Music Changes Lives: Conference 2023

On January 3 we were joined by over 160 Kirklees teachers and national music industry experts for the Kirklees Music Hub conference. 

 

The event was supported by Arts Council England, the Kirklees Music Hub, Musica Kirklees, Music Mark, the University of Huddersfield and Kirklees Year of Music 2023 who chose to make this the launch event of their much-anticipated programme.

 

The conference focussed on the future of music education and celebrated the work already being carried out by the dedicated teachers and music specialists who contribute so much to the lives of young people living in Kirklees.  We opened the conference with a panel of young people who gave their take on the support and inspiration they had received during their time in education in Kirklees.

 

We were thrilled to welcome keynote speaker YolanDa Brown OBE (saxophonist, educator and broadcaster on programmes such as BBC Proms, Songs of Praise and the CBeebies hit Yolanda’s Band Jam) and guest speakers Tracy Brabin (Mayor of West Yorkshire), Cllr Will Simpson (Kirklees Council), Bridget Whyte (Music Mark), Dr Jayne Price (University of Huddersfield), Jo-Anne Sanders (Kirklees Council), and Peter Simons (Focus Trust Academy).

Please download a copy of the programme below for full details of all contributors.

 

Experienced workshop leaders and exhibitors gave delegates the opportunity to participate in diverse musical genres including music and autism, body percussion, Charanga, gospel singing, signing choirs, music technology and DJing, samba, bhangra, composition, Kodály and early years, rock in primary schools and songwriting.  We are so fortunate to have such passionate educators from across the musical spectrum to share their knowledge with us.

 

Thank you to everyone who attended the conference.  We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Huge thanks to all the speakers, workshop leaders, guests, exhibitors, the teachers, managers and administrative team from Musica Kirklees who worked so hard behind the scenes ensure that everything ran smoothly and the fantastic staff at the University of Huddersfield; Dr Jayne Price, Sarah and the events team, the catering, caretaking and IT teams – thank you for sharing your facilities and for all your help in the run up to the conference and on the day.