NYMAZ Connect: Resound Remote Music Learning Festival 2021

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The NYMAZ Connect: Resound Remote Music Learning Festival 2021 took place from 17 – 31 May 2021 online and featured Athenry Music School’s Katharine Mac Mághnuis and Sinéad Hayes, and IAYO Director Allin Gray with Caitlin Kelly as guest speakers.

Katharine Mac Mághnuis and Sinéad Hayes spoke on their project “Zoom Conducting – Reframing the Baton” where they worked online on a weekly basis with the Athenry Music School Sinfonietta. Sinéad developed new techniques to keep the musicians engaged and to ensure that they worked well together and rehearsed well. The project culminated in a recorded performance where the ensemble was split into two groups, and both video-recorded performing with Sinéad conducting. The two recordings were then edited together to create a gorgeous performance video!

Allin Gray and Caitlin Kelly spoke about IAYO’s Online Chamber Ensemble and their use of real-time, audio-rehearsal software (mainly Jamulus) to enable the musicians to rehearse and perform together in real-time. You can read more about this ensemble on page 5.

The festival included live and on-demand content across four themed strands: Teaching Music Online; Making Music Online; Creating and Curating Online Music Experiences, and The Future of Online Music Education. Presentations and videos from the festival will soon be available on connectresoundfestival.com for anyone who wants to re-watch or dip into the rich content the presenters created.

NYMAZ is a youth music development charity that champions the transformative potential of music for children and young people in the north of the United Kingdom. They are a great organisation that hosts many online and international courses and networking opportunities for musicians and teachers.

You can sign up to the NYMAZ newsletter or learn more about them and their projects at nymaz.org.uk.