Songmaking and cultural placemaking projects in Schools


Fun, creative and curriculum-enhancing, Songmaking in Schools involves pupils participating together to create and develop songs on any topic, exploring language in English and Scots. Singing, recording and performing the songs they have written, children fulfill the experiences and outcomes targets in curriculum areas including the new emphasis on Studying Scotland.

Based in Scotland, while taking an approach which is both portable and suitable for training.

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"Curriculum-enhancing, deeply enriching; Christine cannily blends enormous fun with hard work and trusted the children with ownership of their project…"


Jerry Randalls, Music Support Officer, Angus Council

"It's been a pleasure to see Ceilidhmakers in action, such a privilege to see the children engaging with music and song and to see how they positively blossom, even within the space of an hour."


Susan Whyte, Youth Music Initiative Coordinator, Education & Children's Services, Aberdeenshire Council

Christine Kydd and Ewan McVicar have worked together delivering several projects on Scotland’s traditional arts, particularly in Aberdeenshire, West Lothian, Angus, the Isle of Mull, and the Russian Urals.

Ewan pioneered the Songmaker in Scotland project for the Scottish Arts Council in the 1990s, then created the much-praised Scotland's Songs website for Education Scotland in 2010.

Christine trained with New Makars Trust in the mid nineties in their methods, developing the model to include other traditional art forms and instrument demonstrations where appropriate.

For more info:
www.ewanmcvicar-com.webs.com
www.projects.handsupfortrad.scot/hall-of-fame/ewan-mcvicar/
www.christinekydd.com

Recent projects in Highland, Perth/Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Orkney include ‘On the Hoof’, Horsecross; ‘The Boy’s Ploughing Match’; Strathmore Scots SongBook (2011), ‘Olympic Procession’ (2012); and a five-week, nine-school local history and culture project for The Huntly Rural Cluster (2012). Since 2013 Ceilidhmakers have been contractors delivering YMI projects for Aberdeenshire Council, website outcomes detailed below.

Recordings of new songs, illustrations, researched background material, (largely YMI funded) are at:

www.deesidesangs.com
www.oordeesidesangs.com
www.moremearnssangs.webs.com www.stoneysangs.webs.com
www.thenewmodelvillageplean.webs.com
www.mearnssangs.webs.com
www.banchoryclustersangs.com

Current Ceilidhmakers contracts and project include:

Creative Scotland YMI, Aberdeenshire - www.deesidesangs.com
Cateran’s Commonwealth workshops - Storybox
Tay Landscape Partnership -Telling Our Stories - www.ceilidhmakerstaylp.com

"From writing a song that got into the Top Twenty in 1961 to developing the wonderful resource that is Scots Sangs fur Schools and founding Gallus Publications, Ewan has told stories or made songs in 200 schools, 50 libraries and 30 museums in Scotland, Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, the USA, Uganda, the Czech Republic and England."

"It was fun and easy to make up our own songs because we had lots of help"

"I never sang in class to, or with the kids, but I do now"

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