Young Vocal Leader Training Residential

10th - 13th February 2012

Blaithwaite House, Wigton

Develop your leadership skills over one weekend and use them to inspire younger children to sing.

Young Vocal Leader Programme and Training Residential 

So; what is a Young Vocal Leader? Well generally, it is whatever you want to make it! But largely, most people would probably agree that it’s any young person with an interest in working with other people to develop confidence and share skills and that’s usually done through some kind of voice use. Perhaps you will sing, perhaps you will play games, write songs, do rhymes, chants, vocal percussion and beatbox, puppetry, drama, theatre and stories, perhaps you’ll use spoken rhythms to teach drumming patterns and so on... the choice is limitless and this programme and training residential aim to help you explore what kind of leader you might be, who you might like to work with and generally how to get started. 

Develop transferable skills valued in the workplace: Whatever kind of leader you are, you will find yourself honing your organisational ability, planning, interpersonal and communication skills, social and emotional intelligence, problem solving and so on as well as – of course – your musicianship. 

As a Young Vocal Leader, you could find yourself using your training to sing with primary children in your area. The training residential will give you support to set up your own leadership project in your area and your activities could lead to the achievement of an Arts Award for leadership in the arts at either Bronze, Silver or Gold level. 

In the past, projects have been varied and some of you will have access to set up your own project within events happening in your own school, or at a local primary school. Some YVLs have set up their own clubs and some have helped out with events at SoundWave. We will help you identify the right opportunity for you.

The full programme involves:  

• Residential training courses (As listed above) 
• A minimum of 3 large-scale events that you will help to lead (schools, if you host your own event that the YVLs can have a leadership role in, then this can form part of their programme). These will be during school time, so we must have permission from your teachers for you to be there
These events will be held in February and June. 
• There may also be an opportunity to attend The Big Sing at The Sage Gateshead in July, which would involve an overnight stop.

If you’re interested in being part of the programme, you need to:

• Be available
• Be able to represent the views of the other YVLs in your community
• Be prepared to devote sometime over the next 4 months to learning songs, and planning events with your fellow YVLs
• Be prepared to take a lead role in shaping the singing event in your community, and performing with the YVLs vocal ensemble at the other events mentioned above.
• Be interested in creating new songs
• Be reasonably comfortable with singing and performing
• Work with your project leader to raise some additional funds to cover some of the transport and accommodation costs

For more info or to sign up to the programme please contact the Soundwave office on 01900 61116.