Bricks & More Who: Royal Albert Hall Where: Kensington, London When: Year roundWhateducation projects in the hall (notably for disabled musicians) and in schools As a neighbour of the Science Museum , connecting the arts and sciences has traditionally been one strand of Royal Albert Hall (RAH) programming. Its education programme – just two years old and a commitment made as a result of a multi-million pound renovation – often expands on this.

The historic central London venue – home to the annual Proms season of classical concerts – currently notches up between 12 and 15 projects a year. The emphasis to date has been on getting London school audiences into the halls to engage them in less familiar styles of music.

Some 5,000 secondary students recently saw Jamie Cullum in action and the hall has signed up Royal College of Music students to visit schools and prepare kids for ballet and opera performances. This summer, the RAH will recruit 100 schoolchildren to assist with its production of Showboat in June.

The hall has also branched into health-related projects. Last April, performances by top pop acts including Franz Ferdinand and Keene raised funds for a series of week-long workshops with cancer sufferers, which led to a CD of original compositions being sent to Virgin Radio for broadcast.

The bucks behind all this are generated, roughly equally, from RAH commercial ‘surplus' and fundraising. As a venue unsupported by the Arts Council, RAH targets donors specifically to raise funds for its education work.

Royal Albert Hall
Kensington
Gore
London SW7 2AP
Tel: 020 7589 3203

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Who: The Stables
Where: Wavendon, Buckinghamshire
When: Year Round
What: Short educational programmes for early years, school children and adults

Music charity The Stables was founded in 1969 by British jazz giants John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. Its educational agenda has always been run alongside its live music and theatre programme and now entails about 200 events a year. The progamme was consolidated in 2001 when (to accompany the opening of a new £3m auditorium on site) a full-time education position was created.

‘From that time our flagship work has been with early years children and adults,' education manager Polly Rolf explains. ‘I have really wanted to branch into residential projects for special needs groups but for this, at least, it seems like we're forever waiting on funding. Our selling point though, is our crossing of all genres and all ages.'

In practice, The Stables has mainly catered to younger learners and adults although the range partly depends on opportunities to network with other providers in the region. Its Music Mites workshops, for example, are sometimes run by Birmingham Conservatoire students who initially attend to build up their teaching experience.

The Experience jazz/rock/vocals classes – which, like the MIA's Weekend Warriors initiative (see p40), encourages adults to return to interests they may have neglected – uses local music tutors to both teach and recruit for it among their private students.

‘And sometimes things just grow on their own' Rolf adds. ‘Waves and Raves [which introduces adults to studio recording] ‘grew from a song-writing class run by folk singer Boo Hewerdine. When he had finished the class, it emerged the students wanted recording skills too. Since then they have all remained very interested so a more advanced Waves and Raves II has been added.'

The Stables also hosts performances by the Drake Music Project, which assists disabled musicians. And Dankworth himself heads up its Jazz Matters strand.

The Stables
The Laine Dankworth Centre
Stockwell Lane
Wavendon
Milton Keynes MK17 8LU
Tel: 01908 280800.
www.stables.orgstables@stables.org

This is the first in a series of articles on venues' music education activities. If you would like to see your venue or hall featured, please contact the editor via email: editor@linkmagazine.co.uk