Introducing our second Virtual Workshop Series!

We are delighted to announce our second Virtual Workshop Series with our wonderful partners and ambassadors, including a diverse range of genres, starting next Thursday 6 August.

Following the fantastic feedback after our first series, we are launching another diverse series of workshops featuring VOCES8, Soothsayers and Guy Johnston. From a cello masterclass to performance techniques, we are proud to be launching our next Virtual Workshop Series with a diverse variety of genres and styles.  

Check out the upcoming calendar for our second Virtual Workshop Series:

6 August | VOCES8 Method Workshop with Paul Smith and Katie Jeffries-Harris
Our second Virtual Workshop Series will commence with a vocal workshop from our partners at VOCES8. Ahead of our new award with VOCES8 launching this year, we are really excited to be able to share this experience with everyone who applied to next year's Development Programme!

For musicians of all instruments and abilities, the workshop will be led by Paul Smith and Katie Jeffries-Harris of VOCES8, who will lead a range of fun vocal warm-ups, activities and exercises using the ‘VOCES8 Method’.

10 August | Cello Masterclass with Guy Johnston
Our fantastic ambassador Guy Johnston will lead a masterclass featuring performances from four of our talented young cellists. All our supported musicians will be invited to watch the session and learn from Guy’s expertise on technique, expression and performance direction.  

Guy has 20 years of professional experience since winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2000, performing as a soloist with leading UK orchestras including the London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic and Manchester Camerata, and internationally with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and many more.

20 August | Afrobeat & Reggae Workshop with Robin Hopcraft & Idris Rahman
Following our exciting collaboration with the Youthsayers culminating in a mind-blowing performance at our Christmas Concert last year, we are delighted to welcome back Robin and Idris from the Soothsayers for another project!

Members of the London-based outfit Soothsayers since 1998, Robin and Idris also run Youthsayers, a youth music education project in Lambeth specialising in afrobeat, jazz and reggae-influenced music.

‍

10 September | Minimalism & Steve Reich with Lara Wassenberg

Our final workshop of the series will see violist Lara, President of Leeds University Union Music Society (LUUMS), lead an exploration of Steve Reich‘s Clapping Music, focusing on rhythms and the pentatonic scale.

Lara’s instrument of choice is the viola, which she loves for its rich sound quality and the gorgeous harmonies written for it. Lara believes that making music should be available to all regardless of age, race, background and ability, and that making music is not about being the best, but having fun and creating with other people, stepping outside the box with the tools you are given and ignoring the rule book!

Minhaz Abedin, CEO of Future Talent, said:

"With the tremendous success of our first Virtual Workshop Series last month, we wanted to further  our life-changing, accessible opportunities that help our  musicians flourish on their musical journeys.

Our Virtual Workshop Series will continue to proudly inspire our young musicians, alongside our partners, showcasing how we can enjoy the beauty of music whilst keeping safe from a distance.
‍
I am excited to see how we can continue to grow our ability to connect musicians together in the future, developing new ways to engage and support our truly global community."

We are really excited to be hosting the second Virtual Workshops Series!