Episode 2: It's all about Music & People - with Aga Serugo-Lugo

"What fascinates me about music leading? About music making? For me, It’s all about music and people. These two threads I have woven together in my work over many years. Sometimes it’s mostly about the music as the group are engaged, skilled and motivated. Sometimes it’s mostly about the people if group members have difficulties of various kinds. But always it’s about how these two elements interact."

In this episode Neil goes through how music and people have intertwined for him and why these two aspects of community music have become the pillars of how the magic happens. 

He is joined by singer, composer, playwrite, songwriter, music leader and all round genius Aga Serugo-Lugo to discuss how he brings music and people together.
They talk about Aga's work with Britten Pears, Streetwise Opera and much more.

https://twitter.com/lugoaga

Music Listing: 

Theme Music from The Leaves of the Trees. Composition by Neil Valentine, recorded live in Winchester Cathedral. 
Performers: 
Neil Valentine – Viola, electronics, composer
With: Sophie Raven – Flute, Claire Yates – Viola, Jeremy Leverton – Electronics 

Loves Death – recording from Chamber Challenge with primary school children in Lambeth and the Heath Quartet. 

Lullaby - Sonic Cradle : Live in London. Taken from a recent Lullaby gig in 2020. Featuring Supriya Nagarajan (Carnatic singing) Duncan Chapman (Electronics/field recordings) and Neil Valentine (Electric Viola). 

EPIC! – Bitterne Park Secondary School Project. Project on British Values involving 30 secondary school students from years 8-10 in Bitterne Park Secondary School in Southampton. 

Transcript

Episode 2: It’s all about music and people – holding the space 

What fascinates me about music leading? About music making? For me, It’s all about music and people. These two threads I have woven together in my work over many years. Sometimes it’s mostly about the music as the group are engaged, skilled and motivated. Sometimes it’s mostly about the people if group members have difficulties of various kinds. But always it’s about how these two elements interact. 

This idea has emerged over time and has now become a core aspect of my practice as a musician. In my first orchestras I thought it was all about me, the music and my friends, about US doing the music together, and to us it was. When I saw the wider world through travelling, working abroad, university and post graduate study in London I saw it wasn’t about music and us. It was about me trying to figure out where I was and how I fitted in. What could I offer? Where was my space? What was my niche? Somethings I thrived in, others I did not. Somethings I thought I would thrive in but didn’t. Others I was worried about but took to it like a duck to water. 

FADE 

After Southbank Sinfonias watershed project, I embarked on a new journey; to be an animateur, a workshop leader, a music educator. I learnt from other workshop leaders, working with different groups and communities. I offered up my time, eager to be part of these projects. I learnt how to communicate with people, how to use my voice, how to be open to their ideas and be the spark behind their energy. 

Along the way I had many important moments which shaped the way I do this work, how music and people interact and how I facilitate that. One such moment shaped how I saw myself and what I could offer and has a major impact on how I show up now. In 2008 I was teaching in a primary school in Walthamstow. I was teaching 30 children violin at the same time. Don’t worry, it is fun and I enjoyed the wonderfully organised musical chaos. ‘Loves Death’ – recording from Chamber Challenge with primary school children in Lambeth and the Heath Quartet. I was working with an experienced teacher, and for some reason she was supporting me rather than the other way round. During one lesson I was shouting my head off. I cannot remember why, but the class were just not listening. I took a few minutes to calm down, and this other teacher stepped in and very quietly and calmly refocused the class. She got them on track by almost whispering. I was astounded. Could I be that quiet, focused teacher too? From that point on I saw that I could use much more than just my ‘big authoritative’ voice and persona to move a group forward. Being very tall and big I had used that part of myself to be ‘in charge’ of a group. I discovered through this piece of inspiration that I could smile, flex, be open, listen, speak quietly. It was a huge lesson for me and enabled me to see beyond the group as the group. I could get past my own ego and see them as people. That is when I started to thrive and see these threads being woven together. FADE. 

Lullaby - Sonic Cradle : Live in London. 

Another important lesson was learning to see past the labels people are given. As I was able to do that for myself, I learnt how to do this for the people I work with. When you are working with a Reflective Portfolio – Neil Valentine – Podcasts 

group information about them is very useful. It helps you build context, have the correct resources planned and for the music leader to empathise with the group right from the start. However, my experiences have taught me that when I enter a musical situation it works better if the labels are lifted and you endeavour to work with them as you find them there, in the room with you on this day, at this time. I try not to have expectations beyond having a nice time and making music together. 

This crystallised over a few years when I led the London Chamber Orchestra community project Music Junction. The aim of MJ was to bring together different communities of teenage musicians and use music as the means for developing teamwork, creativity, self-confidence, break down barriers and bring people with wildly different life experiences together. These projects culminated in large scale performances at Cadogan Hall in London featuring over 100 young people and the full LCO. 

FADE 

To do this work well I developed skills in ‘holding the space’. A term taken from various forms of therapy. 

“Holding space for someone can mean different things for different people, but, at a minimum, it means taking the initiative, without any prompting, to be empathic to another person’s situation or circumstance and making time for that individual to do whatever is needed for them, like voicing hurt, anger, or another strong emotion, and receiving whatever they need to communicate in a way that is supportive and non-judgmental,” explains Rheeda Walker, a clinical psychologist, researcher, professor at the University of Houston, and the author of The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health. 

https://www.shondaland.com/live/family/a37143592/what-does-it-mean-to-hold-space-for-someone/ 

For me as a music leader working with often vulnerable groups I must always be empathetic to the groups, their members, their communities. I must find ways to build confidence and self-expression whilst protecting their sense of themselves. I must be non-judgemental and as inclusive as I can so that all members felt equal and as safe as they could. 

For a music leader to be effective, they must be able to hold the space that they are working with. If you are conducting an orchestra who know you and each other well, then the space is already being held by the group and you become part of that space. If you are teaching in a school you will need to establish with the teachers and students that you have expertise and they can learn from you as it is their space. An amateur choir will want a music leader who can help them develop their skills and facilitate good musical experiences in rehearsal and performance whilst having fun. 

A mark of a good workshop leader, a good musical animateur, an element which contributes towards being Bombproof (see next episode) is the ability to hold the space no matter who you have in the room. You have the emotional, social, musical skills to create a space where any person can step in and feel like they belong on some level, that they are going to be ok, that they are welcome and should be there. 

I recall one session with Music Junction in Berkshire which included a group of young people from Bradfield College, a group from Theale Green Community School and a group of children from High Close School. Three wildly different schooling experiences and with a huge variation in musical/instrumental abilities and experiences, social skills, self-confidence. Many of the young Reflective Portfolio – Neil Valentine – Podcasts 

people from High Close had significant extra needs in terms of one-one support for a complex range of social, emotional and mental needs. 

Here we were in a large school music room mixing four different communities and asking them to make music together 

1. The highly skilled students at Bradfield College, many of them well on their way to mastering their instruments 

2. Musicians from Theale Green School who were not beginners, but not even close to the same skill level as Bradfield 

3. Young People from High Close who were there with simple percussion instruments, or just starting their journeys with music. Their teachers had chosen these students as they had seen an interest in music which could build self-confidence and engagement through this project and be potentially life changing 

4. The professional musicians from the London Chamber Orchestra who were first and foremost performers. They all did teach their instrument to young people, had experience working in this way but they were not trained music teachers. 

This is useful information for me as the music leader. I knew there were these four groups and my job was to create something meaningful that we could engage with together. I also knew that it was not just musical differences which were likely to be varied but the social and emotional needs of everyone present. We were all in a new situation, with new people, doing something new, something which could be exposing. Many were self-conscious, hormones were a factor in the teenagers as they met new teenagers from different schools and made music in front of their friends, peers and teachers, who all had high hopes for their pupils. My role was to see the music and the people, to hold all the other difficulties in such a way that the music and the people could come forward and be woven together by the group. 

EPIC! – Bitterne Park Secondary School Project 

To do this I took as many barriers away as possible, in as many ways as I could. We set up in a large circle which promotes equality and togetherness. I introduced myself to as many of them as I could before the session, asking names and trying to learn as many as I could. The members were also asked to wear name stickers to help this process. I find names are essential for someone to really feel welcomed, especially when there are anxieties and nerves swimming around. I did not use music stands or notated music we did everything through listening, watching and learning. This approach levels the playing field, it brings all musicians back together to experience sound as sound. It creates a sense of equality because no-one knows what is going to happen, no-one has a script, it will be what it will be. 

In these sessions breaking the ice is essential through non-musical games and activities. Many of the ones I use are taken from the drama/theatre world. They have main benefits: to show that we are all human, get to know and meet each other, break up cliques, feel safe, have fun and bond as a group through shared experience, have your voice heard, feel seen, hear each other, see each other, smile, have fun. The list goes on. 

I also use these games to build experience of some core musical skills which I believe are essential to being a successful music group. I build three vital musical skills to help a group bond and get to know how the ensemble feels. Once these are learnt then a group can move forward with more confidence and belief. Practicing them also gives the group a sense of who we are musically, what skills we have and therefore ideas of where the music may go. Reflective Portfolio – Neil Valentine – Podcasts 

FADE 

❖ Making a sound all at the same time ➢ A musical group becomes an ensemble when them make sound together. We use our breath and peripheral senses to follow each other. The group plays a short sound together without worrying about notes or harmony. 

❖ Making a sound by yourself ➢ To know the group from the inside you need to know what each element sounds like on its own, just as a chef needs to know what each flavour tastes like individually. Each person is invited to play any sound they wish to, there are no requirements that it be ‘good’ or ‘in tune’, just that they make a sound which they choose when they do their first solo. 

❖ Following more than one thing at the same time ➢ In a musical group the real joy comes when more than one thing happens at the same time. That’s how you get groove, harmony, texture and melody to interact together into something magical. This experience is essential to facilitate when building a group and there are many ways to do this. On this occasion we passed solo notes round the circle one way, and a vocal sound the other way. Two musical elements moving in opposite directions which the group must keep track of and help each other in the process gives a fun and engaging game that brings us all together and builds this skill. 

My role was to facilitate all of this in such a way that included everyone, built everyone up and fostered a sense of group. The sense of ‘wrong’ does not apply. The technical requirements are simple, they are open and welcoming rather than exclusionist. It does not say ‘you can’t play a C and D so you can’t come in’, instead it says, ‘whatever you can play is exactly what we need’. To do this with each member, holding their doubts and worries and create a space where the whole group can work together is the essential skill which I employ. Theme Music from Leaves of the Trees. This is when you see the threads of music and people start to weave and intertwine. The patterns emerge as the group grows in confidence and each person’s musical voice, personality and actions are woven together into music which only sounds like them. I say yes to ideas, build up music which grows from the group into something which is ours. 

When a music leader can hold the space you are able to make it about music and people. You foster an atmosphere where all participants feel valued, welcome and like they belong. They are then able to offer more of themselves to interact with the music and each other, then it can just be about the music and the people. 

FADE 

Followed by a conversation with Aga Serugo-Lugo, workshop facilitator, composer, playwright, singer, saxophonist. 

Music Listing: 

Music Listing: 

Theme Music from The Leaves of the Trees. Composition by Neil Valentine, recorded live in Winchester Cathedral. 

Performers: 

Neil Valentine – Viola, electronics, composer Reflective Portfolio – Neil Valentine – Podcasts 

With: Sophie Raven – Flute, Claire Yates – Viola, Jeremy Leverton – Electronics 

Loves Death – recording from Chamber Challenge with primary school children in Lambeth and the Heath Quartet. 

Lullaby - Sonic Cradle : Live in London. Taken from a recent Lullaby gig in 2020. Featuring Supriya Nagarajan (Carnatic singing) Duncan Chapman (Electronics/field recordings) and Neil Valentine (Electric Viola). 

EPIC! – Bitterne Park Secondary School Project. Project on British Values involving 30 secondary school students from years 8-10 in Bitterne Park Secondary School in Southampton.