The Music Workshop Company Blog

Each month the Music Workshop Company publishes two blogs. One blog, written by the MWC team addresses a key issue in Music Education or gives information about a particular genre or period of music. The other blog is written by a guest writer, highlighting good practice or key events in Music Education. We hope you enjoy reading the blogs.

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To contribute as a guest writer please email Maria@music-workshop.co.uk

George Butterworth

Posted on 17th June 2025 at 14:13

George Butterworth is perhaps mostly remembered for the fact that his life was cut short at the Battle of the Somme. He left behind not only his own compositions, but a vast collection of folk songs and dances which he collected alongside his friends Ralph Vaughan Williams and Cecil Sharp.

Butterworth’s ‘The Banks of Green Willow’ is strongly linked to the loss of the composer and many of his generation in World War I and is seen by some as an anthem for all 'Unknown Soldiers'.

Image: photographer unknown - Photograph first published in the George Butterworth Memorial Volume, privately printed in the UK, 1918

Celebrating the Eurovision Song Contest

Posted on 13th May 2025 at 10:32

Singer Mustii on stage, dressed in a white gown, surrounded by microphones and dramatic smoke.

Singer Mustii performs Belgium's entry at the Eurovision Semi-Finals in 2024. (Photo: Arkland, used under Creative Commons licence).

It’s that time of year again…. May is the month when Eurovision fever traditionally sweeps across nations participating in the annual celebration of songwriting and showmanship. Thousands of fans will descend on Switzerland for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, while millions more will watch from their home countries, with many planning elaborate Eurovision parties. This year 37 acts will take to the stage to perform their nation’s song, hoping to win the approval of the national juries and the voting public alike.

We look at the history behind the contest and some of its memorable moments.

Amplify – supporting grassroots music projects

Posted on 30th April 2025 at 17:56

Young performers from HvH Arts Camden’s project on stage

This month brings an update from our friends at the London Music Fund, who have blogged for us in the past about their work improving music education for young people in the capital. Here Kate Kelly, Senior Programmes & Operations Manager, tells us about the charity’s Amplify fund, which supports grassroots organisations to deliver a range of creative projects. Read on to learn about some of the initiatives the fund has enabled, and the latest developments with its launch in Liverpool.

(Image: Performers from HvH Arts Camden’s project, Rock-U-Mentory, funded by Amplify London)

Ella Fitzgerald

Posted on 17th April 2025 at 12:49

Ella Fitzgerald has been named "First Lady of Song" and "Queen of Jazz".

Her renditions of jazz classics, with 2,000 recorded songs, are viewed by many as definitive interpretations and she won 14 Grammy Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Despite a challenging childhood, Fitzgerald went on to become one of the most famous jazz singers in the world.

The Model Music Curriculum lists two of her songs - “Cry Me a River” and “You Took Advantage of Me” - as recommended listening. Here, we delve into her life and her impressive career.

Image: Carl Van Vechten - https://collections.library.yale.edu/catalog/2018461

Life as Master of the Music

Posted on 27th March 2025 at 17:49

Dublin Saint Patrick's Master of the Music, Stuart Nicholson, standing at the cathedral's organ

This month, we hear from Stuart Nicholson, Master of the Music at the world-renowned Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. He tells us about his route into music, and explains just what his role entails on a day to day basis.

Read on to learn about the thrills and challenges of Stuart’s job, and what it’s like to work in such a setting. We also have information about a special afternoon of music-making at the cathedral this spring, where children can sing alongside the choir.

Bizet Carmen

Posted on 22nd February 2025 at 17:53

Bizet’s opera, ‘Carmen’, has become a favourite with opera fans and its music is known to many through use in adverts, TV programmes and films.

It was premiered on 3rd March 1875 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Despite a poor reception at the premiere, the work has gone on to become one of the most popular operas and has inspired films and a musical with many musicians being inspired by the now highly recognisable arias.

The Toreador Song's is recommended listening for Year 6 in the Model Music Curriculum for England.

We discuss key moments from Bizet’s life and explore the music and the stories behind the opera.

Image: Célestine Galli-Marié the first Carmen