I can compose

Belize-born composer is first Black woman to be Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen’s work includes 22 operas, and her pieces are among the most performed of living musicians

💥 We're thrilled to launch a new resource this weekend - a second Black History Month Listening Calendar.

Many teachers asked if we would create another calendar with new composers and here it is - 31 composers of classical, hip hop, film, video game, fusion, jazz, blues, reggae, rock, pop and soul music.

This resource is completely FREE to download and is also available to order as a full colour A2 poster.

Please do share with anyone who might want to display a copy in their school!

Link for download and orders:
https://tinyurl.com/yc7mpc37





Black Lives in Music

Bravo Errollyn Wallen!

Congratulations to Errollyn Wallen CBE on being appointed Master of the King’s Music, in the first appointment to the role of King Charles’ reign.

The Belize-born British musician has previously been commissioned to write music for Queen Elizabeth II’s Gold and Diamond Jubilees, as well as for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

Wallen said: “I am thrilled to accept this royal appointment. It will be a privilege and a great honour to serve His Majesty The King, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. I look forward to championing music and music-making for all.”

Wallen succeeds Dame Judith Weir, who was appointed to the role in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II.

We're all about making music teachers' lives easier!

Find out more:
www.icancompose.com

Our Theme & Variations has been very popular over the last few months. It takes students through everything they need to compose their own theme and variations composition.

Composer and music educator David Beeby created a model composition for clarinet and piano, and performed it for the course.

Take a look here:

https://youtu.be/AezPs6ccId4

Theme and variations course:
https://www.icancompose.com/course/how-to-compose-a-theme-variations/

Theme & Variations by David Beeby - Variation 07 Here's a snapshot of the Theme and Variations for Clarinet and Piano by David Beeby composed for our online course: How to Compose a Theme & Variations.

20% off at Faber Music Publications and Edition Peters Group for Music teachers 👀

Get ready for the new school term with Faber Music & Edition Peters! 🎒📚

🇬🇧 Join our UK Teachers' Community to receive an exclusive 20% off discount code for our online shop, plus plenty of inspiration, resources, blogs and more: https://mailchi.mp/fabermusic.com/teacherscommunity

🇩🇪 Sign up for the German Education newsletter to receive a free teacher resource pack with extracts from some of our top German-language publications: https://trade.fabermusic.com/german-educational-newsletter

Good luck to everyone receiving their GCSE results tomorrow!

40 Composers
40 Playlists
40 Info Sheets...

25% off Composer of the Week Pack ⬇️⬇️

https://www.icancompose.com/product/teachers-resources/classroom-aids/composer-of-the-week/

NEW! 10 UK School Concert Trips to Book in 2024-25

We've taken the work out of searching for school concerts by professional orchestras and put all the details in this latest blog post!

Some events are coming up fairly soon so do have a look and see if there's a concert near you.

10 School Concert Trips to Book for 2024-25 - I Can Compose 10 UK School Concert Trips not to miss in 2024-25

🎺 Are you teaching fanfare next term?

Fanfare is an effective genre for getting all students composing through using triadic notes to create motifs and exploring simple harmonisation.

Our popular course 'How to Compose a Fanfare' is ideal for KS3 and 4 students (11 - 16 years) and includes:
✅ Practical tasks (with downloadable activity sheets)
✅ Downloadable course glossary
✅ Exemplar listening
✅ Model fanfare composition
✅ Guidance on how to build on the basics to produce a more substantial piece.

Included in all Access Plans or can be purchased as an individual course (12 months' access).

Find out more ⬇️
https://www.icancompose.com/course/how-to-compose-a-fanfare/

How do you modulate to a new key? And how do you teach your students this important compositional technique?

Our latest course by Patrick Gazard 'How to Modulate', guides students through the process of moving to twelve different keys, with clear examples from 'real-life' pieces and useful exercises for students to try themselves.

https://www.icancompose.com/new-how-to-modulate/

If you're getting books and resources ready for the new term, our popular blog post suggests twelve books for a Secondary Student Music Reading List - ideal if your school librarian has asked for recommendations or you're compiling your own department list.

From 'A Year of Wonder' by Clemency Burton-Hill to 'Musical Truth' by Jeffrey Boakye and '50 Rappers Who Changed the World' by Candace McDuffie there's sure to be a text that will spark inspiration.

Read the full post here:
https://www.icancompose.com/books-for-a-secondary-student-music-reading-list/

Congratulations to all the young composers - what a fantastic experience!

I had the pleasure of meeting Annabel Baxter a couple of weeks ago - she was so excited about having her piece performed by the ORA Singers in Worcester Cathedral, and now she's gone on to win! 👏👏

Happy Yorkshire Day!

Let's celebrate 7 Yorkshire-born composers...
🎵 John Barry (York)
🎵 Angela Morley (Leeds)
🎵 Philip Wilby (Pontefract)
🎵 Tim Knight (Northallerton)
🎵 Kenneth Leighton (Wakefield)
🎵 Laura Groves (Shipley)
🎵 Frederick Delius (Bradford)

Enjoy having a listen on your favourite streaming platform (perhaps with a cup of Yorkshire Tea!)

Proud to be a Yorkshire company!

"It's a disgrace" Lord Melvyn Bragg on the state of the arts in the UK:

"It's a disgrace" - Lord Melvyn Bragg on the State of the Arts "The arts are being systematically undermined and devalued and incompetently treated. That's where we are. That's the sort of country we are at the moment. A...

Have you seen our Inspiration Page?

It's a library of diverse pieces with short insights, what to listen out for, contextual information & a question to consider.

It's completely FREE and there's no log-in required.

https://www.icancompose.com/inspiration/

Looking forward to attending this event in October - looks fantastic!

Join us on Saturday, October 19th at Kings Place for , a phenomenal one-day event celebrating Black and underrepresented musicians and composers in classical music. 🎻✨

Presented by BLiM and proudly sponsored by and , the day kicks off with a thought-provoking symposium exploring 'What is Classical now?' alongside exciting new works by British composers Julian Joseph, Pete Letanka ( ) and Jason Yarde ( ).

The festivities continue with a showcase for emerging talent, interactive discussions, engaging music workshops, and so much more.

We’re wrapping up the day with an enchanting performance by the incredible Ayanna Witter-Johnson ( ) that you won't want to miss!

Don’t miss out – grab your tickets now at https://bit.ly/4aXlTaI 🎟️ 🔗 Link In Bio

Celebrate diversity in classical music with us – it’s going to be an unforgettable day!

Learn to make music flashcards and worksheets with Dorico...

Musical Flashcards and Worksheets | Discover Dorico In this session, we'll look at how to make musical flashcards and worksheets in Dorico, giving you all the tools you need to create your own bespoke designs ...

When we trialled the platform at Manchester High School the students commented on how useful it was to have the model composition broken down so that they could see how it was all put together.

Find out more about our award-winning courses:
https://www.icancompose.com/

🎧 What are you listening to this summer?

We've put together our top 6 Music Education podcasts in this summer-special blog post!

Featuring:
Music Teachers Association Teaching Notes
London Philharmonic Orchestra LPO Offstage with YolanDa Brown
Music Learning Conversation hosted by Jonathan Savage & Andy Scott ..and more!

With thanks to Naomi Wellings for her excellent recommendations!

Link to post:
https://www.icancompose.com/top-6-inspiring-music-education-podcasts/

Great news from Dorico...

Using Dorico for iPad in education – Dorico Since the release of Dorico for iPad three years ago, we have been delighted to welcome tens of thousands of new Dorico users, downloading the app for free from the App Store. The app is consistently the top-rated music notation and composition app in the App Store, and it is a vital member of the [...

Nominations are about to close for The Classic FM Music Teacher of the Year Awards 2024 with ABRSM! 🎻

If you know an inspiring music teacher who is changing young lives through music, nominate them here before midday on Friday 12 July 👉 https://win.classicfm.com/teacher-of-the-year-2024/

Are you starting your music teaching career in September?

There's a lot to get your head around and if you're looking for some tips on teaching composition we've put together this useful blog post: 6 Classroom Composing Tips for New Music Teachers:

https://www.icancompose.com/6-classroom-composing-tips-for-new-music-teachers/

6 Classroom Composing tips for New Music Teachers - I Can Compose Teaching Classroom Composing for the first time? This post is for you...

A brilliant evening reception for the Future Forward Conference - drinks, nibbles, origami and lots of creative chat!

It's been a fascinating afternoon at the Future Forward Conference hearing presentations from Dr Adam Whittaker about partnerships, Anna Rimington from Acland-Burghley School, Tom Spurgin and David Green from Shireland CBSO Academy , David Ruch from MiSST and Sophie Lewis and Catherine Arlidge MBE from the National Children's Orchestras of Great Britain.

This is a wonderful project - well done The Commonwealth Resounds!

We’re heading back to the beautiful islands of Antigua and Barbuda this summer! Last year’s trip was unforgettable and changed lives, and we can’t wait to dive into another incredible musical journey.

This summer, we’ll be hosting advanced composition workshops for students from across Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis and Montserrat. Plus, we’ll be celebrating the island’s rich musical heritage. 🎻🎺🌴

Visit our website to find out more and to follow our journey:

https://www.commonwealthresounds.com/antigua-and-barbuda-2024

Over the next few days you'll be able to find out more about the exciting young musicians who are visiting the islands with us and what musical journeys are taking place whilst we are there.

Antigua & Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra - ABYSO