The best of Nottingham’s young creative talent has been honoured at the Nottingham Playhouse on Wednesday the 18th of May.
Hundreds of people attended the 8th Nottingham Young Creative Awards, which aim to give people aged 13 to 24 who live, study or work in Nottingham the chance to show off their creative work, network with future employers and gain valuable industry experience and mentoring.
A record 350 young creatives submitted their work in 10 different categories this year to meet the 2016 theme of ‘Goals and Dreams’.
Music
The Music category looks for submissions from talented young musicians which interpret the theme through both original compositions and live performance.
Submissions for this category approached the ‘Goals and Dreams’ theme in innovative ways – such as lyrics portraying the future career ambitions of the composers and melodies inspired by dreams of tree with falling leaves.
The category was sponsored by the Nottingham Music Hub – a registered charity delivering
musical opportunities for young people in Nottingham City and facilitating joyous, life-enhancing and confidence – building experiences that equip children and young people with perseverance, self-belief and a life-long love of music.
Over the last year young people from Nottingham have performed at Diwali, on the pitch at Meadow Lane for Nottingham City of Football, Nottingham Light Night, the Young Creative Awards, Nottingham Contemporary and Nottingham for Nepal; and have represented Nottingham performing alongside orchestras from Russia, Romania and Germany at twin city Karlsruhe’s 300th birthday celebrations.
Nottingham Music Hub’s key activities include:
- Whole Class Ensemble Teaching (WCET) programmes in 86% of city primary schools/academies providing a year of ensemble teaching on a range of instruments
- Music Camps – two day residentials to kick start learning into year 5 and beyond.
- Area Bands – A network of 6 Area Bands across the city, available for pupils aged 9 – 12.
- Nottingham Music School – operating on Saturday mornings and Thursday evenings providing ensemble opportunities through the Robin Hood Youth Orchestra family of ensembles, World Music, Bloco Notto and Band Factory
- Singing – delivering a programme of workshops, training and events in partnership with partner organisation Music for Everyone
- Accreditation – support for Music Medal and ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) Grade 1 and Grade 2 entries across the city.
- Events – participation in an annual programme of major events.
- In Harmony – Nottingham Music Service delivers one of only six In Harmony programmes across England inspired by the principles of Venezuela’s inspirational El Sistema. In Harmony is a national programme that aims to inspire and transform the lives of children using the power and disciplines of community-based orchestral music-making.
Nottingham Music Hub are delighted to sponsor these awards as a way of encouraging young people in Nottingham to develop and celebrate their creative talents.
Category winners
19 – 24
Winner – Peter Beardsworth, 23
“This song is about a recurring dream, one in which a tree loses its leaves. A profound dream is so
difficult to quantify- it has meaning that can’t be explained in words, only hinted at. The song, and the dream, is about coming to terms with the cycles of life. The facts of autumn and winter may hit hard, but they will always be followed by renewal. And underneath all that, there’s a secret intangible force that can’t be explained”
Highly Commended – Edward Lawrence Pollard, 19 (Confetti)
16 – 18
Winner – Super Furniture, 16-17 (Confetti)
“Super Furniture are a four piece band from Nottingham. They have been playing together for a few months now and write their own alternative material”
Highly Commended – Noise Architect, 16-19, Nottingham Academy
Highly Commended – Chris Hill, 17 (Trent College)
13 – 15
Winner – Malfunction
“This song represents the stages of someone’s life where they have been told repeatedly that they can’t achieve their dream or compare to anything. The song ends with ‘they said I couldn’t make it, well look at me now’, showing they have achieved everything they wanted in spite of the negativity”
Highly Commended – Jake Penlington, 15 (Friesland School)
Highly Commended – Samantha Atkinson, 13 (Bluecoat Academy)
