The Band is a year-long project aimed at engaging the communities of central Fife in the Cowdenbeath/Lochgelly area and encouraging all ages and abilities to participate, play and ultimately perform music. The Band programme aims to establish community bands, to entertain, to educate, to inspire, and to leave a permanent legacy after 2012.
Inspiring and creative musicians and community arts experts are being engaged to create and lead community music groups which in the first instance will feature singing groups, a Samba drumming band, a Community Band, and a funky brass band. The project seeks to attract people from throughout the local community to join in, and will provide musical instruments and tuition at no cost. There will even be free transport to the regular sessions in Lochgelly from various points in the area. There is no cost to participants.
The project will be delivered and managed through a partnership of ON at Fife and Jazz Scotland, working closely with Fife Council. The launch of The Band will take place at the Lochgelly Centre on February 2 and there will be significant promotion of The Band’s programme as part of the 2012 Fife Jazz Festival (February 3-5) and in the re-launch of the Lochgelly Centre (Fall in Love with the Lochgelly Centre, February 13-17). Weekly class will begin towards the end of February.
Activity will run throughout the year. The weekly classes will take a summer break, during which The Band will present three intense summer residencies and courses in Singing, Brass, Jazz and Samba and will support its groups by helping to create opportunities to perform at Gala days and local festivals throughout Fife.
From the Autumn, with the return of the weekly sessions, the focus will shift to a period of rehearsal for a number of large-scale commissioned pieces to be presented in December of 2012 including Swing Dances, Concerts, A Carnival Night and a Community Music/Theatre show. We hope to present shows throughout the area, including events in Cowdenbeath and Kelty as well as Lochgelly.
The Band is supported by a grant from The Year of Creative Scotland Fund. The grant is from the “First In a Lifetime” fund, and our programme will have a specific target to attract people who have not participated in cultural activity before.
The Band will create an excellent new opportunity for the central Fife community to get involved in music of all kinds and at all levels. I’m sure this could be the start of a new era of creativity in the area, supported by the re-opening of the excellent facilities at the Lochgelly Centre. The Band promises a highly visible and intense period of local participation and promotion that can only be good for central Fife.
All enquiries can be directed to:
Hazel Wotherspoon, Head of Programming and Creative Development, ON At Fife: Hazel.Wotherspoon@onfife.com
Roger Spence, Director, Jazz Scotland: roger@adjazz.co.uk
