One of several BBC Inspire Workshops around the country was held at the BBC Maida Vale studios on February 13th 2010. This was the first lab of its kind that I had attended, and so I was not entirely sure what to expect.

The group came to around 30 ‘young composers’ between the ages of 11 and 18, and 8 adults who worked for the BBC in one way or another, either running the studios, in charge of the workshop, or members of the BBC Orchestra.

NUMU is a great new resource for teenagers: It provides a safe website for you to publish your own compositions whether they're classical, metal, jazz or hip hop and chat to other people in schools around the country exchanging views on music

You can communicate and collaborate with others

Your school can set up and run its own online publishing and record label and every artist gets their own page

You have to get your school to join before you can, but it is free.

Show it to your music department – it is seriously cool.

Click on the picture for a link to their site:

Being unable to enjoy music must be many Bachtrack.com readers’ worst nightmare.

However, experts agree that over time, loud music damages hearing. So how can music fans ensure they can enjoy what they love for many years to come?

RNID is the charity working to change the world for the UK’s 9 million people who are deaf or hard of hearing. RNID’s Don’t Lose the Music campaign aims to tell music lovers how and why to protect their ears.

The nice thing about most “classical” music is that it was written long before any kind of recording technology was available. Unlike today, when you can listen to almost any piece of music whenever, and as often as you like, composers knew that you might only get one chance to hear their music. So most good classical music is written to be understood and enjoyed the first time you hear it.

That’s not to say that it doesn’t benefit from careful listening, from repeated listening, and maybe even doing the odd bit of homework in advance. Lots of traditions have grown up around classical concerts, and they’re all there to help you enjoy a piece of music the first time you hear it. A century ago, that might have been the only chance you ever got to hear it the way the composer intended! So concert programmes include programme notes, giving the background on a piece; concerts are listened to in silence (so everyone has the chance to hear the music); and sometimes there are pre-concert talks explaining the music (check the venue’s website to find out). These are all, still, great ways to help you get the most out of a live performance.

Opera – the good, the bad and the really wicked!

Chances are, even if you’ve never even stepped inside a theatre, you know some opera already! How about that World Cup song that Paul Potts sang when he won “Britain’s Got Talent”? Opera.
Or the British Airways advert music?
Opera.
Or the music to the Stella Artois beer adverts?
Opera!

I’m a young composer and recently I’ve been trying to find my way around the most used notation software on the planet: Sibelius. Even the student version, which I’m using, has a huge number of features. Of course, the more money you pay, the more features you get, but at £99 for a student copy I think it’s pretty good, and definitely worth getting if you’re a keen GCSE student, even if it does have a few glitches here and there.

Rachel Barton Pine held the audience transfixed with her extraordinary rendition of Brahms’ violin concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  This American violin virtuosa’s long awaited London debut far exceeded the expectations of those lucky enough to attend the concert on 11th November.

Take it away This is a new initiative from the Arts Council, allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly installments (with a minimum 10% deposit), completely interest free. All instruments are included in the scheme and, to help musical development and manage costs, equipment and services such as amplifiers, sheet music and tuition can be included within the loan where available.

Cavatina Chamber Music Trust offers FREE tickets to students between 8 and 22 at a range of chamber concerts throughout the UK! They take the top chamber ensembles into state schools all over the country, completely free of charge.

CAVATINA aims to attract young people to the fantastic world of chamber music by visiting schools and promoting Family Concerts performed by some of the greatest professional chamber musicians who impart their love and excitement of this music to both children and adults.