At the last session of grade exams (Dec 2011) a student taking grade 5 electronic keyboard had cause to be upset about the exam conditions at Yarm School, which were noisy with a lot of distractions. When she related what had happened to me, I was very concerned, as the situation sounded most unsatisfactory. I wrote to both the head of exams at LCM and also the local exam rep, voicing my concerns. I immediately received replies from both people, plus the Director of Music at Yarm School. They took my concerns very seriously and were at great pains to resolve the situation. Apparently there are now new facilities at the school, which have been tested by the rep whilst adjudicating a piano festival. She reported back to me that they are superb, and that Yarm School would now make an excellent venue for any musical event. So anybody looking for a venue with great facilities in the Darlington area should check this out!

I was very relieved and encouraged by LCM's quick and helpful responses to my concerns, and a good outcome.  If you are wondering,  my student did pass her grade 5 very comfortably.

I never seem to win in a draw, so I was tickled pink when Jessie's Fund was drawn out of a hat to be the charity for 2012 at Aske Chapel. This charity was my nomination, and it  delivers music therapy to sick and disabled children. As mentioned in yesterday's post, we do need more resources for ill and terminally ill children and young people, so I was very happy that my charity "won". We will look forward to working with Jessie's Fund, whose patron is Victoria Wood, a friend of the founder.

www.jessiesfund.org.uk

This week I will be inviting my students to take part in the Malcolm Sargeant practice-a-thon, and also joining with a colleague and her students to make the event even more worthwhile. Hopefully, we will be able to stage an informal concert at the end of it, which will raise even more funds. The idea is to have a sponsored two week practice period, to raise money for the charity. The charity supports children and young people who are suffering with cancer, and I am told by those who work in the NHS that specialist support for children  is rather thin on the ground. So any help with offering the necessary support to children and their families is hugely needed and appreciated. Amongst my piano and keyboard students are those who play other instruments, trumpet, viola, flute, guitar and voice. We have plenty of talent to make a successful practice-a-thon and enjoyable concert!

For more details about the practice-a-thon, visit www.clicsargent.org.uk

This week an email arrived in my inbox giving a preview of what is programmed for this year's Swaledale Festival. The music and events on offer are very impressive, including Richard Rodney Bennett (no relation!), The Kings Singers, Jacob Herringman and Adam Summerhayes (Zum) to mention just a few. Local musicians and bands are featured, walks, puppet theatre, and all genres of music, so there is something for everyone. All the venues are in beautiful Swaledale, and the historic and lovely churches in the area make superb concert venues, combining the stunning scenery with soul inspiring music. Indeed, people now come from far and wide, making a holiday here for the two weeks of the festival.

Swaledale Festival 19 May-3 June

www.swaledale-festival.org.uk

Whilst looking for a suggested local charity for Aske Chapel's support in 2012, I thought that something to do with music therapy would be appropriate. My search turned up Jessie's Fund (www.jessiesfund.org.uk) which is a York based charity. They have been doing work in the North Yorkshire area, as well as nationwide, in offering music therapy to sick, terminally ill, and disabled children, with outstanding results. It was very moving to just read about their case histories. Victoria Wood is their patron, and an old friend of the founder. The charity is named after the founder's own daughter.

We put our names in a hat and draw for the chosen 2012 charity. I hope Jessie's Fund get pulled out of the hat, but I will be supporting it myself, in any case.

Following technical difficulties which resulted in my site being offline for a week, I am happy to announce that the new improved site  is back online. There are some more music books, plus an attractive piece of flute music to download. The checkout system is much improved, so do visit and tell me what you think!