Holy Trinity Church Hall, London NW3

Two reports (Jock Mutschler, Jatinder Sehmi) and the full programme

Linda, Brodie, Jordan and myself were quite pleased to have participated in this workshop. As newcomers to the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship, we experienced an aura of mystery and excitement as the date approached. The only certainty, from our perspective, was that there was food involved - as we had volunteered to make cupcakes. The event so far exceeded our expectations that it was mind-boggling! Congratulations to Agnes for cobbling together an outstanding ensemble of young and mature talent. It was wonderful to see the youngest children absorbing and appreciating the talents and effort of the teenagers. The respect that the different groups displayed to one another was especially admirable.

In Lavenders' Blue, an English folk song, a small band of young children played the song on their respective instruments, the rest of the BBCM (including the kindergarden) provided an accompaniment by reciting "um-cha-cha". The audience, invited to join, really appreciated the chance to actively participate in the workshop. The "um-cha-cha"s were robust. The Candlelight song evoked pleasant memories from the children's Saturday morning classes. On Saturday mornings it often proved challenging to get the "candle" to touch another child after having been "blown out." Not so at the workshop: the children performed the game brilliantly. The children also relished the chance to perform in their mini-operas which they enjoyed practising during their Saturday morning classes. The rendition of Beethoven's Ode to Joy was truly uplifting, it got everyone into the spirit of the workshop. The performance of Frère Jacques and Three Blind Mice required audience participation: Agnes masterfully orchestrated this challenging piece and the audience rose to the challenge.

Our own family contribution (Jamaica Farewell) did not quite turn out as planned. Jordan practised this song at home with her father, Jock, for about a week. Jordan incorporated hand and body movements to accompany the lyrics during her practice sessions. Linda (her mother), Brodie (her brother, aged 3 ½), and Jock were to act as Jordan's entourage and to mimic Jordan as she moved to the song. Alas, when it came time to perform, Jordan abandoned her plans and simply sang the song with no movements. Her "dancers" abandoned, they settled back and enjoyed her sweet song. Akira's and her mother Catherine's inspiring rendition of the South-African National Anthem was very well received by the audience: it received thunderous applause. (For details of the Anthem and Catherine's involvement with it, please see the appropriate section in the full programme which follows the workshop reports - Agnes Kory). We all appreciated Yumi who displayed her considerable athleticism by bouncing a ball between her legs as her children chanted a Japanese play-song.

Agnes created a workshop that reflected the diverse talents of her students. She deftly pieced together a program that reflects positively on both her organisational and inspirational skills. The variety of pieces and works performed was a fitting tribute to the namesake of the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship. All the students, young and not so young, came together on one special Saturday afternoon to make magic. Here's hoping that the magic stays with us throughout the year - at least until next term's workshop, when we can conjure up some more!

Jock Mutschler
father of BBCM newcomers Jordan (age 5) and Brodie (aged 3 ½)

Having attended previous workshops I expected the unexpected and was still surprised by the content, talent and professionalism of this last workshop.

The programme began with an arrangement of Mozart's Oragna Figa with the young children, teenagers and adults singing different parts. The hall was filled with polyphonic music, providing a great entrée into the programme and giving us a taste of what was to come. There followed a delightful performance by the young children of the Frog Song, accompanied by recorder and trumpet for the sounds as well as with actions. Again the teenagers and adult students joined in the three part round. Agnes then led a human 'Piano' where the young children sang only their designated notes to give a rendition of the Czech folk song, Rosie's Skirt. The English folk song, Lavenders' Blue, involved a small band of 7 - 11 year olds playing instruments with audience participation. This was followed by the Candelight Game played by 2-6 year olds and then followed by a chorus (of 4 teenagers and 4 adults) using the same text but with different music. We were then treated to mini operas (Kodály Nursery Songs 12 and 15) which were performed by the 4-6 year olds and to a lovely solo rendition by Katus Udvardy (aged only 2 years and 9 months) of Kodály Song 12 in Hungarian. Another Kodály Nursery Song (No. 26) was sung in English by the whole 1st year class and then in Japanese by Kay and May Shigeno, in Hungarian by Kata Oldland, Katus Udvardy and Becky Dillon, and in Serbian by Natalia Elliott. The teenagers and adults accoumnpanied the 8-12 year olds for 4 pieces from Kodály's Bicinia Hungarica. All BBCM students (including the kindergarden class) then sang a three-part Haydn composition with audience participation. I also enjoyed the Quadlibet where BBCM classes performed three German songs, with each class singing their specific song in a three-part round. An impressive piece of Anglo-French co-operation then ensued, appropriately enough during the centenary of the Entente Cordiale between the two nations; the nursery rhymes Frère Jacques and Three Blind Mice were sung together, then split into rounds, eventually numbering 8 parts. All BBCM students and the audience performed this piece. A children's song was brilliantly sung and played by the kindergarten and 4-6 year olds and then it was reprised by adult students Lívia Farkas and Maggie Boyd, accompanied on the piano by Ilan Lazarus (teenage class), in a witty performance on the stage.

There then followed many unscheduled contributions from the students, their parents and members of the audience. We travelled from Kingston Jamaica to South Africa, passing through Europe and ended in Cornwall having been through Japan where Yumi put the rest of us to shame by bouncing a ball so well and in rhythm to the Japanese song Antagat Dokosa (translated: Where are you from?) accompanying Kay aged 5 and May aged 8. Has Yumi tried out for the local basketball team yet? We finished with everyone singing Sweet Nightingale, a Cornish folk song.

Agnes surpassed herself in putting together such a varied and demanding programme and succeeding in allowing us all to enjoy making music along with the students who were able to show us the hard work they had all been putting in during the year.

Jatinder Sehmi
BBCM trustee

Full workshop programme:

Mozart: Oragna Figa
young children sing melody, teenagers and adults sing accompaniment by Kodály

Frog Song: German folk song
young children sing and/or make melodic shapes with their hands, Joshua (recorder) and Otto (trumpet) play 'croak, croak' while older children, teenagers and adults sing in a three-parts round

Rosie's Skirt: Chech folk song
very young children conduct, 7-11 years olds divide into 5 pairs, each of which pairs sings their designated notes only (as if they were piano notes) when prompted by Agnes

Lavenders' Blue: English folk song
small band of 7-11 years olds play the song on violins, cello and piano, the rest of BBCM (including kindergarden) accompany with 'um-cha-cha', audience joins

Candlelight game: Hungarian childrens' song
Played and sung (in English translation) by 2-6 years olds
Béla Bartók: Játék - short chorus on Candlelight text with different music, sung by 4 teenagers and 4 adult students

Kodály: Nursery Songs 12 and 15
performed by 4-6 years olds as mini operas
Nursery Song 12 sung in Hungarian by Katus Udvardy, age 2 years and 9 months
Kodály Nursery song 26 (about a pony) sung in English (by all 4-6 years olds), in Japanese (by Kay and May Shigeno), in Hungarian (by Kata Oldland, Katus Udvardy and Becky Dillon) and in Serbian (by Natalia Elliott)

Kodály: Bicinia Hungarica (two-parts exercises)
4 pieces sung by 8-12 years olds (melody) and teenagers/adults (accompaniment)

Haydn: three-parts composition
sung by all BBCM students (including 2-3 years olds in the BBCM Kindergarden), different classes taking different parts, audience joins

Beethoven: Ode to Joy
all young children (Kindergarden-12 years olds) sing melody, teenagers and adults sing harmony, audience joins

Quadlibet: 3 German songs put together
all BBCM students, minus Kindergarden, participate: each song is allocated to specific classes

Frère Jacques and Three Blind Mice
everybody sings, eventually as double four-parts rounds, audience joins

With my Hands (childrens' song)
sung and played by Kindergarden and 4-6 years olds
Duet from Hansel and Gretel (incorporating above song)
performed by adult students Lívia Farkas and Maggie Boyd, accompanied by teenage student Ilan Lazarus

Unscheduled contributions:

Twinkle variation
Kata Oldland, age 5, violin

Jamaica Farewell - song about Kingston, Jamaica
sung by Jordan Mutschler, age 5

Schubert song (arranged for cello)
Ryan Davies, age 10, cello - accompanied by teenage class student Ilan Lazarus

I am getting married in the morning, from My Fair Lady (music Loewe, lyrics Lerner)
Anna age 6 and Peter age 3 from family Klijnsma (prompted by their father Rin from the audience)

Tango III (Argentine) by Seiber and Polonaise in G minor by Anon
Minerva Saner, age 10, piano

South-African National Anthem
Akira Leyow age 9 and mother Catherine
Nkosi Sikelele Africa was the anthem of the African National Congress (ANC). Originally formed in 1912, the ANC was a political party dedicated to the abolition of apartheid in South Africa. The ANC was outlawed by the apartheid government and many of their leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were imprisoned.
During the 1980's there was a non-stop picket of the South African Embassy in London. Catherine frequently went to support the picket, where they would sing Nkosi Sikelele Africa. The picket ended in 1990 when Nelson Mandela was freed and the ANC was again legalised. Nkosi Sikelele Africa ('God Bless Africa' in Xhosa - a Zulu language) was later incorporated as part of the new South African national anthem.

Etude
Hannah Harley, age 11, piano

"My old banjo"
sung by Natalia Elliott, age 5

Japanese childrens' play-songs: 1) Ocharaka (stones, scizzors, papers), 2) Antagat Dokosa (Where are you from?) played with a ball
Kay, age 5, May, age 8 and mother Yumi Shigeno (with the bouncing ball)

Telemann movements from a Concerto
Sophia Dignam, teenage class, viola and Ilan Lazarus, teenage class, piano

Seiber: Tango, Foxtrot for 4 hands
Ilan Lazarus, teenage class, piano and Ilan's father John Lazarus, piano

Sweet Nightingale, Cornish song
performed by Family Saner, aided by Family Ming/Hope and teenage class members Ilan Lazarus, Sophia Dignam 'Sweet Nightingale' is a traditional Cornish song without a named author, but in 1857 a writer heard it being sung by 4 Cornish miners