As well as putting on the festival every year, the Rhythms of the World (ROTW) team also aims to bring the festival ethos to the community, involving people of different ages, races, backgrounds and abilities who might not otherwise be able to experience the festival weekend. In 2010, we made a commitment to share the Rhythms of the World fun with the community throughout the year, by introducing an Outreach Programme ‘Music in Your Community’.
This year, we kicked off our Outreach programme with a session at Ickleford Primary School with festival-favourites, Bayou Seco.
Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie, from Silver City in the New Mexican mountains, began their busy day with a concert for the whole school, playing accordion, fiddle, banjo and harmonica and singing in English, French and Spanish. Then there was a workshop for the older children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6, in which they learned about New Mexico, its history and culture, and heard some of its traditional music and songs.
Learn more about their visit and their concert that evening here.
A Songwriting Project funded by Rhythms of the World has been taking place at No. 1 Lavender Fields in Hitchin, a residential unit for 10 young people with disabilities run by the charity Leonard Cheshire Disability. There have been six weekly creative sessions running up to their performance on the Icehouse Stage at 3pm on Sunday 10th July at the festival.
Tom Billington is the professional musician leading the project for Rhythms of the World’s Outreach Programme working alongside Support Workers from No.1 Lavender Fields.
Music, atmosphere, organization difficult to fault... everything, basically.
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