Michelle's words about Time For My Music

During the second part of the Time For My Music Evening Showcase, the women addressed the audience to tell them a little about their aspirations, and how the work with the online programme has supported them in their journey. We will share transcriptions of selected fragments, so you can get a better idea of how Time For My Music can support you or someone you know achieve their goals in the music industry.

Let’s start with Michelle, a saxophonist who regularly enchants audiences with the Notebenders at Birmingham Symphony Hall and other prestigious venues, She aspires to become a sought-after studio session saxophonist, and this is what she had to say about Time For My Music:

I’ve been in Time For My Music for some time now, and I never ever thought that I’d actually perform in a setting like this.

What we do is: we meet up in person and online, and we share ideas. We talk about what things have gone wrong. We talk about our ambitions, and about songs we want to learn. [...] With

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Candid: Conversation on Women in the Music Industry

 

Sammy Stein, the best-selling author and acclaimed music journalist, recently published a new book: Candid: Conversations on Women in the Music Industry. It's the result of many months of work and interviews with more than 40 women (and a few men) with different roles, backgrounds and journeys in music. Through their shared experiences, Sammy builds a map of female mutual support and resilience.

Ever since Millicent first noticed her work on social media, Sammy has stood out as a great writer who has done very good work about the role and circumstances of women in music. She featured Millicent in two of her books, In Their Own Words: Interviews with Women in Jazz and Gender Disparity in UK Jazz – A Discussion. While Millicent isn't part of Candid, she still recommends it, as Sammy takes care to highlight what traditional media overlooks, and her books are valuable contributions to the discussion of gender disparity and the construction of a better, more equitable industry for u

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Part 1 of ‘Time For My Music’ Evening Showcase is now on YouTube

Preceded by two online performances, the ‘Time For My Music’ Evening Showcase was the first live concert offered by the women of the Time For My Music programme. The venue was the MAC Theatre of Birmingham, and the date, 29 October 2024.

For those who couldn't attend, and also those who attended and want to relive the experience, the full concert will be made available on Millicent's YouTube channel. Part 1 is already out, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy 50 minutes of music by the talented Angela, Angie Lee, Asharp, Melody, Michelle, Patricia and Tiny Sax:

Part 2 comes out on 23 March, just three weeks from now.

Many thanks to GL 360 Productions (@gl360media) for making a full coverage of the evening showcase, making it possible to share the art of these women with people all around the world. Be sure to play the video in full HD to get the best experience, and if you like it, let us know in a comment or by sharing with your friends!

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A Smarter Journey: Exercise

Despite what some might think, working in music can be quite physically demanding. As a gigging musician, I have to travel to the venues where I’ll perform, often carrying my instrument and PA system with me. I bend, lift, shift and go up and down to set up my equipment. I move around the stage (sometimes off it and through the crowd, even) while performing. As a saxophonist, I really put my lungs to work every time I play, and I can’t run out of breath mid-concert!

Now, our bodies go through important changes during menopause that can have a huge impact on our energy levels and physical endurance. Menopausal people might experience changes in bone density, heart health, weight, body shape and mobility. This can affect our ability to keep working, so it’s important to exercise consciously and regularly in order to counter menopausal symptoms.

To be transparent, I didn’t struggle that much keeping up with physical activity prior to joining the SMART Rewind Metabolic Health 12 Week Pro...

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Time For My Music's evening showcase was a roaring success!

The Time For My Music evening showcase on Tuesday 29th October was fabulous. The women stepped up to the mark and delivered a performance that blew everybody's minds. They were glamorous and classy, engaging the audience (a full house of it!) to share hours of great music played with their hearts and souls. Truly, the event couldn't possibly have gone better. 

The significance of this achievement goes beyond the stage. The women didn't only perform at the evening showcase, but they actually organised it and produced it. They learned what's needed to put on a show, who to contact, and how to go about things. Using her experience producing the Not Just Jazz shows, Millicent guided them and provided them with the necessary skills so they can do it again by themselves in the future, being transparent with them in regard to location options and regulations, costs, etc.

The show is over, but the learning continues. There are things that still need to be taken care of, evaluations to do, an...

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A Smarter Journey: Nutrition

As a musician, I work funny hours, and I don’t like eating right before performing. This means that, some days, I’ll eat in the morning and not at all in the afternoon, to then be famished in the evening and gobble as much as I possibly can. Or maybe I’ll have a hasty lunch and not eat again until after an evening gig, late at night, which as we all know, isn’t good for the midriff at all. I’d frequently eat whatever was at hand, too, without putting much thought into it.

Generally speaking, I’ve always known that such lack of consistency is detrimental to my health, but I kind of put my concerns aside in favour of getting things done, trusting that my body would somehow keep up—which it did, for many years. I’m sure many of you can relate.

But alas, there’s a limit to everything. As I mentioned in the previous article, I got diagnosed as pre-diabetic on December 2023. What does this mean, exactly, and why does it have so much to do with nutrition?

Pre-diabetes

You’re pre-diabetic ...

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Louise Dengate takes you to the world of Gospel Choirs

 

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Tickets for the ‘Time For My Music’ evening showcase are available!

We have a date and a place! On Tuesday 29th October 2024, the women of Time For My Music will perform live at the MAC Theatre of Birmingham. Get ready for an evening of jazz, soul, gospel and reggae by these accomplished emerging musicians, in a show that’s sure to warm your heart in the midst of these progressively colder autumn days.

Tickets are only ÂŁ10.00 plus a small booking fee. If you are part of a group of five people or more, please send an e-mail to [email protected] in order to arrange a discount

Get your tickets here.

Don't forget to share this information with your friends and family. We're looking forward to seeing you all at the theatre!

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A Smarter Journey: Finding Your Way Through Menopause

On her website, our director Millicent has started a series of blog entries about her experience participating in a 12 weeks programme to manage menopausal symptoms. These entries will cover what she learned, changed and improved in her life regarding nutrition, physical activity, stress levels and quality of sleep. 

Here you can read the beginning of the introduction:


I’m a musician and someone going through menopause. The symptoms of this stage of life can be detrimental to both quality of life and work performance, making it difficult to stay atop of things. To counter that and get back a feeling of normality, I’ve been informing myself extensively, trying different ways to manage my circumstances, and I’m happy to say that I’ve been successful!

In particular, this year I’ve got excellent results in two areas: quality of sleep, about which I already wrote an article with some handy tips to achieve a good night of rest, and prevention of diabetes.

To be clear, diabetes isn’t a ...

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Ideas to fund the Time For My Music concert

Our online community for emerging musicians, Time For My Music, is preparing their first ever live concert in the city of Birmingham, UK. It’s been an exciting and inspiring process so far. The participants have brought a lot of energy, ideas and dreams to the table. For example, they’ve suggested music pieces that they’ve always wanted to have in their repertoire. Without revealing the whole set list, we can say that Stevie Wonder’s Superstition and Bob Marley’s One Love are among the selected songs. They’re sounding great already!

In regard to the date, we’re aiming for some time in November. Besides the music, though, there are many things we have to figure out first. One of them is how to pay for the expenses of the event. While we will sell tickets, we’d only be able to cover all the costs if we did so for a price that we consider too high. This means that we need to compliment ticket sales with other forms of funding.

To start looking for a solution, our director Millicent atte...

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