In the words of our exit poll for participants, this year’s summer school was :
falbarghastin’ music-tastic
I would agree entirely. We had 24 participants, most attending every day for 5 days. The progress that you can make when you see someone every day is astounding. Monday starts with a busy set-up, rooms prepared, coffee brewed, inklings of songs, blank pieces of paper, toys and games and a plethora of possibilities!
For some participants, it was their first visit to our base in Cathcart. Monday saw new and returning participants getting used to the space, finding their rhythm, getting comfortable. For those who come to us in term time, coming every day can feel strange. It takes time to embed and understand the slightly different set up.
We are lucky to have a staffed, equipped, breakout space during our summer week. Nicole and Alice who ran the breakout space made everyone feel welcome and participants made the space their own. On Monday the first paper aeroplane was folded and took flight in the breakout space. The colour monsters were popular, as was the giant human dog bed. So comfy!
By Wednesday, magic had happened. Anyone who was unsure at the start of the week was fully with the programme. The paper aeroplanes multiplied and had turned into the start of a fleet with some epic designs. The music created was emerging and hard, focused work was happening everywhere in the building. Friendships were cementing and the sun had started to shine.
Our practitioner team – Ollie, Matt, Pippa and Cit- left the building each day on a high, full of inspiration from our participants. Being part of a process that enables brilliant young people to create music in a way that suits them as an individual is a total privilege and this was felt at all times throughout the week. From my perspective, I love watching our talented practitioners work together to provide the most nurturing space possible. We pride ourselves of our listening skills at Hear My Music and this goes all ways. Morag and I had the pleasure of sneaking in to take film clips, being part of some sessions, watching everything come together and I can highly recommend it as a way to spend a week.
Friday saw our sharing sessions. These were EPIC. Tears to laughter all round. Magic moments. For some of our participants, the sharing session doesn’t suit the way they want to engage. We hope that by providing the option and opportunity, participants might choose to share their progress in the space. If they don’t, we know that it isn’t all about the day. We had some brilliantly surprising shares: participants we hadn’t expected to perform did so with joy and pride.
What a week – Hear My Music is an inspiring place to be.
With massive thanks to Shared Care Scotland, for supporting the Summer Week through their Better Breaks fund.
