Thoughts from local groups about the proposed James Allen's Community Music Centre:
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Music Therapist, Judith Sanoon
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“I envisage that, particularly with the adults, it would be a wonderful place to come to, with a whole range of different instruments, a dedicated area set up for music therapy, which can be very exciting for those involved”
“People do develop this love of music and they find their own musical nature through the course of the therapy, which is why I say that to move towards community music therapy where its much more of communal activity is something that I could see having a lot of potential in this setting”
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Kath Davis, volunteer at Dulwich Helpline and local resident
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“We would quite like to see other people play their own instruments…and I think it would be interesting for them to answer our questions…to understand where they’re coming from and how they started and what the work is like as I don’t there are any of us that actually are musicians…we can play the CDs but not play the music!”
“We did a course with the sixth formers…they joined us older people at the picture gallery and we had a chance to draw each other…and that would perhaps lead on to doing likewise with music, which I’m sure my particular group would be quite happy to come along to…It would be wonderful if we could have some music education, and perhaps even trying to play”
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Gerri McAndrew, JAGS Choral Society |
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“JAGS Choral Society originally started in order to allow the girls the opportunity to sing with male voices but we’ve extended to include people in the community. It allows us to perform major works, which we enjoy. We’re very excited about the campaign to raise money for a local music centre, not just because it would help us to have the opportunity to practise in a different environment, but we’d be able to perform in a concert hall which will allow local residents and local people in the community to come and listen to us, to even participate even more than they are doing now”
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| Members of Dulwich Youth Orchestra |
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“It really helps you with your musical instruments and it’d be really nice to have a great space to perform in…you don’t just play, you learn stuff and you look up to other people and see what you can develop into with your playing. DYO is just a great experience”
“At the moment we mainly rehearse in schools, and just use the classrooms and maybe the school hall…it would be nice to have a concert hall which is meant for what we are doing as it would make it all more special”
“It’s a really important part of the community and having a specially built music school would really help us to play and make it even better than it already is”
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The Head of a Local State Primary School
"As the head of a local school, sharing a common boundary, I fully support the idea of a music centre. You are very generous already with sharing your facilities and students with us and this can only further enhance the opportunities we are able to offer our children. The idea of a music centre with full facilities, on our doorstep, can only be a very positive move."
From a Leading London Orchestra
"[We are] delighted to support James Allen's Girls' School's application for their new Community Music Centre which we see as a very important part of our joint plans for future community projects and concert collaborations."
From a Neighbour of the School
“As a neighbour of JAGS for almost 25 years, who enjoys choral singing and concert-going, I would welcome a Community Music Centre as a long-overdue facility in the area. I am not aware of any comparable performance spaces in the area between Blackheath, Wimbledon, Southbank Royal Festival Hall and Croydon. This is an area of amateur musical riches, with poor resources for rehearsal and performance. The prospect of a centre of excellence for a wide range of local music making, within easy reach by foot or public transport, is very exciting. I have no doubt it would build on the existing musical community and encourage new but presently untapped talent. Young people would know that their own aspirations, whether for rock or classical music, were recognised and encouraged, and they had a dedicated place to explore and develop their music. Older people such as myself would undoubtedly want to use and enjoy local facilities of the kind planned, rather than travel out of the borough so often.”
From a Local Freelance Music Teacher
"I have long been aware of a local lack of suitable premises for the group activities which form an important part of musical life. While my own music room at home is suitable for private lessons it gives no scope for workshops, master classes or pupils’ concerts. Churches and church halls are often the only available facility and even so they may be difficult to heat, too large and lacking an adequate piano or keyboard.
I am also aware, having served on the local committee of the Incorporated Society of Musicians and currently being membership secretary of the Association of English Singers and Speakers, that it is very difficult locally to find appropriate spaces at an affordable cost for meetings and workshops.
Any concert hall, within a radius of five miles, with an audience capacity of 350 or more and a large, well-designed performance area would be a welcome facility...as there is such a lack of well-designed performance spaces in South East London.”
