The Big Bang
Below follows a very comprehensive summary of the Big Bang Project. This is Text Heavy but provides useful information with respect to Project Work.
It is Summer 2003 and I receive a phone call from Shari Baker of Leeds Learning to discuss a music project involving schools in Inner City Leeds. She outlined her ideas and I later met with her to put together a proposal. After my initial meetings with Shari I came away feeling very positive about what we could achieve and I think that this positivity was crucial to the beginning of such a project. We had decided to deliver the project through an existing network built around the PDC. The PDC is a unit which offers an alternative curriculum to children who are having difficulties in mainstream education. The PDC is based in a school and the children attend it as well as doing regular school too. The PDC we had targeted was in Cottingley, Leeds and we selected 6 schools that were outreached by this PDC. Shari and myself met with Val the head of the PDC and again this feeling of positivity continued with Val's enthusiastic response to the idea of Drum Circles and my discovery that the philosophies behind the PDC were very similar to my own beliefs about what Drum Circle work could achieve. The project would involve the wider community as well as the children in the schools and our intention was to create regular ongoing drum circles in each of the 6 schools. We talked through a number of possible approaches and finally came up with what we thought was a workable plan. We submitted a bid and in due course we received funding from Youth Music and the Arts Council and the "Big Bang" was born.
PHASE ONE:
We selected 14 children from each of the six schools. 7 were targeted PDC pupils and 7 were from within the school. We decided against going wholly with Targeted children because of our long term aims at creating ongoing circles. Had we just worked with targeted pupils we may have alienated others and set up a divide. With the selected pupils we combined two schools to form a POD. One of the schools would become the host for the circles.
Each of the three POD'S therefore consisted of the following:
* 14 Target pupils
* 14 non target pupils
* 4 members of staff (min)
* 1 music student *
*Part of the funding from Youth Music was given to take on a Young Music student for the duration of the project. We took on 3, one for each POD.
Each POD would take part in a facilitated Drum Circle every week for 6 weeks. Each session would last for 90 minutes in duration. Phase one was essentially an introduction the Drum Circles for both pupils and staff.
PHASE TWO:
In phase two we added another 20 pupils (10 target, 10 non) to each POD, bringing our POD size up to approximately 50, with the idea that the Phase one POD would act as mentors to the new members, allowing for easy integration. Phase two also saw the beginning of basic training in Drum Circle Facilitation Techniques for the staff and the music students. Again each POD took part in a weekly Drum Circle for 6 weeks.
PHASE THREE:
Phase three began with a final period of training for the staff and music students. Each POD then took part in a weekly circle for the remaining 6 weeks with staff and students receiving facilitation time in the circles and feedback on their work from me.
At the end of Phase Three all of the POD'S came together for a final circle at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Family and friends were invited and on the night 400 people came together for the "Big Bang". (Check out the Gallery for some pictures of the Big Bang)
As part of the funding each POD received its own Drum Circle Kit, comprising drums, percussion, Boomwhakers© and Remo Sound Shapes for 60 persons which would be split between the two schools at the project end. Each of the six schools taking part would be left with a legacy of equipment, trained staff and a training manual including CD-Rom and both Arthur Hulls Book and Video. All of the staff were committed to continuing the Drum Circles in the schools when the project finished and I have promised to look in on all of them again this year.
Summary: The project was a huge success and we managed to engage not only the children but also a large number of parents. I will be keeping in touch with the PDC and through them all the schools who took part in the project. There is a possibility that we may attract funding to either repeat the project throughout the city or to develop a second phase which will be delivered to the remaining 4 PDC'S so watch this space.
A Big Bang Thank You to:
Shari Baker, Val and all the staff at Cottingley, Staff and Children at all the schools, Arts Council, Youth Music and Leeds College of Music students……...it was a Blast.
Axé axé
Paul