Jamarl Billy has been working at Brighton & Hove Music & Arts (BHMA) since December 2018. Here he gives us an insight into his role and the Music Leader Internship programme. When I began my Music Leader Internship with BHMA, I had no idea what to expect; especially as it was a completely new role as part of the 4-year funding awarded by Youth Music through the ‘Alliance for a Musically Inclusive England’. Although I thoroughly enjoy playing instruments and utilising artistic

Every year the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO) awards prizes of a pair of season tickets to two talented young musicians who have taken part in the Springboard Festival. In 2018 the recipients were pianist Tyzer McAllister & flautist Lucy Leete. Tyzer (then aged 13) won the Brighton Hammond Organ Society Challenge Cup, awarded for the best jazz performance in the piano section, for the third year running. He played Blues for Tom by Charles Beale. He also played violin i

Every year Brighton & Hove Music & Arts host a Summer School giving young musicians the chance to get involved in fun music activities. Our aim is to give musicians aged 6 to 16 a more intensive and immersive experience, developing new skills and working with others to really boost their musical progress. Each course is led by experienced, specialist music leaders and is designed specifically for young musicians of different ages and standards. There are 18 courses across a f

Following their performance at the regional Music for Youth Festival in March, Brighton & Hove Youth Percussion Ensemble (BHYPE) were invited to perform at the prestigious Music for Youth National Festival held in Birmingham on 3 July. The group were one of only 6 percussion ensembles to be invited to perform alongside others from London, Yorkshire and Hull. Their performance included a piece written for buckets, kitchen utensils and the ensemble’s own interpretation of Khatc

Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF) kicks off this September with 27 events across Brighton & Hove including plenty on offer for children and families. First up are two concerts for 2-5 year olds (and their parents and grandparents) – the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s OAE TOTS on Sat 28 Sep. The OAE are bringing their new programme ‘Stories of Old’ to Friends’ Meeting House Brighton, with performances at 10.30am and 12pm. Tickets go on sale for this and other fami

Jazz re:freshed and Brighton Dome present JAZZ RE:FEST! A family-friendly, annual one-day festival, produced by music and arts organisation Jazz re:freshed, celebrating Jazz and Jazz-inspired music and culture. After a fantastic festival in 2018 and now in its 7th year, JAZZ RE:FEST returns to Brighton, to showcase the incredibly diverse, colourful, expressive and creative world of Jazz music and alternative culture. JAZZ RE:FEST has always prided itself on giving a platform

Take it away provides interest-free loans to purchase musical instruments, equipment, software and tuition. It was launched in 2007 by Creative United and is available through 140 retailers in England and Northern Ireland. Customers can borrow between £100 and £5,000 interest-free, which is paid back in equal instalments over 9 or 18 months, depending on the amount. As a passion for music-making can develop at any time of life, the loans can support musicians of every age in

June 11th saw the launch of a new collaborative project 'Write Sounds'. Led by Our Future City (Cultural Education Partnership) and funded by Artswork, the South East Bridge; the project brings together Beat Goes On together with literacy guru Pie Corbett of Talk4Writing and ten schools from Brighton and Newhaven. Write Sounds will explore creative approaches and utilising body percussion to promote the development of literacy and creative writing skills; while also supportin

Awards for Young Musicians (AYM) are a charity who have been working in partnership with Brighton & Hove Music & Arts (BHMA) for over five years. AYM have supported over 200 children during that time within the city with developing their musical interests and musical potential. Following the recent successful pilot projects at Carlton Hill and West Blatchington Primary Schools, AYM are now working with children from Fairlight Primary and St John The Baptist Catholic School. T

Players from Brighton & Hove Music & Art’s (BHMA) talented Brighton Youth Orchestra (BYO) and Brighton & Hove Youth Percussion Ensemble (BHYPE) have returned from the annual European tour this July. This time travelling to Czech Republic the ensembles performed in spa towns across the region and at the Czech Museum of Music in Prague. For more than 40 members, aged between 13 to 19, the tour is part of BHMA’s programme of activities as an opportunity for students to develop t