Shake It Up!, the musical arrangement competition for Schools hosted by the Schools Printed Music Licence (SPML), held its second annual awards ceremony on 2 July at London’s Living Room in City Hall where Frazer Hinchley from Croft Primary School was named 2019 winner.
Frazer’s arrangement of Status Quo’s Rockin’ All Over the World was judged the best of the six finalists and he was presented with the winner’s trophy and the top prize of £700 cash for his school by Lord Black of Brentwood and professional musician and arranger Alex Wilson.
After being a finalist last year, Frazer took the top spot with his arrangement which was performed on glockenspiels and percussion and sung by children aged 9-11 in Years 5 and 6. The judges praised the arrangement for developing pupils’ confidence and enthusiasm while consolidating a range of learning outcomes.
The two runners-up, Ian Raisbeck of Sandbach School and Shirley Magill of Albyn School, received £400 each to spend on music resources for their schools with the other three finalists receiving certificates recognising their achievements.
Shake It Up! was launched in 2018 to show how the Schools Printed Music Licence (SPML) supports music teachers and music education while offering teachers the opportunity to showcase their unique arrangements of published music. The competition celebrates the passion and dedication of music educators and highlights the importance of printed music and the SPML.
Finalists, judges and professionals from across the music industry were among the guests who enjoyed spectacular views over London to a background of live jazz music. The keynote speech came from Lord Black of Brentwood, a champion of music education, who spoke about the importance of supporting young musicians as well as content creators.
Shake It Up! winner, Frazer Hinchley, said:
‘It was a real privilege to be shortlisted for the second year running and to win the competition was a dream come true for our school. The children worked so hard and really enjoyed the process of learning how arrangements work and furthering their musical skills. When I came back to school the next day and announced the news, school staff and children alike were over the moon.’
Lord Black said:
‘Championing the importance of music education in schools has never been more important than it is now. The Shake It Up! awards were a showcase for great musical talent and for what can be achieved by teachers with energy and imagination. It was fantastic to meet the winners and all those who took part, and to talk to them about how their schools are living up to the challenge of keeping music education alive when it is under such threat. It was a privilege to be there – and congratulations to the CLA on establishing a really important competition. I hope more schools will take part every year.’
Shake It Up! will be organised again in 2020. You can express your interest in next year’s competition by emailing shakeitup@cla.co.uk.
