be premiered on Tuesday 18th September at 6.30pm at North Edinburgh Arts Centre to an audience that will include the cast and crew, their families and friends, invited guests and members of the public. The event will also feature a ‘making of’ documentary and a question and answer session with the young people involved followed by a small reception.
Seats are free and available on a first come, first served basis; so turn up early on the night to guarantee a seat!
SEE’s Creative Manager Graham Fitzpatrick said: “The project was a fantastic opportunity for North Edinburgh youngsters to learn how to make films, with two outstanding and mature dramas being produced. We look forward to the premiere and supporting the group as they build on the experience to produce more shorts, whilst the programme also rolls out to East and West Edinburgh from now until Christmas.”
This is just a wee reminder [as if you need it!] that we start Workshops again at North Edinburgh Arts this Friday 14th September 6 – 8pm. and next Saturday 22nd September 12 noon – 2pm. We shall meet every other Friday and every other Saturday so that everyone can come to the Workshops according to their commitments. There will be a crèche for every Workshop, but please make sure you book it with Sandra beforehand 0131 315 2152 and admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
We have so much to talk about, so much fun to have, so many plans to make, so much theatre to create – YIPPEE I am really looking forward to working with you all again. We also have some new participants to welcome!
Please let me know which Workshops you want to come to – Fridays and/or Saturdays. Of course you can come to both, we shall be covering the same material at the Friday and Saturday Workshops but you always create different work, so it will be really interesting.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please just get in touch. For those folk who do not have internet, please can you make sure they know what’s happening? I will also post this on Facebook.
Take care and see you soon!
Granton Youth Theatre will be performing their powerful production ‘Just Like Everybody Else’ at the Holyrood Road’s Bongo Club this weekend.
The drama was devised and developed by Granton Youth Centre participants and the group’s performance was highly praised when ‘Just Like Everybody Else’ premiered at North Edinburgh Arts Centre in April.
Jut Like Everybody Else can be seen at The Bongo Club, Holyrood Road on Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm. Tickets are only available at the venue box office or through www.thebongoclub.co.uk . The performance is suuitable for ages 12+.
Triumphant Technophonia! Local students perform Olympic music
Disabled musicians using new technology took centre stage with City of Edinburgh Music School students when they performed Technophonia, an orchestral arrangement to celebrate the Olympics, to great acclaim recently.
The disabled musicians played specially designed, weird and wonderful instruments – with brilliant names like skoog, soundbeam and brainfingers! – which detect tiny movements, making it easier for people with disabilities to perform. The ensemble rehearsed weekly at Broughton High School, home of the renowned City of Edinburgh Music School, the new wave instruments playing in harmony with the conventional.
The children have been working with the charity Drake Music Scotland, established in 1997 with the ethos that ‘disability is no barrier to making music’. DMS’s Thursa Sanderson said: “We had no pre-existing link with the school, but our artistic director knew Tudor (Morris, head of the City of Edinburgh Music School). When we were applying for the New Music 20×12 funding for the commission, we thought it would be great to approach Tudor and ask if pupils from the City of Edinburgh Music School would like to be involved as they are recognised as the best young players from Edinburgh and the surrounding area.”
She went on: “It makes a huge difference for our young musicians with disabilities to play in an ensemble with them, because they rarely, if ever, get the chance to play or perform along with their peers, so it is a great experience for them. I think it works both ways, as it opens the eyes of the CEMS students to the technology and what you can do creatively with it, allowing them to see how young people with disabilities are able to play music – they just need the right resources and support.”
Tudor Morris said: “We were delighted to be involved in this initiative with Drake Music Scotland. It has been an incredibly rewarding project and a really great experience for our students.”
Scots composer Oliver Searle (pictured above) was one of twenty composers commissioned to write a twelve-minute piece to celebrate the Cultural Olympiad. He said: ”Part of this project was trying to write specifically for these instruments so you could say: this is a skoog piece, this is a piece for soundbeam and chamber ensemble, or this is for brainfingers. Not only have we used these instruments, but there are also solos for them!”
The soloists were Anthony Swift and Chris Jacquin, who both have cerebral palsy, and Stephanie Forrest on soundbeam, brainfingers and skoog respectively.
Andrew (15) said: ”When I was wee all I wanted to do was play an instrument. It’s just so amazing to get the opportunity to show people what I can actually be capable of.”
Pic: BBC
Technophonia, Scots composer Oliver Searle’s specially commissioned piece, was premiered in Edinburgh’s Queens Hall on 15 June, followed up with a Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on 22 June before a gala performance at London’s Southbank Centre on 15 July as part of the New Music 20×12 Weekend Celebration.
The performances received great acclaim. Triumphant Technophonia!”, “momentous achievement”, “brilliantly conceived” and “astonishing demonstration” were just a few of the many glowing comments on the three performances.
Technophonia demonstrated just how technology can aid disabled musicians perform on an equal footing with their peers, and that skoogs, soundbeams and brainfingers could become a regular sight in orchestras and bands. And yes, that disability is no barrier to making music. Congratulations to all concerned – bravo!
On Saturday 21 April at North Edinburgh Arts Centre the audience was treated to a brilliant performance by two magnificent actors playing all the characters in Robert Tressell’s classic story ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’.
The subject, of grinding exploitation of workers employed by a building and decorating firm, was played with emotion, seriousness and a good deal of humour. The confusion and self-interest of some of the characters has its modern counterparts, but so does the message of what must still be done.
The actors, Rodney Matthew and Neil Gore, will be giving performances of the play at the Edinburgh Fringe at Venue 2 this August. It deserves to – and should – play to packed houses.
On Saturday 31 March, a group of children took to the stage in the theatre of North Edinburgh Arts Centre to perform songs and lyrics that they had written. You would be forgiven for thinking that these children must have been from one of the capital’s specialist music schools…but these mini composers were showcasing music which they had been working on for just 14 weeks at Soundkidz music group. Organised by CORE and funded by Creative Scotland with in-kind support from North Edinburgh Arts and Edinburgh Mela , the group let the children explore their musical creativity every Saturday afternoon at North Edinburgh Arts.
With the help of youth workers Tamsin Dearnley and Kirsty Miguda, the group worked with a variety of musicians from a range of musical backgrounds. From conducting and African drumming to jazz singing and lyric writing, the children got a taste of the diverse directions in which music could take them. They also began writing their own lyrics and songs, creating individual pieces and group performances. After a few weeks, the children were ready to compose a whole song as a group. They chose the guitar chords, wrote the lyrics and a melody and rehearsed until they knew their song inside out.
At the performance, the audience first heard members of the group recite lyrics which they had written. From lions and horses to video games and city life, the audience gained an insight into where the children’s imaginations had taken them. The children then showcased group pieces that they had composed during a session in which they had been given a word, a rhythm, a percussion instrument and just 30 minutes to create a piece.
The show’s finale arrived. Gathered together on the stage, with guitarist Stuart Taylor to accompany them, the children launched into the catchy chorus of the song that they had written. At the end the audience clapped and cheered as the children took their bows and received their certificates (along with a copy of the CD which they had recorded the previous week). A brilliant performance by North Edinburgh’s budding musicians!
Edinburgh Mela is based at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, and the organisation has been working with young people in North Edinburgh on various projects that were first performed at the Mela festival in September. The Mela’s G-Code project has been running on Thursday evenings, working with young local musicians on developing new music.
