Music tuition for 70 disadvantaged London children

Welcome back to World Heart Beat in the build up to our fantastic annual showcase concerts this week featuring our 51st State Band which includes so many of our disadvantaged children and provides them with the opportunity to give a live performance to an enthusiastic audience, helping to inspire and encourage them to keep achieving high and positive results.

We would love to invite you to join us on Friday 16 November 2018 at 6.45pm or 8.30pm at Putney Arts Theatre SW15 6AW to enjoy the 51st State Band (tickets are available on https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/275909).  It promises to be a thrilling and uplifting experience, expressing the variety, energy and dedication of our students.

You might be interested to learn that the 51st State Band developed from a doughnut party held in a small living room one afternoon in the year 2000. Since then, the band has grown to well over 100 young musicians and is perhaps the largest and most vibrant community concert band in London. Young musicians of all ages, backgrounds and abilities learn together and play in a band where every member is a vital part of the complete whole. With a vibrant programme, ranging from jazz standards and film scores, to the greats of Stevie Wonder and George Gershwin, our annual concert will be a sensational and inspirational evening of music.

Following that, and further to an invitation by Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE, it was an utter pleasure to take several of our students to give a jazz and gypsy fiddle performance at Speaker's House in October. The venue was an amazing place to perform in and to both showcase the talent of our students and to give the audience a real sense of how their lives, and the lives of hundreds of others, are being transformed through the power of music. You might be interested in seeing a short video from the evening: https://youtu.be/uRxADEHaIW0

World Heart Beat has some bold plans to double its impact and reach hundreds more children and young people every year. Having been granted 750m2 of space in Embassy Gardens we have an incredible opportunity to expand and enhance our work. But we need vital financial support to make this space come to life. If you or anyone you know might be interested in playing your part in shaping London’s rich cultural tapestry, whilst helping to transform children’s lives, please do support us here through GlobalGiving. We need and value your support! And very excitingly, one of our supporters has agreed to match any donations we receive up to a total value of £25,000, so this is a great way to double the impact of your gift. We would be delighted to hear from you!

Here at the World Heart Beat Music Academy, we have been delighted to be able to open our students up to some very different experiences in the run up to summer...

In early June, we welcomed two of Japan's leading Jazz musicians to the Academy for an exclusive performance showcasing the beautiful, lyrical pianist Sumire Kuribayashi and master double bassist Hideaki Kanazawa.  It was a wonderful, relaxed evening session for all to enjoy!

Then on 28 June, we had a very special event where our students were invited to perform at the London Residence of the US Ambassador for their annual US Independence Day Celebrations, kindly hosted by the US Ambassador himself.  It was a wonderful experience including full band performances by some of our older students to entertain the huge crowds that had been invited but with a special Flash Mob performance by our superb New Orleans Second Line Band - this certainly got the crowds going!

Mid-July gave us two more super evenings back at the Academy.  The first with the supreme jazz pianist, Julian Joseph, a towering figure in contemporary jazz, signing his new book Music of Initiative - a deeply inspiring work in which Julian shares his insight into the philosophy and practice of jazz performance.  Some fine conversation and jazz performances rounded things off nicely!

The second was another very cool evening with Alex Heffes, the highly successful Hollywood film composer, who was able to join us to work with some of our students.  Following the workshop, family and friends were invited to come along for a fascinating hour of informal chat, to hear Alex himself perform and to hear him play with our young musicians.