Schools Programme

A live music band wearing Santa hats and performing in front of school children

Musinc offers an amazing variety of musical activities for your school to get involved in, from rap to classical, jazz to music tech – there’s something for all ages and abilities. Young people will have the opportunity to visit Middlesbrough Town Hall, complete Arts Award qualifications, watch and take part in performances, and so much more!

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of everything we do. All activities are inclusive and accessible for vulnerable young people and SEN students. If you have any queries about your young people’s ability to access an activity please get in touch to discuss the needs of your students. The age ranges given should act as guidance only.

Lots more events, including masterclasses with visiting artists and performances for your young people to attend will be announced over the course of the year.

Enquiries and how to book

To book your place on one of our activities, please download and fill in this booking form and email it to musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk.

For Primaries

Classical Café: Jeremy Harbottle and Sarah Paterson

Monday 5th November 2024, 1.30pm – 2.30pm, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Free

In the first concert of our 2024-25 series, musicians Sarah Paterson and Jeremy Harbottle present a musical journey: from sadness, joy, and excitement, through to relaxation and peace.

Jeremy (cello) and Sarah (harp) will perform a 50 minute interactive concert exploring moods in music. This concert will support the following areas of the Model Music Curriculum:
– Musicianship: singing in unison, performing actions alongside song and moving in time to the beat
– Listening: a live performance of music from different traditions and composers, learning about the instruments as well as the stories, origins, history and social context of the music

This event is open to school groups and home educating families and has been designed with KS2 children in mind, although is suitable for all primary aged children.

About Jeremy
At the age of 14, Jeremy attained grade 8 piano and cello, and has won local young musician awards. He then undertook a diploma in piano, gaining a scholarship to study cello with the Royal College of Music (alongside a chemistry degree at Imperial College London!). Now, he teaches cello, piano and singing, is principal cellist of local orchestras, and performs around the UK – including playing many of the major cello concertos as soloist. He has conducted numerous choral symphonic works as musical director of four choirs for over fifteen years.

About Sarah
Sarah graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with a Bachelor of Music (Honours). During her time there she was selected for the BBC Philharmonic Professional Experience Scheme, awarded the Dianne Bolton Prize, and performed at the Natural History Museum, Wigmore Hall and the Baltic Art Gallery. Sarah enjoys a freelance career spanning recording, teaching, orchestral, chamber, and solo playing; most recently recording Pines of Rome with Black Dyke Band and performing Debussy’s Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane with Skipton Camerata.

To book your seats please email musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk with a booking form.

A live music band wearing Santa hats and performing in front of school children

Schools Big Gig: Rockin’ Christmas

Tuesday 3rd December 2024, 1.30pm-2.30pm, free

Join Musinc for a festive fun-filled Schools Big Gig, delivered by the creative education specialist, Apollo Arts!

The gig will include a magical singalong with a live band and loads of musical Christmas games.
This live musical experience not only gets your young people singing, dancing and full of festive cheer in a friendly, fun and safe environment, it’s also been designed with the national curriculum for music in mind… so it’s the perfect opportunity to tick that off your Christmas list too!

You don’t want to miss this – it really is ‘the most wonderful time of the year’!

This event is most suitable for ages 5+

To book your seats please email musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk with a booking form.

See also: Family Big Gig on 3rd December, 6pm!

School pupils playing on stage in an orchestra

Shine Schools Festival

Monday 10th March 2024, 10.30am – 12 noon / 1.30pm – 3pm, £15 per group

Shine Festival is an inclusive festival, providing an open stage and feedback for school ensembles across the Tees Valley area.

We want to showcase the amazing music that you are making in your schools every week!

Performers will be given a slot in either the morning session, 10.30am-12noon, or afternoon session, 1.30pm-3pm.

Further information is available on our Shine Festival page.

Classical Cafe: Cri du Canard

Monday 31st March 2024, 1.30pm-2.30pm, free

Share in the joy of French folk music and dance from this trio of musicians.

Cri du Canard are a French folk trio, currently based in the North of England.
With passion and experience coming out of their ears, these three highly regarded musicians throw themselves into their work, performing and leading workshops across the UK and EU with expertise, humour, and panache.
GRACE SMITH – Violon
SAM PARTRIDGE – Flûte traversiere en bois
DAVE GRAY – Accordéon diatonique
Expect to be transported to the beating musical heart of France, with an experience as nourishing for the soul as a good bowl of boeuf bourguignon!
This event is open to school groups and home educating families and has been designed with KS2 children in mind, although is suitable for all primary aged children.

To book your seats please email musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk with a booking form.

Classical Cafe: The End Times

Monday 9th June 2025, 1.30pm-2.30pm, free

What happens when you plug a blackboard into a computer and use it to make music? Come and experience Liza Bec’s original apocalyptic coming of age tale featuring a magical musical blackboard.

The End Times is a novel and an album in one, a theatrical soundscape with one foot in the supernatural and one foot in science.

Liza will use their self built cyborg recorder, the roborecorder, featured in the Museum of Science and Industry, to control the sounds made by the blackboard from afar. Listen as haunting vocals, fragments of spoken word and soaring winds swoop over driving synths and polyrhythms.

Narrated by David Ryder Prangley (Rachel Stamp, Adam Ant).

Age Guidance: ages 7+

Audience Trigger Warnings: Sudden changes of volume and lighting.

This concert will support the following areas of the Model Music Curriculum:
– Musicianship: singing in unison, performing actions alongside song and moving in time to the beat
– Listening: a live performance of music from different traditions and composers, learning about the instruments as well as the stories, origins, history and social context of the music

This event is open to school groups and home educating families and has been designed with KS2 children in mind, although is suitable for all primary aged children.

To book your seats please email musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk with a booking form.

For Secondaries

A string quartet performing on stage

Set Pieces Concert

Monday 14th October 2024, 1.30pm-2.45pm, £3 per student

A live performance of classical works by Bach, Poulenc, Haydn, Debussy and more, performed by an orchestra of professional musicians, with live commentary.

The concert is designed to showcase music from the set works of the AQA and Eduqas GCSE and A Level syllabuses. Our orchestra will perform extracts of the pieces, with live commentary and analysis by classical music enthusiast Stephen Waller.

 

This event is open to school groups and home educating families and is suitable for all secondary aged young people.

To book your seats please email musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk with a booking form.

Four people sitting in chairs on a stage. One of them is talking into a microphone.

Careers Panel

Monday 18th November 2024, 1pm-2.30pm, free

We want young people from the Tees Valley to aspire to do amazing things! There are so many career paths available in music and we want to highlight what young people can achieve in our area.

Our panel of local professionals will reflect the huge variety of musical professions, inspiring young people to think more about careers around their strengths and interests and pursue a career in music.

This year’s panel will be hosted by BBC Tees Introducing host and rapper Shakk. The panellists are:

  • Amelia Coburn, singer-songwriter
  • Christina Andropolis, musician, teacher and Youth Music project co-ordinator
  • Claire Dupree-Jeans, editor of NARC magazine

Questions for our panellists can be submitted in advance.

Suitable for all secondary aged young people including home educating families.

To book your seats please email musinc@middlesbrough.gov.uk with a booking form.

Information for access and families at Middlesbrough Town Hall

A large group of school children taking part in a concert on the main stage at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Pushchairs and prams

Due to Middlesbrough Town Hall’s fire regulation policies pushchairs, prams & car seats must be left in our dedicated ‘buggy parking’ zone on the carriageway and cannot be taken into any of the event spaces. Unfortunately, we cannot take responsibility for items left there, but we do our best to keep an eye on them.

Relaxed setting

Our schools classical concerts take place in a relaxed environment, and have the following features:
– There’ll be lower volume levels throughout the event
– Our spaces have consistent lighting, with low level auditorium lights on throughout
– Our musicians and facilitators have relaxed attitude to noise and moving around the space
– A quiet, chill out space will be available should you need a break

Should you need them, a number of ear defenders are available from the Box Office – by the main entrance on Albert Street. They are limited, so come and see us as early as possible to secure a pair.

Toilets and facilities

For more details about our facilities and accessing the different spaces at Middlesbrough Town Hall please visit this page on the Town Hall website.

Sign up to our newsletter

Take part! Our termly newsletter includes updates about music activities that anyone can get involved in, as well as good news stories, handy musical tips and our young musician of the month!

Our professional network: it’s free to join our professional network and you will receive a termly newsletter with Musinc and sector updates, access to professional development opportunities and bursaries, practitioner networking events and job opportunities.

Supported By...