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info@heartbeats.org.uk


welcome to Heart Beats

welcome to Heart Beats

Friday 30 September 2016

warming up at Cedars Hall

Testing the acoustics!
Here we are - the Listening Lounge gang - exploring how it actually sounds, and what it feels like, to play live music in one of our new rooms at Cedars Hall. We started as quiet as mice, made loops on the iPad and then - we were away!

Many thanks to Wells Cathedral School for hosting our music sessions this year.

Thursday 29 September 2016

The Listening Lounge

This evening we are going to Cedars Hall for the first time.
Our first group there will be the Listening Lounge.
This is a closed group run by Alex and Jane. The Listening Lounge brings young people with and without additional needs together to explore 'what music does' more closely. There's a lot of chatting, playing, listening to music and each other.
In our explorations, we use instruments, recorded music, voices, words, technologies, art and all sorts of spontaneous responses to sound.

exploring sound, pattern and colour

Thursday 22 September 2016

Heart Beats starts tonight!

A reminder that the autumn sessions start tonight.
This will be our last session at the Lawrence Centre before moving on to Cedars' Hall.

Tonight we'll be using our voices, and rhythms, to greet each other and make patterns of sound.
Theme of the evening is 'everybody jam' - chosen by Geoffrey.

See you there!


Monday 19 September 2016

Local support makes lots of difference!

Here we are in the local press -  receiving a cheque on behalf of the group, generously given us by Radco through donations collected on their gala night.

Local support works in lots of ways, and donations do really help.

Click here to see the photo and read all about it.

Thursday 15 September 2016

Heart Beats is moving to a new home

We have some news! From the end of September we are moving our Thursday sessions (Heart Beats club, and the Listening Lounge) from the Lawrence Centre to a new venue in Wells.

This venue is Cedars Hall at Wells Cathedral School.
Cedars Hall

This is great news, for two reasons.

Firstly, Cedars Hall is a brand-new state of the art teaching and learning centre built with music in mind. Building the hall has been a long standing project for Wells Cathedral School, and now it is ready to be used.
The hall has wonderful facilities and is accessible, designed with acoustics in mind and - of course! - perfect for playing live music. We shall be on the first floor, in a teaching space with adjoining rooms and observation space for break-out opportunities.

Secondly, the move brings us into a closer partnership with Wells Cathedral School.
Over the years we've offered supported training placements for Wells students, and more recently, staff as well. This has grown to become a vital part of our work as the 'AllStars ensemble' explore improvisation together with the Heart Beats crew, our core group of learning disabled musicians - it's a creative hothouse.

A professional development day with an integrated group

Wells C.S head Elizabeth Cairncross says 'we know that music and the performing arts must be inclusive, not exclusive. With Cedars Hall we will be able to expand our community programme, our teaching, our staff training, and our partnership work.'
Inclusion is everything for us. We do believe that everyone is musical, and that music can change lives.
Most of our group live in the Wells area.The school recognise that Cedars Hall is a significant community asset for Wells and the South West. We're proud to be included.