As Autumn rolls in, there are lots of classes and groups to choose from in Inishowen. If you’re looking for opportunities in Music, you can check out The Music Box at The Exchange in Buncrana.
Classes range from early years music for parents/caregivers and babies/toddlers, to Boogie Bugs for 3-6yrs, The Music Box Singers 6-14yrs, and The Guitar Academy for 7yrs +.
In addition the very popular Inishowen Choir of ages returns on Sept 18th with performances planned at Halloween and Christmas – this is an intergenerational choir and open to all singing levels and all ages. Practice is 6.30 – 7.30pm in The Exchange. Fee is a small weekly donation to cover expenses. Come along on the night – no booking required!
Also we are delighted to welcome the return of The Lullaby Project – a project in collaboration with Carnegie Hall, it is built around creating strong bonds between new parents and their babies through bespoke lullabies created together with the families and Bernie. Places for this project will be rolled out shortly.
All classes and groups are led by Bernie Doherty, community musician. Bernie regularly works on creative projects in the community from songwriting to music and art for wellbeing projects. This year she has released songs and poetry in support of Palestine, won the Derry Journal People of the Year Award – ‘The Spirit of Inishowen’, and created school songs with local schools and children.
Many of the children’s classes and groups are limited in space, but we do our best to accommodate so pls reach out. Email – themusicboxireland@gmail.com or FB: facebook.com/themusicboxschool
The Inishowen Choir of Ages is an intergenerational choir made up of all ages from 5 to 80+. We are fully inclusive and welcome all singing abilities and friends from near and far. We have been singing together for 3 years, and generally have 50 – 70 members, including a full band of younger and not so young musicians adding a variety of instruments to our sound. It is a hugely social group, uplifting and mentally and physically beneficial. We perform 2 – 5 times a year and love the opportunity to share the joy of music and in particular the joy of singing together. Tea is always readily available!
For Autumn/Winter 2024, we have the opportunity to sing in St. Mary’s Oratory Buncrana as part of the International Derry Choir Festival on Oct 27th with 3 additional choirs, and have 2 Christmas performances in the works.
We warmly welcome you to join us in the joyous musical season ahead, as we recommence practice in The Exchange Inishowen, Castle Avenue, Buncrana on September 18th from 6.30 – 7.30pm (pls arrive in time to start at 6.30pm). Sight reading is not essential, and a small donation weekly is asked to cover expenses of the choir.
I’m delighted to have spent a lot of time in lockdown researching and developing programmes for all ages around Social Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL is a tool that allows us to take all the benefits of music – and embed them in every class we teach. It’s not an ‘extra’ thing we need to do – it’s something that we learn, research and understand so that it becomes ‘part’ of what we do at every stage.
I’d direct you to http://www.artsedsel.org for a really great read on all the benefits, but suffice to say – SEL promotes good interaction, self awareness, acceptance, collaboration, problem solving and a deeper empathy and understanding of those around us. There are clearly laid out pillars that focus on Identity, Belonging and Agency, that create a classroom setting where children are responsible and involved in meaningful ways in what is happening in the room. It’s a way to increase emotional intelligence – understaning our emotions and dealing with them in ways that are appropriate and beneficial.
Particularly as we prepare to exit covid related restrictions, we should appreciate every tool we can access to help our children deal with all the emotions and experiences that living through a pandemic can create – especially so young. SEL helps us understand and accept that we are beings of many emotions, and by embedding SEL into our lessons, we can make our students part of the solution in difficult situations, part of their own recovery and create a better school and home community as we do so.
There are many fantastic rescources around SEL, and I’ve created lots of opportunities to embed those important pillars, standards and skills into our music programmes – starting with our early years children through targeted lessons and a new curriculum based on SEL, right through our older children, teens and adults. Programmes that include music, art, movement, songwritng and reflection. At home, at school in the workplace, we can all benefit from a greater emotional intelligence. It’s fast becoming an essential skill, and one that is both rewarding and beneficial to teachers and parents as well as our students.
Let me know if you have any questions for me – I’d be delighted to chat more!
I’ve put together a great schedule of short courses and workshops for the summer – and the great news is that this year – we have music for adults as well as children! You can join us from anywhere around the world for some of our classes (songwriting, ukulele) as they will take place online via zoom. Time to take up a new challenge or hone those skills! See you in class! Bernie xx
Instrument Making Workshop
In person workshops in The Exchange in Buncrana will be for kids aged 4-7 and 8-12. Indoor and outdoor spaces will be used. .
It’s been a bit of a wait to get together in person, but I can’t wait to get creating with the children again!
All those lovely things we learn when we try new things, employ our amazing decision making skills, collaborate, create and have fun!
Hopefully by the end of the Summer, we can welcome back our babies in person too!
For booking and payment details, pls email themusicboxireland@gmail.com. Places in all courses and workshops will be limited. Revolut and PayPal accepted.
Here’s a full list of our Summer School classes – and below that, you’ll find dates, times and fee details.
Songwriting for Adults (Online)
Songwriting for Children aged 13 – 18 (Online)
Ukulele for Adults/Children aged 6+. This also makes a great family class! (Online)
Instrument Making Workshop 4-7yrs (In Person)
Decorate your room Workshop 4-7yrs (In Person)
Songs & Rhymes & Rhythms 8-12yrs (In Person)
My Story, My Song – Songwriting for Adults
This workshop will be a mix of first time writers, and those who have tried some songwriting before. Bring an instrument if you play one, and we’ll get straight to work creating, talking about song ideas, song structure, how to get started and how to finish! Feel free to come prepared with your own ideas, – stories or experiences from your life, or knowledge gained from everyday living. If you’d prefer, you can work from some song writing challenges throughout the workshop, but either way – we’ll be creating from beginning to end! I’ll email you a songwriting journal that you might find helpful as a resource to complete your work and deal with any bouts of writers block. This is a very relaxed class, so come ready to have a chat and a cuppa and have your pens ready!
4 weeks, 7 July – 28 July, 2021
Wednesdays 6.30 – 8 pm
€90
My Story, My Song – Songwriting for ages 13 – 18.
Using a newly developed songwriting journal, you’ll be guided through the process of creating a song in whatever style you choose. No previous experience is needed, just an interest in either learning a new skill or working on existing skills! You may write some things that you choose to keep private, but we’ll also chose topics for songwriting challenges that we can share in the group. This is a relaxed class so there won’t be any pressure – just an open forum where you’re encouraged to take the challege on, and take it as far as you can in the 4 weeks!
4 weeks, 6 july – 27 July 2021
Tuesdays 7-8pm
€50
Ukulele for Adults/Children aged 6+.
Suitable for absolute beginners, or rusty players who would like to start again! This a practical hands on class where we will quickly move from getting to know our Ukulele, to playing some tunes. The ukulele has endless learning opportunities, but also is very user friendly to the beginner so we’ll be playing songs in no time!
This also makes a great family class!
4 weeks, 5 July – 26th July, 2021
Mondays .7-8pm
€50 (family rate also available).
Instrument Making Workshop 4-7yrs
July 20th & 21st 10am – 12pm
The Exchange Inishowen, Buncrana.
This workshop is jam packed with loads of instruments to make. Supplies and snacks are included. Indoor and outdoor spaces will be used.
€25
Decorate Your Room Workshop 4-7yrs
July 6th & 7th, 10am – 12pm
The Exchange Inishowen, Buncrana
Paper Stars, Bunting, Giant Sweetie Balloons! Simple but beautiful ways to give your room a summer makeover! Indoor and outdoor spaces will be used.
Supplies and snacks included.
€25
Songs & Rhymes & Rhythms 8-12yrs
July 13th & 14th 10am – 12pm
The Exchange Inishowen, Buncrana
Two days to enjoy some socially distanced singing, some musical games and some easy writing games and challenges to introduce songwriting to this age group. Everyone will get their own songwriting journal to help them on their journey. Supplies and snacks provided. Indoor and outdoor spaces will be used.
Such a strange time we’re living in – life has been altered in so many ways. It’s been very difficult times for some, and for others who are lucky, we’ve managed to muddle through and wade through with our health intact which is obviously the most important thing this year for everyone!
Working from home on Zoom – Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Ireland Project
Everyones work has been impacted and the arts sector has taken its share of the hits – opening partially, closing fully and lots of ambiguity in between for good measure! Now as we approach Christmas I can look back my year in music, and say it’s been a very mixed bag but there have some surprising highs along the way
I started out intending to create musical opportunities for every age, and that did happen, Our Inishowen Choir of Ages was such a joy that sadly ended early – but at some point we will rise again. I finish the year making music with tiny babies and their families having signed a contract with Carnegie Hall to run the Irish branch of their Lullaby Project. Yes I am a bit chuffed about having managed that in a covid world!
Many of our Music box kids were able to carry on classes via zoom and we even recorded a very special song – Christmastime Again. Much more about that over on http://www.themusicboxireland.com!
I signed up for a course at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and am enjoying a new world of conducting, arranging, writing, project management, group music development, clarinet and fiddle lessons….the list is longer but all of it feels like such a treat. I am grateful to be immersed in new musical experiences and learning from such amazing lecturers and musicians. I have lots of homework to do though and lets just say my homework habits haven’t changed as much as I’d hoped since secondary school lol!!
I’ve done some song writing, some collaborating – writing music and recording etc. I’ve run zoom songwriting courses and recorded a 12 part series for a digital arts project though the Playhouse Theatre. We learn, we try – sometimes it’s a fiasco and sometimes it works! 🙂 We’re definitely all together on that front this year!
Things will wind down now for the year and we hope, hope, hope for better times ahead and a chance to get back to sharing life again – with a new sense of gratitude for those simple things – the smiles in the shops, the hugs for our sad, ill or struggling friends and those we haven’t seen for a while. It will come back and we will know how special it all is. Have a great Christmas everyone, and thanks so much for all the great music and participation this year – no one in the arts works alone – and I am blessed with great friends and families that spend their musical time with me. All the hugs, Bernie xxx
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This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus your own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Bernie Doherty Music 