Bournemouth NOYO are calling out to musicians aged between 11-25 years old who may be interested in joining the Bournemouth NOYO Ensemble. 

Join the National Open Youth Orchestra’s Bournemouth NOYO Ensemble where brilliant disabled, neurodivergent and non-disabled musicians rehearse and perform together - on acoustic, electronic and accessible instruments.

• Develop your musical skills within a pioneering inclusive ensemble.

• We learn music not only from notation, but also by ear and through improvisation.

Come to our Bournemouth Open Rehearsals on Saturday 10 and Saturday 31 January 2026 from 1pm - 4pm at The Spire, Poole (BH15 1DF) - find out more at noyo.org.uk

These are great opportunities to watch a Bournemouth NOYO rehearsal, meet the Music Leaders and other local musicians, and ask any questions they might have before applying for an audition.

Applications for regional auditions will be from Saturday 14 February to Tuesday 31 March 2026.

For more information about the Open Rehearsals, please see below: 

NOYO's website - Come to our 2026 Open Rehearsals! - National Open Youth Orchestra

BSO's  website - Bournemouth NOYO Ensemble - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Bournemouth NOYO Ensemble

Find out more about applying to be part of the ensemble.

Find Out More

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On Monday, the 17th of November, Matt Brombley, the strategic inclusion lead for SIOW Music and South Coast Music Partnership, took part in a presentation at the national music education conference run by Music Mark. Matt took part in a panel discussion with other experts in the field of youth voice and youth leadership, including sharing a video made by young people.

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Southampton Youth Orchestra gave their first concert of the 25-26 season on 30 November and what a concert it was!

The concert opened with the popular Finlandia overture by Sibelius,  Under the baton of assistant conductor Charlie Mann, the orchestra gave a performance that was full of drama.

Continuing under director, Kevin Withell, this was followed by the Elgar Cello Concerto performed by BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist, Ellen Baumring-Gledhill.

Ellen gave a beautiful poetic performance which was sympathetically accompanied by the orchestra.  The concert concluded with a rousing and characterful performance of Brahm's First Symphony. 

An outstanding concert that a professional orchestra would have been proud of.

Many congratulations to all involved on this amazing performance!

Sign up for Songwriters Den in 2026! Unleash your creativity and write your own songs!

What is it?

• Group sessions, where you can:

  • Learn different lyric writing techniques

  • Find out how to create melodies

  • Create chord progressions

  • Try out new instruments

  • Perform your songs at events and festivals

  • Meet like-minded people and share ideas!

Who can attend?

• 8-16 year olds

• No experience necessary

Where is it?

• Newport Congregational Church, Isle of Wight

When is it?

• First Wednesday of every month, from 4pm - 6pm

How much does it cost?

• These sessions are £15 per month, or £10 if you are in receipt of support services.

How to sign up?

• contact islandmusicmakers@gmail.com to book your place!

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"Imagine and Create" is a brand new resource by SIOW Music to encourage creativity and different ways of responding to sights and sounds.

What is Imagine & Create?

Imagine & Create is a brand-new digital music education resource developed by our hub, acting on feedback from schools and SEND settings to inspire creativity in young musicians. The idea came from conversations with SEND settings who wanted ideas for composing and creating musical ideas, but it can be used in all kinds of environments from Early Years to older children.

Each "Imagine and Create"  includes a 5 minute video based on a theme, with different sections matched to different pieces of music that combine engaging soundscapes with striking visuals, each themed around familiar classroom topics. Designed to spark imagination, these videos invite children the chance to improvise, move, explore and compose music in a playful, accessible way.

How to use Imagine & Create:

Each video has an accompanying teacher’s resource pack which features different starting points to explore the video with children, from drawing and moving, to oracy and language work, to composing and improvising sounds. The resources offer practical guidance, ideas, and activities on how to make use of the resources and help embed music-making into everyday classroom learning. These resources are linked in the description of each video.

The music in the video can be faded to be in the background, with the children putting in their own sounds, or it can be used as a focus for physical response or for playing along (the tracks are in C).

The resource document is just a starting point and we would love to know how you have used the videos and to see or hear any of the responses that your children have made.

What Imagine & Create themes would you like to see?

We are planning two "Imagine and Create" videos each term. So far we have "Train Journeys" and "Fireworks" available. "Space" and "Ocean" are in the planning stages for the Spring Term. Are there any themes that you would like us to explore? Do get in touch via music@siowmusic.org

Imagine & Create

Access the Imagine & Create videos on our YouTube playlist

Playlist

Pulse8 enjoyed their first ever social event a few weeks ago!

We visited Scoops Gelato in Portswood, where we ate waffles and ice cream, chatted and played various card games. Here is some feedback from the students themselves:

Poppy - ‘It was really good, we loved the yellow ice cream!’

David - ‘The waffles were tasty!’

Angela - ‘The social was awesome!’

Oscar - ‘It was delicious food and nice to talk to people.’

Ruben - ‘The food tasted really good!’

Leo - ‘It was really nice food and fun to socialise!’ 

Sia - ‘It was absolutely great, I loved it! I want to do it again!’

Daisy - ‘It was nice to see my music friends in a more chilled setting.’

We all had a fantastic time and are looking forward to the next one!

- Charlie and Steph

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Tickets are available for the free KS2 Explore the Orchestra: Four Elements concert taking place at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday 22nd January 2026 by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

This concert includes a free Teacher CPD workshop which is taking place on Monday 10th November from 4:15 - 5:45 pm, in the Lord Mayor's Banqueting Hall, Portsmouth Guildhall.

This session will provide teachers with everything they need to prepare their class for the concert. It will include all the participatory elements, as well as valuable teaching resources and fun ideas. We strongly encourage teachers to attend this event so they can share the concert’s interactive elements with their students in advance, helping them to get the most out of the concert.

Schools can book their tickets online using this link: Explore the Orchestra in Portsmouth Guildhall 2026

Teachers can book onto the CPD workshop using this link: https://bsomarketing.com/p/50JX-J39/eto-teacher-cpd-portsmouth-sign-up

Join us for our FREE Teachers’ CPD and Networking Event on Thursday 13th November, 1:00–4:30 pm.

We’re excited to invite school, FE and Sixth Form College tutors, lecturers and careers advisors to Southampton Solent University on Thursday 13th November 2025, 1:00–4:30pm for an afternoon of hands-on creative workshops/professional training, and social time for networking.

This will be a fantastic opportunity for teachers and careers advisors from local schools and colleges to visit us, take part in a hands-on mini workshop from a choice of subject areas, and enjoy some informal networking time with our teams.

This should be a valuable chance for to build stronger relationships and give teachers a positive and inspiring experience of what we do at Solent. If this event goes well, we will be organising another to showcase even more courses

What to expect:

• Workshops (choose one): Photography, Visual Communication (Graphic Design/Illustration), Fashion Media, Houdini for games and CGI, Music – more details to be announced!

• Networking & refreshments with Solent staff and colleagues from other schools/colleges.

• The chance to explore creative degree pathways, get hands-on with our facilities, and gain fresh insights into careers in the cultural and creative industries.

Why attend?

• Refresh your subject knowledge and try something new.

• Learn more about how you can support students considering a future in the creative industries.

• A great way to meet and connect with colleagues at other institutions who are teaching in similar areas, and share good practice and build contacts in a relaxed and social setting.

Where: Southampton Solent University, SO14 0YN
When: Thursday 13th November 2025, 1:00–4:30pm
Who: Tutors, lecturers and careers advisors with an interest in creative industries. 

 To book your free place, please complete the short form via the button below:

SoundStorm’s exciting annual battle of the bands is launching for 2026 and we are super excited to be opening the invite to bands across the South Coast Music Partnership for the very first time!

BandStorm gives young bands aged 13 – 18, the opportunity to experience an audition, (often for the very first time), receive positive and constructive feedback on their performance skills from professional musicians, in state-of-the-art specialist facilities at BAMM (Bournemouth Academy of Modern Music).

Bands compete for a place in the Final, which is held at The Old Fire Station, in Bournemouth, a professional live music venue, where some great prizes are up for grabs too as a bonus!

Bands are supported with sound engineers and the SoundStorm team to ensure the whole process is a positive experience where they feel encouraged and supported in their musical journey.

Check out the feature film from last year’s competition where we followed the bands’ journey BandStorm 2025.

Who can apply:

• We welcome bands from any experience level and any genre.

• young bands aged 13 – 18

• from Southampton, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight.

Applications open: 9am Friday 24th October.

Deadline: 12/12/2025

Any questions can come direct to Jo.farley@bcpcouncil.gov.uk

Please check out the BandStorm page for full details of what’s involved via the button below.

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As part of the SCMP-wide CPD and training offer next academic year, we are delighted to be able to host a day of Carbon Literacy Training for Music Educators on Wednesday 5th November 2025 Online.

This course is designed specifically for music educators to gain an awareness of  the climate-related costs and impacts of their activities and to understand how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The training provides practical tools for reducing emissions and integrating sustainability into professional practices.  It will also give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to act to reduce your carbon emissions to support the UKs Net Zero target.

The training will be delivered online through presentations and interactive discussion groups over the course of a whole day in 2x3 hour blocks. This will be followed by the creation of your own personal pledge which will be certified by the course leaders following the training. For music hub staff this certification will be included in the training and will form part of your INSET time for the year but for external partners there will be a small cost of approximately £10 for this.

When is it: Wednesday 5th November 2025

Where is it: Online

Please sign up now via the google form linked in the button below.

Spaces are limited so please sign up ASAP if you would like a secure place on this course.

Carbon Literacy Training

Online CPD training in Carbon Literacy for Music Educators. Spaces are limited.

Sign Up Now

On Saturday 18 October, Sound Sense, in partnership with The Music Works, are hosting a one-day CPD and networking event focusing on inclusion, embracing differences and exploring what it means to be a community musician in the 21st century.

SIOW’s Inclusion Lead, Matt Brombley, will be taking part in one of the panel discussions

This year has rounded off with another 12 concerts involving 16 Southampton and IOW Music ensembles.

Spread over the last 4 weeks of term all groups performed to an incredibly high standard.  It was an absolute pleasure for me to be able to attend most of these events. We are sure you are as proud of young musicians achievements as we are.  Not only are the young people great musicians but they also conduct themselves in such a professional manner. 

Our initial and mid tier groups generally gave performances in their rehearsal venues with our senior ensembles performing out and about.

• Southampton Youth Brass Band gave a couple of outdoor performances at the St Cross Fair and at Romsey bandstand, performing to a wide audience, well beyond just family and friends. 

• Southampton Youth Wind Band gave a stunning concert at Chandlers Ford Methodist Church

• Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia also performed out in the community at Royal Victoria Country Park.  This performance built on their inclusive and community project - Make Some Noise. 

• Southampton Guildhall was the venue for Southampton Youth Orchestra's 60th anniversary where they gave an incredible performance of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana together with singers from local schools and choirs

Festival Of Music In The West Wight will take place on 15 November 2025, including performances from solos, ensembles, duets, choirs. On 15 November 2025.

This festival welcomes an audience with a suggested entry donation of £5.

All proceeds are going towards The West Wight Dementia Friendly Choir in Freshwater. The aim of the choir is to keep raising funds to set up other dementia choirs on the island. To date they have been instrumental in supporting the Parklands Alzheimer centre and are working towards supporting a new choir in Ryde.

Performers and Musicians are encouraged to sign up to take part in the festival.

This can be done by filling out the Entry Form (downloadable via the button below) and emailing it to pamwedgwood@yahoo.co.uk

Information about the Festival

Where: The festival will be held at Christ Church, Alum Bay New Road, Totland Bay, PO39 OES

When: Starts at 10 am and finishes at 6pm.

Entry: The performances will be open to the public throughout the day. Entry by donation only at the door.

Performers:

Each performer(s) will be given an allocated slot to perform. This will be sent out as soon as we have an idea of how many performers wish to take part.

If you are involved in a choir, it’s likely that your allocated time will be in the afternoon.

Accompaniments:

If you need an accompanist there will be Dik Wilkins on hand to help you out.

Please let me know if you need to contact him before the day. Prior notice would be helpful.

Instruments:

There is a recently purchased Yamaha C3 grand piano. OR a digital piano available for performances.

Big Sing

At approximately 5pm there will be “A Big Sing” where hopefully anyone who has been involved in the festival, instrumentalists, singers or volunteers will join forces to have a fun mass sing to finish off the day. The chosen songs will be. “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins and “California Dreaming.” There will be words and scores available for anyone wishing to sing in parts!

Full details can be found via the button below.

Please contact pamwedgwood@yahoo.co.uk OR Hill View House, Bedbury Lane Freshwater. PO40 9PD for any further enquiries regarding the festival.

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With the new term starting in September, many workshops, classes & groups are starting up again. Below is a breakdown of some upcoming offerings from SIOW Music and our Partners!

Don’t miss your chance to book on to classes including music making, song-writing, singing, creative collaborations and dance!

Digital Native Artist Groups from SIOW Music:

Mix’Zine - A conected commnity for music, events and support - created by young people for young people. Monthly Mondays from 4.30 - 6.00pm.

Music Production Collective - Monthly group sessions for collaborations among young beat makers, producers and songwriters. Mondays from 4.30 - 6.00pm.

Flow - Twice monthly rap group session for young rappers - no experience necessary! Saturdays from 10.30am - 12.00pm.

Girls Make Music is taking a short break, but will be returning soon! Keep an eye out for updates.

All of these sessions are FREE to attend, with support from Youth Music. They take place at our Music Studio, in Mayflower Studios.

See below for further information on our poster and future dates on the events calendar.

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Workshops, classes & groups from our Partners:

On the Isle of Wight

Songwriters Den - Learn different writing techniques, find out how to create melodies, chord progressions, try out new instruments, perform your songs at events & festivals!

£28 per month, September - July, half price for anyone in receipt of support services. These sessions take place at Newport Congregational Church.

Contact islandmusicmakers@gmail.com to book your space for September 2025.

In Southampton

St Michaels & All Angels’ Junior Choir - Junior Choir is a wonderful opportunity for children in years 3 - 9 to learn music, practice with friends and sing at monthly services!

Practice is on Wednesday evenings during term time at 6.30 - 7.45pm. Find out more and fill in the application form to join here.

St Michaels are also hosting a Half-term Singing Event on Wednesday 29th October from 1.30 - 5.00pm. You can reserve a space here.

Music and Dance classes by ArtAsia - Art Asia runs a thriving programme of weekly music and dance classes in Southampton. From Carnatic Music to Bollywood Dance!

Run by professional practitioners, we aim to provide the most authentic, high quality classes in the region.

Boost your confidence, learn something new, keep fit with classes from professional tutors in Southampton.

Join at the start of term. New timetables are available and booking is open. You can find more information on ArtAsia’s music and dance classes and Book via their website.

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Lorenza Marino has just released her bilingual track ‘La Melodia’ - you can read about the track, its origins and influences below, and learn more about Lorenza as an artist. She has previously performed at the Music Mark Conference and represented SIOW Music within Youth Voice panel discussions.

La Melodia

The bilingual track ‘La Melodia’ seamlessly blends the Italian language with Croatian, featuring a Southern Italian melody line, a Spanish sounding guitar and a Balkan accordion. The captivating song Lorenza wrote, touches upon the beautiful trademarks of the city that she calls home (Salerno, Italy) and the other places she has visited that make her feel at home.

These places as described in the Mediterranean have a heartbeat, which will always remain inside of her every time she leaves at the end of Summer. She dedicates this song to the cities in Italy and the Balkans (which she visited for the first time last summer), that are so close in distance, musical influences and historical and cultural pride.

“The atmosphere in the Balkans and my city Salerno will remain in my heart forever and La Melodia, which is a cognate in other languages across the world, is the proof of what it means to write from a place of wholeness, love and freedom of creativity. She is a reminder of the pride I carry, which I wish to share with the world, with the language causing no limitations of were my music will travel.” — Lorenza Marino

About Lorenza Marino

Born in East London, the Italian & Zambian Singer-Songwriter and Producer is an Independent Artist emerging into the music industry with influences coming from all over the globe. Lorenza calls herself a ‘Citizen of The World’, with her London R&B and Soul background, fusing together with her Mediterranean and African Sound. She completed a Music Diploma at The Academy of Contemporary Music Guildford in 2022 and graduated this summer with a BA Honours from Southampton Solent University with a Music Performance and Production Degree. Having done all of this, she will be starting her travels across Europe this summer, in hopes of collaborating with more artists across the continent, while also performing in various venues across different cities.

Follow Lorenza Marino on Instagram here.

Follow Lorenza Marino on Tik Tok here.

Support the research of an MA student at Platform One!

An MA student at Platform One is currently looking into the attitudes towards the practice of sampling in popular music and is gathering primary research through an online questionnaire.

To support their research, please fill out their short online questionnaire- responses will be recorded until 16 September 2025.

This short study is about attitudes towards the practice of sampling in popular music. For the sake of clarity, referring specifically to the sampling of existing, recorded, commercial music as part of the process for creating new musical works, as opposed to other applications of digital sampling technology, or commercially available "royalty free" samples.

On 5 July 2025 we celebrated a fantastic evening of music, Southampton Youth Wind Band performed at Chandlers Ford Methodist Church in an end of year concert.

The evening included band awards for our talented young musicians, performances from our Award Holders, and recognition of 2025 leavers. We would like to thank all for their dedication, passion and outstanding performances.

This concert was also Kevin Withell’s last performance as an assistant to SYWB, we would like to thank Kevin for all of his hard work, commitment and support to the ensemble.

Below you can find photos and videos from the evening!

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SIOW Music is working with Artswork to offer an exciting new role within the South Coast Music Partnership: a Breakthrough Traineeship as a Signposting & Youth Governance Worker!

Breakthrough is a 6‑month employability programme designed as a stepping stone to get young people aged 18–25 workplace experience and all-important employment skills. This role includes:

1. Signposting — sharing music-making opportunities, resources and training with schools and families through SCMP’s website and social media channels.

2. Youth Governance — working to set up new youth-led consultations and governance systems that make SCMP more inclusive, representative and responsive to the needs, interests and ambitions of children and young people.

3. Cultural Education Partnerships — helping children and young people find and move between cultural and creative opportunities and support.

This week marked the culmination of the Sound Out! Project, delivered by London Sinfonietta in partnership with SIOW music and Turner Sims.

Children from IOW and Southampton were entertained at Ryde Academy, Medina Theatre and Turner Sims by  Patrick Bailey, London Sinfonietta musicians and the Sound Out Young Ensemble which was made up of pupils from Carisbrooke College and Upper Shirley High School.

Pupils explored how to compose and create new music, led by presenter Patrick Bailey.

They listened to pieces by living composers, joined in with the performance and heard new work by young people from Southampton and the Isle of Wight.  Pupils from Ryde academy and Bassett Green heard their music created in workshops led by the composer come to life in the performances. The compositions were environmentally themed, continuing to embed SCMP's environmental focus. 

In an article for Southampton Forward, Kath Page shares her excitement for Tapestry Festival, SIOW Music working as an event partner and what this has involved:

“A great example of our work at Southampton and Isle of Wight Music is a project to showcase the talent of local children and young people at the new Tapestry Festival at Westquay on 19th and 20th July, and I’m really excited to be a part of this.

Three city-centre schools took part in vocal workshops to learn a set of songs about Southampton and the areas that Jane Austen would have lived in and frequented. One of the songs, about the many languages and cultures in Southampton, aligns particularly well with the world music focus of Tapestry.

The next phase of the project is a filming day for the participating schools with students from Solent University, who will create a video of the performances to share on screens at Tapestry in between acts, performances and workshops.

Performance can feel a bit daunting, but it’s so important because it helps young people grow – not just as musicians but as confident, expressive and connected individuals. Engaging in performance allows young individuals to express themselves creatively and authentically and this form of self-expression can be really empowering.

Tapestry is such an exciting event. As Event Partner, SIOW Music was involved from the start, helping Southampton Forward put the programme together and recommending local artists via our hub to perform and to run workshops at the festival.

Tapestry is free and open to everyone and it’s completely family friendly. We’re so lucky to have this new event in the heart of the city, attracting first-class musicians from across the UK as well as local acts. I also think it’s vital festivals like Tapestry are bringing a range of music to a wider audience, helping to foster inclusivity, cultural understanding and emotional connection across communities.

We have several wonderful projects coming up in addition to Tapestry, including London Sinfonietta workshops with secondary schools’ ensembles and concert performances for Key Stage 3 students at Turner Sims as well as English National Opera’s ‘Finish This’ end of year composition workshops and performances at Redbridge Community School. Southampton Youth Orchestra’s 60th anniversary concert on Saturday 12th July at 02 Guildhall Southampton also promises to be a great night.”

- Kath Page, Consortium Lead, South Coast Music Partnership, SIOW Music Manager, SCEP Chair.

The full article can be read here.

Tapestry festival

Free Festival at Westquay Esplanade

2-8pm on 19th & 20th July

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