Within Cumbria, the strategy for developing and increasing singing activity is met by Vocal Force, Sing Up Communities and Sing Up Area Leader.
In Cumbria, we have two Vocal Forces, one run by Jilly Jarman in Penrith and one run by SoundWave in Workington. Vocal Force aims to work closely alongside teachers in these areas to assist them with developing vocal leading skills, finding repertoire and increasing opportunities for singing throughout the day.
We also have 3 Sing Up Communities in Wigton, Penrith, Barrow and Walney islands. These Sing Up Communities were identified with the help of Children’s Services, and all the schools within each cluster are encouraged to work together to build a super singing community. Each have a SoundWave vocal leader working with them, and repertoire developing from these projects will be shared on the Sing Up Cumbria website.
Alongside this, we have the Sing Up Area Leader approach, again delivered by SoundWave in partnership with Local INSET Networks and other training providers/organisations. Area Leader aims to provide training opportunities county-wide that all teachers and vocal leaders are welcome to attend. Singing Squad sessions are run at least twice per term in Carlisle, Kendal, Barrow-in-Furness and at various locations on the West Coast and they aim to meet the needs of those who attend. We look at new repertoire, vocal technique, warm-ups, singing through the Key Stages and so on.
The Area Leader remit also provides ad hoc training opportunities and contracts external providers to meet specific needs. For example, Jason Singh from Manchester ran a session in beat boxing, and Frankie Armstrong delivered a workshop grounded in Natural Voice practice in Penrith. We ran a residential course at The Haybergill Centre in partnership with BlueJam, featuring Paul Farrington, Scott Stroman, Beccy Owen and Jilly Jarman. Boundless Voices was a three-day exploratory process involving Mouthful, Sarah Wall, Jilly Jarman and The Safires.
Besides that, Area Leader is your foghorn. We run a newsletter and we aim to build lasting links between vocal leaders, schools, arts organisations and performers alike. We believe in sharing experience and knowledge and giving individuals the opportunity to diversify and enhance their offerings to young people. We welcome any story you have to tell about singing within your communities.
