Maria Banks
From a whisper to a shout
Project manager Maria Banks talks about taking the first steps towards leading a music activity, and the rewarding experience that followed.
Life as a project manager is an endless roller-coaster ride; the peaks are the end performances of a project or a breakthoughs you make with a special needs child or receiving good news from a funding body and these make up for the times when plans may go awry and life gets a little frustrating. I love my job, there is no doubt about that but on occasion, standing on the sidelines watching our incredibly talented musicians and animateurs inspire and motivate young children with enthusiasm and energy, I’ve thought ‘I’d love to be able to do that’. Nobody heard that voice and I didn’t even dare whisper it until very recently.
I had a meeting with a colleague a few months ago and she mentioned the launch of MusicLeader West Midlands and explained what it was all about. Following that meeting, I went on to the MusicLeader website and registered as a possible trainee. Now at this point, perhaps I should explain that I have never considered myself to be a musician; I can sing and enjoy performing but I definitely fall into the ‘amateur’ bracket, I can play the clarinet but it’s been lurking in a dark corner of the loft for more than a decade. Having filled in the registration form I began to wonder whether I was making a mistake and getting ideas beyond my capabilities.
When I spoke to others about it, I received an enormous amount of support from my project director and the musicians and animateurs I had worked with. They all encouraged me to ‘go for it’, trusted me with taking one or two warm ups during workshops and volunteered to help me in any way they could.
Nothing happened for a day or so after I filled in the registration form, and then I got a newsletter from MusicLeader West Midlands which was very informative and included dates for one-to-one MusicLeader Directions Surgeries in Shrewsbury; going along to one of these invaluable sessions was a huge turning point.
MusicLeader Directions Surgeries provide people like myself, and maybe you, with an opportunity to talk openly and honestly with an experienced and informed individual who has worked in the field of community music for many years and knows which qualities are needed to become a successful workshop leader.
During my meeting with Clare Smith in Shrewsbury, I unleashed all the concerns, feelings, passions and fears I had about leading musical activities and found it easy to express the enthusiasm I have for my work. She was fantastic! She asked many questions I had never asked myself before and pointed out the many areas of work I had undertaken in the past that contributed towards the set of skills I needed to become a music leader.
Clare used an analogy that made perfect sense to me; she explained that each workshop leader will have a set of their own individual tools and it takes years to acquire a whole set. Some tools can be copied or adapted from those of other workshop leaders in the shape of an effective vocal warm-up or a strategy for dealing with a difficult participant, others can be picked up from courses and many by trial and error through experience! She made me realise that I already had the very basic tools and all I needed was the opportunity to acquire more and develop my own unique set. Contrary to my beliefs, she saw all my experience as a vocal performer as an advantage and thought it had provided me with many musical skills I had simply taken for granted. Other skills I have picked up over the years have stemmed from bringing up two young boys, helping out at my childrens school and running health projects in other areas of my work.
Clare sent me a list of publications that I might like to read and details of courses that would be helpful to me. Since then, I’ve been on a Singing Playgrounds Training Day run by ExCathedra and MusicLeader which was really helpful and very informative and I’ve sent in my application for the MusicLeader Essentials Course – fingers crossed!
So, now I’m happy to shout about my ambitions to you rather than whisper them to myself and I feel that I can fulfil my role as project manager more effectively by deepening my understanding of the creative process and gaining more insight into the theory behind the practice. I’ve even dusted off my clarinet and discovered that I can still get a decent note out of it! Maybe one day I may be passing one of my tools on to you. Who knows?
