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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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. 

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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A post shared by IWCEP (@iwcep_creativeisland)

Young Sounds UK: Paid opportunity for 18-25 year old mentor 

We are recruiting for an 18-25 year old Mentor to support our Young Sounds UK Connect programme. 

About the Role 

Musical potential is everywhere but opportunity isn’t: financial and social obstacles too often get in the way. Connect aims to effect significant change in how the musical potential of young people from low-income families is identified and supported.

You will play a central role in supporting the Connector on the day-to-day planning and delivery of the Connect programme in your Hub. You will agree specific areas of work as per need and capacity. You will also be a highly visible contact for the families and young people accessing Connect which will help you to foster new mentoring relationships with the young people on the programme.  

The Commitment

Isle of Wight Mentor: 

• Hours of work: 2 hours per week x 35 weeks per year for general programme support. Individual mentoring sessions with young people are offered in addition to these core hours. Sessions will be for one hour and offered on a case-by-case basis.

Southampton Mentor:

• Hours of work: 2 hours per term x 3 terms per year for Get Together event support. Individual mentoring sessions with young people are offered in addition to these core hours. Sessions will be for one hour and offered on a case-by-case basis.

How to Apply

Please fill in the application form by following this link, by Wednesday 23 April at 12pm. https://forms.office.com/e/LtkZQqH9KJ

Interviews will take place either online or in person at the start of May. 

Download the full job description below. To find out more, get in touch with Frankie McCormick at frankie@siowmusic.org .  

Young Sounds UK - Connect Mentor

Download the full job description and person specification here.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Southampton and IOW Music are looking to appoint to the following positions for 1 year’s fixed term maternity cover for the academic year 2025-26.

Job Vacancies:

Connector – Young Sounds 1.5 days per week term time only (IOW)

Connector – Young Sounds 0.5 days per week term time only (Southampton)

Project and music education co-ordinator – 2 days per week term time only (Southampton)

How to apply:

Applications, in the format of CV and covering letter, to be emailed to graham.hesp@southampton.gov.uk by Friday 28th March (Southampton) & Friday 18th April (IOW) at 12pm.

If you wish to apply for more than one role then please send a separate covering letter for each.

Interviews to be held on Friday 2nd May.

Job descriptions and person specifications for the roles can be found below.

Furthering Talent Connect: Local Connector

Download the Job Description and Person Specification. This is the same for both Southampton and IOW roles.

Download / View here

Projects and Music eDUCATION cOORDINATOR

Download the Job Description and Person Specification.

Download / View Here

Thursday 5th & Friday 6th February KS2 & KS3 in partnership with IWCEP and Creative Island

"An Audience With..." is Southampton & IOW Music's flagship vehicle to help schools connect the areas of the National Plan for Music Education focused on Music Industry roles with children and young people. 

In partnership with IWCEP and Creative Island, we will be delivering workshops on Thursday 5th & Friday 6th February for young people on the Isle of Wight in KS2 & KS3.

These will be hands-on sessions outlining some of the job roles available in the music industry (both technical and performance based) through practical activities and digital video content which will inspire young people to work in the music industry and develop aspirations for the future

Find out more via our hub menu.

Pathways to music industry workshops

In partnership with Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership & Creative Island

Find Out More & Book