Lichfield’s Music Share Outreach on TES Shortlist

Lichfield Cathedral School is shortlisted for the TES Independent School Awards 2019 for their outstanding Music Share Programme. Many congratulations to Cathy Lamb and her team!

Tes editor Ann Mroz said: “Independent education in this country is truly world class. It’s one of our great success stories. And those shortlisted for the Tes Independent School Awards are the crème de la crème.

“We received a record number of entries this year and the standard is the highest yet, so to be shortlisted is an extraordinary achievement for any school.”

Music Share, a singing outreach programme led by Cathy Lamb that works with primary, secondary and special schools to encourage children to sing, is a partnership between Lichfield Cathedral School and Lichfield Cathedral.  Since it began in 2003, more than 10,000 state school children have benefitted from this unique programme of workshops, core projects and concerts.  The programme continues to be supported by Arts’ Council Funding via the North-West Midlands Music Education Hub.

The winners will be revealed at a gala awards evening at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London on Friday 1 February 2019. To see the full list of who is in the running, visit www.isawards.co.uk.

Fantastic term coming to an end

Four terrific events have been staged in recent weeks.  The first took place on the 9th November at St Chad’s Church in Lichfield, with three local primary schools coming together under the direction of Lay Vicar, Robin Morton to sing a range of songs including some of the excellent Friday Afternoons resource from Snape Maltings.

On the 16th November Cathy and her team bought together singers from Abbot Beyne Secondary in Burton with one of their feeder primary schools and they performed superbly for their parents in Abbot Beyne school hall with a live band under the direction of Lay Vicar, David Werry.  Four days later three local special schools took part in a hugely moving concert in Lichfield Cathedral along with Music Share’s choir for ladies, called ‘Ladies who Lark’, a three-piece band plus invited guests ‘Chuckle Productions’ who performed to a live music video they had created. Four of the programme’s primary schools took part in a concert in Lichfield Cathedral on 21st November and they really blew the roof off!

Music Share is so grateful for the support it receives through the North-West Midlands Music Education Hub and its choirs, Lichfield Cathedral Young Voices and Lichfield Cathedral Youth Voices continue to thrive. There are lots more ideas for more ensembles in the pipeline.

Cathy Lamb says: “We also enjoyed running an evensong in an afternoon workshop with a school at their local church, St Augustine’s, Draycott-in-the-Clay, which is something we are keen to develop.  We are so delighted our work has been recognised and  shortlisted for this prestigious Award!”

For more information about Music Share, visit the Music Share page on the Lichfield Cathedral School website.