Having worked in a plethora of unexpected places including parks, libraries, barns, village halls, prisons, churches, city-centres, school yards, cathedrals, as well as out in the countryside, Catherine is experienced in leading all sorts of music projects with groups of all ages and abilities with many of her projects including CPD training and support for staff wishing to develop their skills.
As well as numerous school & community groups
Catherine has worked with:
Creative Partnerships
Mid Pennine Arts
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
The Cobweb Orchestra
The Sage, Gateshead
University of York
HMP Everthorpe
Wear Valley District Council
City of York Council
Here are some examples of projects Catherine has worked on:
A week-long summer project inspiring young people to take up orchestral instruments. The week culminated in an performance by the newly formed orchestra to showcase the incredible progress these young musicians had made throughout the course of the week.
Singing workshops with residents of Extra Care Homes for over 50s in County Durham to create the soundtrack for a short film project. Click here to watch this beautifully shot short film and to find out more about the project and other artists involved.
A 12-month music project for Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's youth programme: Running Wild. The project explored environmental themes through improvisation, natural scores and song writing workshops in Nature Reserves around York. A 4-month residency at St. Nicholas Field's Environment Centre complimented the project.
Catherine worked with the budding young actors of Flying Ducks Youth Theatre for 3 years. DInitially, working intensively with the young actors to develop their vocal skills, Catherine later took on the role of Musical Director for the Northern premiere of the production: Moby Dick The Musical. As well as West End style productions other projects with the group have included variety shows & contemporary Music Theatre.
A creative film project with film maker Chris Webster, using a creative approach to teaching and learning across the curriculum. The project included a variety of activities including rhythm, graphic scores, dance, musical improvisation, composition, storytelling, singing, stylistically informed choregraphy, drama, puppetry, art and popcorn!
This delightful project used singing, composing, dance and craft activities to support teaching staff in exploring a creative approach to science and literacy learning. The project culminated in a Fairytale Ball for both classes involved.
A Creative Partnerships Project
Catherine collaborated with a storyteller to explore ways in which the music could be used to support the language & literacy skills of Year 2 children for whom English was their second and third language.
This Learning Outside the Classroom project explored the sounds, shapes, smells and textures of Wycoller Country Park and inspired stories of trolls that lurk in the damp under the wonky stone bridges, and treasure and jewels hidden in the ruins.
A Creative Partnerships Project
A 6-week Music Theatre project based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Experimental and Japanese art and culture were the inspiration for this project. The young people involved participated in a series of exploratory workshops which enabled them to take an active role in devising the final peformance.
Catherine collaborated with a number of artists from different disciplines to create whole school celebrations of Chinese New Year. The projects which took place in numerous schools, supported teaching staff to come off timetable and explore Chinese culture and traditions through the creative and expressive arts.
Music tutor on a Music Technology project for adult offenders on a drug rehabilitation scheme. Teaching keyboard skills and music theory to support and develop electronic composition skills. The project also included coaching and performing with the prison rock band.
Weekly singing and creative music sessions for parents and children. The specially designed Little Voices sessions introduced pre-school children to the world of music through songs, stories, movement and vocal-play.
Catherine has lead a variety of different composition sessions with the focus ranging from:
exploring pitch, modes, scales and key
song writing
rhythm and ostinato patterns
melody and phrase structure
musical form and structure including, binary, ternary, rondo, canon...
musical notation
music inspired by other cultures including India, Japan, Indonesia, China
Catherine has lead many school & community projects exploring musical notation encouraging people to express their musical ideas through a diverse range of notational methods, including graphic scores and numerical notation (e.g. Indonesian gamelan) as well as traditional Western Notation.
In this project Catherine worked alongside an environmental artist to encourage children to investigate local wildlife and habitats.
The children further explored the movements, habitats and sleeping habits of different creatures through specially designed music activities (including: listening, graphic notation, composition, performance and appraisal).
A Creative Partnerships Project
These workshops encouraged children to consider the different environments on an imaginary island and how they might represent those landscapes musically.
Each session was designed to support Geography learning through a range of creative improvisation and composition activities. Follow-up workshops went into further depth, exploring songwriting, graphic scores and composition structures.
A Live Arts Week Project, in various Primary schools in York with reception, Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2 groups
Catherine used singing and song writing activities with Key Stage 1 classes to explore different food groups and the benefits of healthy eating. The children wrote and recorded jingles to advertise fruit smoothies (their own recipes!), to encourage other children to eat more healthily.
A Creative Partnerships Project with KS 1 children.
As well as numerous school & community groups
