IPA Music Week 21 to 28 August 2022
Have you ever heard of a residential music week for Police Officers and emergency workers from all over the world? No, nor had Detective Sergeant Seb Valentine from Surrey Police in the UK, so he has decided to team up with the IPA and organise one!
Before Seb became a cop, he was a freelance opera singer, having trained at the Royal College of Music, a conservatoire in London, UK which ranks second in the world and top in the UK and Europe for performing arts. Seb has already founded the Blue Light Symphony Orchestra, a charity promoting wellbeing in the emergency services through music, which holds regular orchestral workshops and is conducting research into the use of Music Therapy to treat PTSD, stress and anxiety in emergency workers.
Through the BLSO, Seb has discovered many talented musicians in the emergency services who cannot play in regular amateur orchestras due to shift work not allowing them to attend regular rehearsals. The BLSO has enabled many to return to playing and enjoy the benefits that making music brings with the added benefit of being in a group of people who have similar shared traumatic experiences.
Seb is teaming up with Sean Hannigan, IPA VP of culture and communications, himself a music graduate, to organise the first Week of Music and Friendship to be held in the beautiful City of Bath, UK, from 21st to 28th August 2022. IPA members are invited to spend an inspirational week in the picturesque surroundings of Bath Spa University’s Newton Park Campus, just 4 miles from the centre of Bath, or Aquae Sulis to give it it’s Roman name.
If you are a Police Officer or member of the wider Police family who sings or plays an instrument, then this event is not to be missed. Set to be the largest ever gathering of Police Officers for the purpose of making music, we will form the only orchestra, choir and jazz band of their kind anywhere in the world.
You will spend the week forming lifelong friendships and developing existing ones, through making music, an activity proven to develop bonds between people better than almost anything else. You will also have time to relax and immerse yourself in the history of Bath and the surrounding area. Bath itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and offers attractions such as the Roman Baths, Pulteney Bridge and the Jane Austin Museum, as well as an abundance of beautiful Georgian architecture designed by Sir John Wood. https://visitbath.co.uk/
The musical focus for the week will be on three main ensembles: a full symphony orchestra, a choir and a jazz band. A team of professional musicians will direct and inspire you to produce the highest standard of music, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Each group will work towards a trio of exciting performances; an evensong service in Bath Abbey, a jazz evening at Walcot House and a final concert in the Forum, Bath’s largest concert venue. We are delighted that the internationally renowned cellist Raphael Wallfish http://www.raphaelwallfisch.com/ will join us to play a Concerto for the final concert in which everyone, either singing or playing, will perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony “Ode to Joy”.
You will also be encouraged to form smaller groups and take advantage of opportunities throughout the week to receive coaching from the music staff and perform for each other. The on-site bar will provide a perfect environment for relaxed evening soirees as we all unwind.
Breakfast and evening meals will be provided in the University restaurant and lunch can be purchased on site. A kitchen will also be available at your accommodation.
About the Venue
Overlooked by Kelston Round Hill, an ancient burial mound and site of the battle of Lansdown during the English Civil War, the campus is set in 18th Centaury landscaped gardens with access to a lake and picturesque walks. The oldest building on the site is the 12th Centaury Newton St Loe Castle, built in what was a medieval hunting ground.
The grade 1 listed manor house, which gives the campus its name, was completed in 1765 and now houses the University’s administrative offices. Lancelot “Capability” Brown, who is still regarded as England’s greatest gardener, designed the extensive landscaped gardens. Elizabethan farm buildings, including a dairy and stables, have been sympathetically brought back into use by the university. Accommodation is conveniently located on site and consists of charming 3-storey town houses with 10 en-suite rooms and a kitchen in each. Disabled access rooms are also available. https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/
.jpg "Roman Bath House - www.joyofmuseums.com - Roman Baths (Bath)")
As you may imagine, organising an event of this scale requires a lot of planning and so to ensure we have enough interest to make it financially viable, please register your interest by filling in the form here: https://form.jotform.com/200426178724050 or download the form and email it to ipamusicweek@bluelightsymphony.org
This is a fantastic opportunity to get involved in a unique IPA event
For further details please e mail Seb or Sean
Thank you