For our 10 Minute Sing & Sing this week, we have an original song by Jo Downs: A Cockerel-headed Man.

This song has been specially written and commissioned for our partners Brading Roman Villa as part of a wider project on the Isle of Wight called ‘Can You Hear Us?’ and the ‘Songs of Place’ we are creating for this.

A Cockerel-headed Man! is about one of the famous pictures that make up the mosaic floor at Brading Roman Villa - Gallus the Cockerel-headed Man! This song has been written in the style of Victorian Music Hall as a nod to the time that the Villa was discovered.

You can listen to the track on our Songbank, or Sign and Sing along using our 10 Minute Sign & Sing learning and performance videos.

Everybody sing songbank

Access: A Cockerel-headed Man! Full track, Backing track & Score, as part of our Myths & Legends songs for our Vocal Prom.

Listen here

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Last Thursday we celebrated the hopes and views of young people in primary education on the Isle of Wight at “Our Day will Come”, a school and singing event led by Southampton and Isle of Wight Music (@siowmusic) and staged at Carisbrooke Castle with @englishheritage with Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership ‘Creative Island’.

Around 600 pupils from 15 schools took part in the preparation and performance of the event. The Cultural Education Partnership (Under @creativeisland_iw) were proud to help fund the commissioning of five original songs by local songwriters and songwriting workshops with the pupils.

These workshops produced work that reflected how the children feel about growing up here and making plans for the future. In addition, art workshops with @new.carnival enabled pupils to express these ideas through the production of their own colourfully illustrated flags, that went onto decorate the staging area at the Castle. They asked pupils:
1) What’s your favourite thing about the Island?
2) What’s your favourite thing about school?
3) What are your hopes for the future?

A big well done to all the young people who took part and for their loved ones who came along to support.

You can view Creative Islands instagram post (which includes a video from the event) below.

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