‘Young Women’s Band Project’
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The Ark T Centre music project is home to an exciting new project for young women. Funded by the Oxford Inspires Evolving City programme for 2005/6 and continuing for two further years with funding from the Local Network Fund, the Young Women’s Band Project has so far attracted over hundred girls from around Oxfordshire.
Project leader Kate Garrett explains:
‘The YWBP is about personal empowerment for girls through music. It creates an atmosphere of ‘safe’ learning and confidence building; promoting the idea of co-operation between women, in order to share skills and develop musical relationships and friendships. It provides positive role-models across the field of music and careers’.
Girls’ participation in popular music in Oxfordshire is significantly lower than that of boys. For example in the Cowley Road Carnival, held in East Oxford in 2004 only one twelfth of all performers on the Youth stage were girls. Due to the networking and workshops of YWBP this went up to one third at the CRC 2005.
The YWBP has so far worked with young women age 12-18 over a 12 month period. It began in March 2005 with two taster sessions during the Oxford International Women’s Festival, and continued with a monthly workshop, extra rehearsals for bands, and recording sessions.
This led to a showcase performance, with the launching of ‘Spark #2’, a CD of new music by young women from around Oxfordshire, and a documentary film about the project made by Sue Okumbe. The launch took place at the Zodiac on March 17, as part of the International Women's Festival in March 2006.
The project has received extensive press from coverage, been featured on BBC 1 South Today, and had tracks from Spark #2 played on BBC Radio Oxford.
Participants have the opportunity to write both lyrics and music for their own songs, learn to play in a band, share in voice, instrument and performance workshops and have the benefit of special guest leaders.
So far, young women have enjoyed workshops from Jo Laverty from the Musicians Union on careers in the music business and band promotion tips; Girgit Dhinsa, sound engineer from Gateway Studios in London, on live sound, engineering and production skills; professional session guitarist Ella Reid, on guitar techniques and session tips; and Australian singer-songwriter Lisa Fitzgibbon, on releasing records and touring independently.
Performance opportunities take place throughout the project. Young women have performed at the Cowley Road Carnival, Reaction Festival, and the regular Live Sessions held at the Ark T Centre.
There is also a young trainee on the project, who is assisting with the engineering of the sessions and the monthly workshops.
The project now has a myspace! www.myspace.com/ywbp
Keep up to date with what’s happening in the workshops, hear Spark #2, see our friends sites, and tell us about your upcoming gigs.
For more information call Kate on 01865 396778
email music@ark-t.org or ywbp@hotmail.co.uk.
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Watch video of ‘All you miss’
The next series of workshops started in May 2006, continuing with workshops on Sat June 10th and Sat July 8th. There will be another CD of new music due for release in May 2007, so if you think you have a track that you would like to be included, get in touch!
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