Festival launched for music education community to ‘press pause’ and look ahead
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
The week-long Connect: Resound Learning Festival from youth music charity NYMAZ is free to attend and runs from 17-21 May.
Tazia Graham
Following a call for submissions in January, youth music charity NYMAZ has launched a week-long digital learning festival for music educators, with all sessions free to attend.
Taking place from 17-21 May, the festival aims to share learning, celebrate success, and consider the future of remote music learning.
Each day focuses on a different theme, including online teaching, making music together online, and creating and curating online music performances.
Speakers and panellists include representatives from the Musicians’ Union, Music Making SENse, the National Centre for Early Music, Beat Goes On, ABRSM, Trinity, Wiltshire Music Connect, Hertfordshire Music Education Hub, and many more. MT’s editor will be chairing a plenary panel on the final day.
Project manager Emily Penn said: ‘The arrival of the pandemic meant that suddenly Hubs, schools and teachers were all forced into a situation where online music learning was our only option.
‘It has been amazing to witness the response across the music education sector and we wanted an opportunity to capture the learnings and share experiences. Essentially, we were keen to press pause so that together we can evaluate everything that the sector has delivered and think about the road ahead.
‘The Festival programme welcomes a stellar line-up who will run live workshops, participatory webinars and discussions. We’re also hosting an evening programme where practitioners can focus on wellbeing and their own creativity - after all, we’ve all just experienced a year like no other!’
NYMAZ specialises in widening music-making opportunities for young people through pioneering digital technologies. The charity’s flagship Connect: Resound initiative has been investigating new ways of delivering digital music learning for the past seven years, working closely with Music Education Hubs, arts organisations and schools across the country.
It has explored how online music education can help overcome challenges to learning such as rural isolation, mental health issues and excluded children.
Places for each session are limited, so early sign-up is advised. The full programme is now available to view on the website.