plymouth music zone 2009 - a decade of difference

www.plymouthmusiczone.org.uk

PLYMOUTH MUSIC ZONE

1999-2009

DECaDE Of DIffErENCE

THE BIG

DVD Track listings - Top Ten films1) Happy 10th Birthday PMZ!2) A Decade of Difference (1999-2009)3) Inspiration – PMZer Close Up: Luke Lundin 4) Excellence – Be All You Can Be: Soundskills – the Music Leader 5) Creativity – Making It Up: E2E does MTV at PMZ (2008)6) Empowerment – Seeing the Light: Sensation Music Station (2007)7) Accessibility – Opening Doors: SCOPE (2009)8) Dynamism – PMZer Close Up: Rowan Newbitt9) Innovation – Hungry for Change: Digital Hotdogs (2007)10) Enterprise – Blast from the Past: Rock Therapy (2004)

CD Track Listings - Top Ten Tunes1) Stay - Written and Performed by The Cre8 Project (2003)2) Do You Think This Is Fair – Nathaniel and Kimmy G (2008)3) Love Me For Who I Am – Maria (2007)4) Rescue Me – Written by Josh, Jamie and Peter, Performed by The Audioworks Rock Band (2005)5) We Want Freedom – Written and Performed by The Powerpack (2005)6) Beatrice the Barn Owl – Written and Performed by Anna Batson (2009)7) Dancing in the Clouds – Written and Performed by Josie Newton (2008)8) Here Comes the Sun – Performed by The Summer Sing (2007)9) Fever – Performed by Elize Kellman (2006)10) Cucaracha – Written and Performed by Luke Lundin (2007)

When an organisation has been running as successfully

as Plymouth Music Zone has for ten years, it is worth both

reflecting and celebrating. How lucky we have been! Ten years

ago, an Education Action Zone was lucky to attract additional

funding to set up a Music Zone. It was fortunate that Youth

Music saw the possibilities of such a venture and invested.

Local authorities such as Plymouth City Council and DRC

Partnership have also been generous supporters.

But it is not as much about luck as it is about people.

Firstly Matt and Mark got the show on the road, and then Mark

and Ben took it further. Now, ten years on, Ben leads a wonderfully

committed team and it is worthy to mention Karl, Debbie, Glyn and

Simon as well as 25 sessional workers. As Chair of the Trustees,

may I thank all those who have made Plymouth Music Zone such

a success so that so many can enjoy music in all its forms. The

Trustees are rightly proud of Plymouth Music Zone’s achievements.

We look forward to the next 10 years.

Paul Cotter

CHAIR OF TRUSTEES

PMZ has achieved a huge amount over

the last 10 years and the success of the

organisation is due to the support and

guidance of so many... I’d like to take this

opportunity to say the most heartfelt thanks

to all the staff, Music Leaders and volunteers for their

fantastic enthusiasm and commitment. We’re also indebted

to our trustees who help make the difficult decisions

that keep the PMZ ship pointing in the right direction.

Partnerships with other organisations are the bedrock of

our success but there are so many that I’m loathe to include

them all in this booklet for fear of missing anyone out. So for

all those who have helped, funded, guided and supported

us - we’d be nothing without you. You know who you are!

Of course, at the heart of everything we do are the wonderfully

inspiring young people we work with and this event is a

celebration of them. In fact, it’s thanks to our young people’s

forum, TEMPO, getting funding from the Youth Opportunity

Fund that we have been able to stage this event.

I would also like to dedicate this anniversary to the memory of

our dear friend Gilly Rudling (Youth Music). I hope we can carry

forward her passion and inspiration for the next 10 years...

Ben Ballard

PROJECT DIRECTOR

fOrEWOrD

THE BIG

TakING THE PULSE aT PMZ

Plymouth Music Zone has engaged an estimated 16,500 children and young people in the last 1O years delivering

around 20,300 music workshops.

It’s amazing what you can do in a decade. An extraordinary

journey that’s seen Plymouth Music Zone move from pillar to

post, fighting to fund its future – passionate about growing old

gracefully, from way back to its roots with just one musician

working out of a cupboard in 1999 to the many Music Leaders

branching out in the bustling building that is the PMZ of today.

The facts speak for themselves, the latest results from an

Independent Evaluation show the sheer scale of what’s being

achieved. So we’re celebrating with a CD of Top Ten Tunes that

is a joy to the ears along with a DVD of fun filled film to feast your

eyes on. So sit back and find out what we stand for.

And keep your fingers on the pulse of what’s to come...

DID yOU EnJOy THE ClASS?

PMZ TOP

TakING THE PULSE aT PMZ PMZ STaNDS fOr...

PLYMOUTH MUSIC ZONE

88.9% of respondents said that they loved being involved in the project. No one was negative or neutral. Interviewees explained their answer by talking about the environment, tutors and social context.

The people there are amazing, they treat you like adults. I am 17 and have been going since I was 14. They are really talented there and open minded and encourage and inspire you. I was not outgoing before I went to PMZ.

“ “yES, lOVED IT 88.9%yES, lIKED IT 11.1%

nEUTRAl 0%

DIDn’T EnJOy IT 0%

HATED IT 0%

All results are taken from an Independent Evaluation using a sample of 500 PMZ participants.

PMZ has facilitated nearly 1500 performances in the past

decade reaching estimated audiences of over 312,000 people.

In THE lOng TERm, DID THE ClASS InCREASE yOUR COnFIDEnCE?

TakING THE PULSE aT PMZ PMZ aLSO STaNDS fOr...

INSPIraTION

INSPIraTION There’s something about PMZ that makes people want to come

back. It’s a pulsating and palpable passion at the heart of all that

we do. It’s about using music in a way that makes people feel

more confident about themselves - heightening imagination and

aspiration, spurred on by the taste of new possibilities.

It’s a place built on the idea of equal participation through

valuing and learning from others. Children and young people

can demonstrate their skills and talents through music and

performance to not only be inspired themselves but to have the

chance to inspire others too.

88.9% of interviewees said that PMZ sessions definitely built their confidence in the long term.

The people at PMZ believed in me, I have my own band now. They push your boundaries, ease you into new stuff so you feel more comfortable doing more stuff.

PMZ TOP

“ “yES, DEFInITEly 88.9%yES, PROBABly 7.4%

UnSURE / n/A 3.7%

PROBABly nOT 0%

DEFInITEly nOT 0%

Plymouth Music Zone has engaged 336 Music Leaders over the last 10

years as well as offering 76 work placements to young people.

DID THE ClASS EnCOURAgE yOU TO SET HIgH STAnDARDS FOR yOURSElF?

TakING THE PULSE aT PMZ PMZ aLSO STaNDS fOr...

EXCELLENCE

EXCELLENCE Plymouth Music Zone is all about distance travelled.

We all start from different places but can all achieve

excellence on our own paths. PMZ paves that way for

young people and we commit ourselves to the same on our

own journey. We’re sometimes seen as the ‘rags to riches’

fairytale that grew out of that cosy cupboard back in 1999 to

being increasingly seen today as a centre of excellence in

community music both locally and nationally.

But it takes plenty of support to keep improving the quality of

our work with young people and the training we provide for

community musicians and others – and we all know that ‘happy

ever afters’ take more than wishful thinking...

76.9% of respondents said that the class definitely encouraged them to set high standards for themselves.

They tell you to do the best you can, to get as far as you can.“

“

PMZ TOP

yES, DEFInITEly 76.9%yES, PROBABly 11.5%

UnSURE / n/A 7.7%

PROBABly nOT 3.8%

DEFInITEly nOT 0%


PMZ has worked with 86% of the primary schools in Plymouth, 63% of the secondary schools and all of the

special schools as well as in a huge variety of other places.

DID THE ClASS DEVElOP yOUR CREATIVITy? PMZ aLSO STaNDS fOr...

CrEaTIVITYCrEaTIVITY Everyone has creative potential and everyone can express

themselves musically. That’s what we believe at PMZ.

Music needn’t be the preserve of the elite few or the skilled

amateur. Far from it. Plymouth Music Zone believes everyone

is ‘hard wired to make music’. For many thousands of years

music has helped define our shared humanity.

The way we work at Plymouth Music Zone encourages

participants to find their own creativity within the group

through working at their own level. We all have the need

to express ourselves creatively. PMZ’s approach to music

making gives people the chance to make a positive

contribution and find the creative spark for themselves. 88.5% of interviewees said that the class encouraged them to be more creative.

81.4% of the interviewees said that the class encouraged them to make positive

choices about their future.

Every time I go I feel a lot more ideas.“ “

PMZ TOP

yES, DEFInITEly 50%yES, PROBABly 38.5%

UnSURE / n/A 3.8%

PROBABly nOT 7.7%

DEFInITEly nOT 0%


UnSURE / n/A 7.4%

PROBABly nOT 11.1%

DEFInITEly nOT 0%

DID THE ClASS HElP yOU TO mAKE POSITIVE CHOICES ABOUT yOUR FUTURE?

Writing this Top 10 list is a little emotional. It’s only at times like this when it really hits home about all the opportunities that have been offered to us.

We’re extremely lucky to have had PMZ in our lives, and to be honest, I don’t think we could (or would want to) imagine life without them...

PMZ has attracted over £3 million of external investment to enhance

the opportunities for the young people of Plymouth.

PMZ TOP

PMZ aLSO STaNDS fOr...

EMPOWErMENTTakING THE PULSE aT PMZ

TOP TEN TEMPO MEMOrIES

TEMPO

It’s an acronym that stands for Teenagers Engaged in Music

Performance Organisation. However, it actually stands for a lot more

than that. It stands for friendship. It stands for family. It stands for

unity. It stands for life. It stands for love. It stands for music. It stands

for fun. It stands for laughter. But most of all, It stands for giving

young people a platform, and the voice with which to speak upon it.

Tempo was set up in 2006 to give passionate and dedicated

‘PMZ-ers’ an opportunity to have their say in the running of PMZ and

have an impact on the live music scene in the city.

On a personal level, I have been involved with PMZ for almost 7

years now. This charity has made not just a difference to my life, but

has really influenced how I’ve grown as a person. The friends I’ve

made and the experiences and opportunities I’ve been given are far

beyond anything I could have dreamt of.

To coin a somewhat overused phrase; Thank you for the music.

Zoe Fell, June 2009. xoxoxoxo

Number 1 is a memory that’s happening now and next at PMZ!

The £16,948.25 from the YOF contributing to the 10th Anniversary events

The £50,000 for the Sensation Music Station received from the ITV People’s Millions

Meeting folk such as Ian from Kasabian at a Musicians’ Union events

The 2007 special trip to USA

In late 2006, I was appointed the Young Ambassador for Music in Plymouth

Projecting Plymouth - Young people making a difference in Plymouth

Imagine That - Creating music inspired artwork for the PMZ building

Creation of the Youth Forum - momentous

Freesound FM the inspirational radio project

1

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3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Plymouth Music Zone started off its life in a cupboard at Seymour House in Plymouth and

has moved its base/office 5 times in 10 years before settling into its current

building in Devonport in 2003.

DID THE ClASS gIVE yOU A CHAnCE TO ExPRESS yOURSElF?


aCCESSIBILITY

aCCESSIBILITY At Plymouth Music Zone, labels are left at the door - and

we try to put our money where our mouth is, knowing how

actions speak louder than words. Around 80% of what we

do is targeted at young people who are disadvantaged in

some way.

Our strap line is “Music Making a Difference” and the

impact of our work on young people has been shown in our

latest Independent Evaluation to be as impressive as the

technology that so easily captivates the disabled children in

the only multi-sensory music studio of its kind in the country

that’s been created at PMZ.


88.5% of the interviewees said that the class definitely gave them a chance to express themselves.

“ “

PMZ TOP

It’s a nice environment within the group, a chance to feel and say what you want without someone saying something bad to you. You can say what you think about different things with everybody and they listen.


UnSURE / n/A 0%

PROBABly nOT 0%

DEFInITEly nOT 0%


DYNaMISM Plymouth Music Zone is a place with a buzz...

It’s not just the young people we work with who say they’re

happy at PMZ. Everyone who works here does so because they

believe in what the organisation is trying to do.

Of course we all have our wobbles, but everyone at PMZ has an

unswerving belief in the power of music to make a difference to

people’s lives - and we all pull together under this banner.

Plymouth Music Zone is a real workhorse of an organisation

kicking out a whopping programme of up to 70 weekly

sustained activities during term time, a large scale holiday

school programme, as well as between 50 - 60 one-off

projects and events throughout the year. We like to make

things happen.


DYNaMISM

PMZ began with one musician working in a number of schools around the city.

It now has 25 members of staff delivering music workshops in a whole host of places

throughout Plymouth and beyond.

DO yOU FEEl HAPPIER AS A RESUlT OF THE ClASS?

88.9% of the interviewees said that the class definitely made them feel happier.

“ “I absolutely cannot imagine life without PMZ, they have been such a big part of my life, invaluable support and everything that they throw at you, there is always someone there to pick you up. It’s great.

PMZ TOP


UnSURE / n/A 0%

PROBABly nOT 0%

DEFInITEly nOT 0%

PMZ TOP


INNOVaTION What do you get when you mix 25 Music Leaders (including

many composers and singers) with 8 PMZ full time staff

(including many frustrated one time musicians or creative types),

with equally enthusiastic young people oozing with creativity?

Answer: INNOVATION. In fact, it’s difficult to avoid – and not

that we’d want to.

We’ve already won a South West Media Innovation Award

and been nominated for two others. We’ve been chosen as a

national pilot to develop a unique singing resource for children

out of mainstream settings. And our Youth Forum has created

such delights as a portable public performance platform called

‘Digital Hotdogs’ (see DVD). Being cutting edge is very much

what we do and part of the fun is not knowing what we’ll

come up with next...


INNOVaTION

Plymouth Music Zone has won a number of awards recognising its

work and the innovative way it uses music as a tool to transform children

and young people’s lives.

WAS IT DIFFEREnT WORKIng WITH mUSIC OUT OF SCHOOl RATHER THAn In SCHOOl?

96% said that the class was definitely better than music in school.

“ “In school there are restrictions, at PMZ you have a say in what you do. They treat you differently, it’s a nicer atmosphere. It allows you to be your own person and not just follow a set of rules. PMZ has got a unique vibe to it. You are restricted at school.

DEFInITEly BETTER 96%PROBABly BETTER 0%

nOT DIFFEREnT 4%

PROBABly WORSE 0%

DEFInITEly WORSE 0%

PMZ TOP


ENTErPrISE PMZ helps young people take full advantage of their

musical talent and skills to make a future for themselves.

But we also need to practice what we preach to help us

survive as an organisation for the next 10 years. Plymouth

Music Zone is in the process of moving from being a

charity to a social enterprise to become less reliant on

grant funding.

We won the “Social Enterprise of the Year Award” in the

local business awards so some people think we’re going in

the right direction - but we need to up the ante even more.

We need to continue to improve and become even more

professional and we’re sure to feel the growing pains from

that in the years ahead...


ENTErPrISE

Plymouth Music Zone is one of the most successful of 22 so

called ‘Youth Music Action Zones’ nationwide set up in areas of social

and economic deprivation.

HAVE yOU KEPT UP yOUR mUSIC PRACTICE SInCE THE ClASS?*

81.5%

of interviewees are in education. None is unemployed.

73.1% of respondents said that they had kept up their music

practice a lot since the class.

“I never used to promote what I do. The tutor taught me how to produce what I do, how to manage and get gigs. It’s given me loads of confidence.”

“I practice more, I want to be like my teachers, I want to be a music leader in an organisation or running my own business.“

yES, A lOT 73.1%yES, A BIT 19.2%

nO 7.7%

EDUCATIOn/ TRAInIng 81.5%EmPlOymEnT 25.9%

UnEmPlOyED 0%

*Both questions are part of a follow up survey

WHAT ARE yOU DOIng nOW?*

PMZ TOP


WHaT’S NEXT? Well, who would have imagined all those years ago that we would

have gone from being in a cupboard to creating what is the ‘centre

of excellence’ today. Who knows if anyone could safely predict

where we’ll end up in another 10 years...

But the fairytale wish and the business plan would go hand in hand.

We would like to still be here. We want to become better at what we

do and able to invest even more in the young people and the staff

and Music Leaders we work with. We want to continue pushing the

cutting edge in search of the quality we desire. We want to launch

a capital appeal to extend our building and enhance our training

facilities and we want you to believe in us and continue to support

the work that we do.

Most importantly, we want to continue to be passionate as an

organisation about using music to make a difference where it counts.

But, hey, as long as we don’t end up back in the closet then that will

be the main thing...


THE fUTUrE

Plymouth Music Zone is a charity and non profit making organisation. Any

money it receives is always reinvested in some of the most vulnerable children

and young people in the city.

84.6%

of interviewees said that PMZ was very important to them.

I hate it if I cannot go. I go even if I am ill. I have been given so much. I feel that I cannot let them down.”

“It makes you feel good about yourself and you want to make a good impression.

HOW ImPORTAnT IS/WAS PmZ TO yOU?

““

VERy ImPORTAnT 84.6%ImPORTAnT 15.4%

nOT VERy ImPORTAnT 0%

VERy UnImPORTAnT 0%

plymouth music zone 2009 - a decade of difference

Documents

youth music

music leaders

plymouth music zone1999

sensation music station

plymouth city council

pmz ship

birthday pmz

luke lundin