Lullaby Project first sharing on World Refugee Day
World Refugee Day had special significance for ITT on Tuesday 20th June 2017 as it marked the first sharing from the Lullaby Project (supported by Arts Council England, Lucille Graham Trust and Swan Mountain Foundation), with lullabies written and performed by refugee and migrant mothers, at Praxis Community Projects in East London, run in partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Resound.
The Lullaby Project is a national programme of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in the US, brought to the UK for the first time by the Irene Taylor Trust.
Artistic Director Sara Lee was part of the team delivering the project and had this to say about the first sharing:
“I’ve never minded getting up in the morning as I love my job. Today was particularly special as I spent it with a wonderful group of refugee and migrant mothers and some fabulous musicians. Over the past couple of weeks we have been helping the mums write lullabies for their children and today we recorded and performed them. They were, to a woman, excited, emotional, resolute, and hugely impressive. Many of their children, aged 3 months and up, heard their mums sing to them and will now have these songs for ever.
“When helping all the different people we work with create the music they want to write, my mind sometimes wanders onto ‘bigger picture’ things. Today I was reminded that despite all the unfathomable events which have happened in London over the past few months, there is no other city in which I’d rather live. In the main because of all the wonderful people you meet if you walk round with your eyes and heart open. It doesn’t matter where they’ve come from or how they got to be here, they are people, and a very, very important part of our city and its rich culture. Being part of such a vibrant and varied community reminds me why I love London and how crucial it is for all of us to remain connected to a wider world.
“Happily also, I get to work with people who feel the same, people who really care, and because they do, reap the same benefits on a regular basis. In this case Emma Williams, Rob Willson, Nick Hayes, Jake Tily, the RPO Resound musicians and Praxis Community Projects.”
The next sharing is on Tuesday 4th July, 2-2.30pm at Praxis Community Project, London E2 0EF. To attend, please email projects@irenetaylortrust.com
The Lullaby Project is supported by Arts Council England, the Lucille Graham Trust and the Swan Mountain Foundation.
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