Project Summary: Byrd's 'Reasons to Sing'

In 2023, we celebrated the quatercentenary of English renaissance composer William Byrd. Thanks to generous grants from Arts Council England and the Stile Antico Foundation (with additional support from the University of Birmingham, the Society for Renaissance Studies, Northumbria University, and the Leverhulme Trust), ByrdCentral was created when music historians Katie Bank and Katherine Butler teamed up with GRAMMY-nominated early music ensemble Stile Antico and Horizon Voices, a young professional consort that focuses on interactive performances, education workshops and community outreach projects.

Concentrating on the crucial year before GCSE options, the team created a new programme on Byrd and his music for Year 8 pupils in either music or history classes that combined Tudor history, music, and self-reflection about the important role music plays in our lives.

The new lessons and tools we created for our education outreach project, ‘Reasons to Sing’, combined in-person workshops, in-school Zoom sessions, all-age concerts, and a virtual learning area.

Since we piloted the programme in 2022, ByrdCentral (Bank + Butler), Horizon Voices, and Stile Antico have worked with 12 state schools across the country:

• 4 schools in Birmingham (3 with the full programme, 1 with a one-off Horizon Voices workshop)

• 3 schools in the Northeast (all on the full programme, incl. County Durham and Newcastle)

• 1 school in Peterborough (full programme)

• 3 London schools (Croydon and Wandsworth area – 2 with the full programme, 1 with a Stile Antico workshop)

• 1 school in Devon (Stile Antico workshop only)

This means we sang with at least 710 school students and provided professional development for c. 11 teachers.

Over the course of the year(s), we delivered:

• 1 new choral commission by composer Kerry Andrew that is ideal for use in workshops and collaborative singing of mixed ability

• 18 educational videos about composer William Byrd, general music, and Tudor culture for our virtual learning portal (some with follow on activities)

• 72 Zoom lessons with members of Horizon Voices for groups of 30 students each

• 10 in-school workshops led by Horizon Voices

• 2 in-school workshops led by Stile Antico

• 3 free ‘family concerts’ with Stile Antico that took place in world-class venues in Leeds, Birmingham, and Newcastle

• 1 Stile Antico workshop with university students at Northumbria University

• Plus 2 Stile Antico ‘Come and Sing’ events featuring Byrd for adults in St David’s and Oxford.

In addition to our school-based education activity, our website ByrdCentral.com had site visits from 53 countries (sure, some may be bots, but most are legit!) and a had significant amount of traffic for a site of this type. Our web presence included:

• A collection of bespoke ‘stories’ about experiences with Byrd’s music from renown artists and academics to choristers and lay-enthusiasts

• A global calendar of Byrd-related events

• Score and educational resources

• ByrdNyrd t-shirt sales (meagre profits to Stile Antico Foundation, but mainly as a driver of web traffic)

• Information about the ‘Reasons to Sing’ Education project

Our Byrd activities received media attention in The Times (Hottest Tickets 2023), Choir and Organ Magazine, Midlands Music Review, and on outlets such as BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4. We also learned a lot about the delivery of a project of this nature, with several lessons to take on board for next time. Thank you so much for following us and being a part of our ByrdNyrd journey!

Best,

Katie Bank