The Cherubim Music Trust
The Cherubim Music Trust (Charity #1088403) owes its existence to Clancy Steer, who founded it in response to her personal experience and keen understanding of the needs of young musicians:
“Our daughter Serafina chose to take up the harp aged seven. To begin with, she had access to a table harp (clarsach) For her first pedal harp we were able to buy an aged Pleyel for £1200. After the VIth form at Chethams Specialist Music School, where she had access to a first-rate concert harp, in 2000 she was due to go to music college and we were faced with buying her a £10,000 instrument. As we had only recently moved house a further loan was out of the question. For us, a genuine fairy godmother provided a suitable instrument, which laid the ground for Serafina’s later successes as a harpist and songwriter.”
By way of gratitude Clancy took steps to create the Cherubim Music Trust to help others in similar situations.
The National Foundation for Youth Music confirms that after years of inadequate funding and the advent of student loans, many talented student musicians do not have the resources to acquire instruments that match their performance needs. The difference in the cost of a good student instrument and that of a professional one is measured in thousands of pounds. Whilst this is not one of the world’s most urgent issues, it is a huge problem for most young musicians starting out in music.
I am delighted to have been asked to promote this wonderful initiative through social media and hope that you will take an interest and spread the word.
John Packer Ltd
Some sad news for you all:Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have reluctantly had to resign from my position at John Packer Ltd in Taunton.Before rumours abound, I have not been sacked – I have had to leave for reasons of which many of you will already be aware.I have the utmost respect and admiration for the staff at John Packer Ltd., and will continue to promote and support all that they do.You may well still see me on trade stands at brass band contests – come and say hello!
Premier Resonator drums for sale
A day tinged with sadness: my cherished Deco Yellow Premier Resonator drums are for sale. I’ve purchased a new (well ‘old’ actually – but in mint condition) red lacquer finish set of Premier Resonator drums and I’m delighted with them. So, here’s the pics – and note the floor tom has already sold. The sizes are: 10 x 9 and 13 x 10 toms, 14 x 6 snare, 20 x 16 bass drum complete with tom mount.
NB (30th August): All gone! Sobs uncontrollably.
As Only A Heart Would Dare
Hot off the press and copyright permissions granted, here’s a new one for you. As Only A Heart Would Dare is a song by Susan Aglukark – an Inuit Canadian singer/songwriter from her hit album ‘Blood Red Earth’- which combines her original melody with that of ‘Amazing Grace’.
With a lovely harmonic structure that works with both tunes, this piece is a brilliant addition to your band’s concert repertoire, and would be a welcome addition to an ‘Entertainment Contest’ programme.
Copyright issues
Often a complex and mind-boggling arena, I’ve had to learn the hard way how this works in relation to composing and arranging music. It has to be said that it’s fairly obvious that the person or company who ‘owns’ a piece of music – for whatever reason – has to be the person or company that gives permission for it to be used in any other format than its original, and this is certainly true of arrangements of existing music. I know that there are thousands of illegal copies of music out there, and I also know that it is very difficult to police.
That aside, it has come to my attention that there are people out there who think it is quite in order to build up complete libraries of music by illegally copying and then scanning music onto computers to pass on to others in PDF fornat, presumably with the permission of whoever obtained the original printed copy of that music (or second/third/fourth generation ‘illegal’ copy I suppose). They are the only winners in this situation: the composer or copyright owner gets nothing, and neither do the publishers of the printed works.
As a composer and arranger relatively new to the intricacies of copyright law, I was amazed to find that illegal copies of my own works published or unpublished frequently turn up in many unexpected places. Some of these pieces were only printed and taken to a single band to see if the piece actually worked, and are as such without copyright permission. I have to say I’m not sure what my position in court would be with that. I certainly have not given my permission for the work to be copied and then passed on.
The bottom line is this. Why should composers, arrangers and publishers be the ones who lose out because of the deep seated desire of others to get printed music for free? Why is it that people who try and make a living out of music in its many forms are frequently expected to do so for free? I just don’t get it. No one expects plumbers, electricians, bankers, bakers, mechanics, nurses, policemen, soldiers and so on to do their jobs for free, so why musicians? The net result of this illegal activity will be that there won’t be any new music for you – not legally in any case – and you’ll all be moaning about playing the same old stuff, and people like me will stop writing any new music.
So, if you know someone who’s doing this – tell them. If you or your band have any of my music that you have obtained illegally – look out. That also goes for bands who have properly obtained my music but are happy to allow it to be illegally copied and given to other bands. As you can probably tell, I’m very unhappy about this and I will take it further. I am currently considering making a formal complaint to the Council of West of England Brass Band Associations and other band associations on the subject. I’m now on a mission.
Think of it this way: every time you illegally copy a piece of my music, you’re ‘stealing’ about £50 from me. Every time you give a score and set of parts to someone else you’re ‘stealing’ about £50 from me. It soon adds up, and publishers take a very dim view of it. So do I.
So, if you want new printed music – buy it.
Check your libraries and your consciences.
You have been warned.
New publications
Great news! Musikverlag Frank (Mf Publications in Switzerland) are going to be publishing ‘Excalibur’, the new version of ‘The St Michael Ley Line’, ‘Phaeton Fantasy’ and ‘Heroes of the Sky’.Watch this space – I’ll let you know when they are available.
St Michael Ley Line
As it’s ten years since my composition ‘The Ley Line of St Michael’ won the 60th Anniversary composing competition held by the South West Brass Band Association, I thought it would be a good time to revisit it. I’ve reworked the whole thing from beginning to end, have added some detail, changed harmonies, made melodies more robust, and have made the harmonic rhythm more ‘square’ – if you see what I mean. I have completely revised the ending, which is now a splendid romp with a much more challenging style.
I hope you like it!
Excalibur
I have completely reworked ‘Avalon Rhapsody’ from beginning to end, and the result is a much more cohesive, playable work featuring some broadly written solo cornet solos. I’ve also renamed it ‘Excalibur’. I have taken out more than I’ve put in, and the resulting work will be much more accessible to lower section bands.
Have a try – it’ll make a great ‘Own Choice’ 2nd / 3rd Section test piece.
