#youthwork

Seeing some of the young people I work with so quiet when they're usually the life of the party is painful. They aren't coping, online school, awful family situations that are just exacerbated by being stuck inside, poverty, job-loss, food insecurity, mental health issues - you name it, they're going through it.

It pains me to see their faces so run down with heaviness that kids barely if at all into their teenage years are having to experience. The complete lack of structure and inadequate support. This is an awful time.

And it's hard to reconcile knowing how hard teachers, doctors, nursers, shop workers, youth workers like me and a whole host of other key workers are trying, while seeing how much we can provide to them because we can't magically fix our burn out or the systemic issues that make this whole situation a thousand times worse.

You know when you look at someone in tears and realise, I can't hug you? I can't fix it even for a second?

My everlasting hope is in God, He has brought me through so much trauma and pain but that doesn't mean the hurt is gone when I look into the faces of my colleagues and young people, when I look in the mirror, and see the exhaustion.

We need to do what keeps the most people safe. I know that, it's so important, but I guess that doesn't change how hard life is right now being in lockdown.

There is always hope even in the darkest night, but that doesn't mean you never feel lost

I suppose I have no conclusion to this blog, apart from I know Jesus is walking with us through it all, it's hard, it's led me to my knees more than once and it won't get easier soon - but God gets it

He wept knowing Lazarus would be alive again, still He wept, He teaches us that knowing the ending doesn't mean you can't cry at the sad parts.

Hello Perfect Score fans! Can you believe it’s been over a whole week since the Perfect Score Young People’s Music Careers Conference, our music industry careers event designed especially for young people?

The day was a huge success: massive thanks to the exhibitors, panellists, speakers, performers, tutors, funders, gophers, teachers, guardians and (of course!) the enthusiastic young attendees for making it so special.

The event kicked off at around 9.30am as the young people arrived keen and ready to learn, already the atmosphere was buzzing as they excitedly perused the 15 exhibitor stalls and chatted to representatives from organisations across the music industry.

At 10am the attendees hustled into the auditorium to hear the keynote speeches. First, Pedestrian’s Director Bob Christer welcomed everyone to the event, and encouraged the young people to start devising some burning questions to put to the panel later! Louise Rickwood of The Creative Industries Federation started the keynote speeches by setting the scene of the event, revealing that the music industry is worth £5.2 billion to the UK economy and engaging the audience with some energetic live interaction, welcoming their contributions. This was then followed by some words from Oliver Morris of UK Music and Skatta, a young grime artist from Coventry.  They spoke about pathways into the music industry, and shared Skatta’s latest music video.

The young people were then let loose to explore the exhibition stands in more depth, including enjoying displays and demonstrations by organisations such as OHMI Trust, The National Foundation for Youth Music, Intasound, Confetti, Normans Musical Instruments, Youth Education Project, Leicester Music Education Hub, Steinberg Media Technologies, Musicians’ Union, The Mighty Creatives, Rock School Limited, Amara Publishing, Horus Music, DeMontfort University and Voice Magazine. The attendees had a fab time interacting with the exhibits, including music technology, software and instruments (including some unusual home-made varieties!)

During this time, young people who have been involved with the Perfect Score project developing and rehearsing their own original music met with UK Music to present their tracks and receive personalised feedback about ways to advance their music industry career. These young performers are known as the the Press Start Musicians and Trainees, and include Estar, Sly, 11, Usman, Muzi, TM, Aaliyah Essence, Nidah Hanif, and Dulzo.

At 11am it was time for the workshops.  One was lead by Leicester music-scene veteran and beatboxer Akshay Sharma (a.k.a. Mr. Shay), which was a journey into music technology: how it used, by who, and covering the evolution of music technology from the piano to modern-day samplers. The young people really got involved and enjoyed the session.

The second workshop was by event and stage manager Kelly McCormack, which was all about the role of the stage manager.  This included defining what a stage manager does, the skills and personality required, the pros and cons of the job, some insights from other people in the business, as well as good ways to get experience if you’re interested in pursuing stage management as a career. It was a fun session, which had the young people very engaged and interested.

It was then time for lunch, a busy time when the young people chatted to exhibitors and listened to music. Perfect Score Project Manager Kate Rounding even got the chance to show them her flute playing skills, accompanied by music tracks created during Pedestrian’s Concept music project!

The next activity for the day was the panel discussion, our panel was comprised of Oliver Morris, Louise Rickwood, Kelly McCormack, Skatta, Perfect Score Press Start musician Estar, and Tanyel Gumushan and Niall O’Connor of PPLPRS. Questions posed to the panel included those around collecting royalties and registering with PPLPRS, how the organisation operates, and the kind of corporate work that ensures people are licensed. There was also a lot of discussion about inspiration, why artists make their own music and the challenges that the panellists have faced in their music careers. The key message to the young people was that there is no straight pathway in anyone’s music career - everyone’s journey is different, but each time a door closes a new opportunity opens elsewhere. Young musician Estar spoke very confidently about her own musical journey with the Perfect Score project, and the work she’s doing towards getting her music known.

In the final part of the day the young attendees were treated to performances by the Perfect Score Press Start musicians. The performances were incredible and the atmosphere amazing as the musicians performed a diverse range of music including rock, hip-hop, R&B and reggae-inspired pieces in response to smiles, big applause and back row singing and dancing by the audience! Sly and Estar’s performance celebrated their home in the the city of Leicester, referencing lots of Leicester landmarks and features. All of the Press Start musicians showed great bravery and confidence, to the admiration of everyone watching.

The event then drew to a close, the day having been a great success. Altogether 145 people attended the event, including 80 young people. After the young people and their guardians had departed, a partner organisation forum was held which was attended by over 30 people from organisations including HQ Familia, Arts Council England, Soft Touch Arts and Technology in Music Education. This represented a chance to explore future thinking and discuss the development of joined-up approaches to working across Leicester and the East Midlands. All the music industry representatives that attended were very impressed with the Perfect Score Young People’s Music Careers Conference, and expressed a desire to continue and take it further.

We hope you enjoyed Perfect Score, and that we’ll see you again next year! Keep your eyes peeled for more videos, photos and snippets from the project, which we will share as they become available.