Closing the Lid on Pop Up Proms

It's time to put away the bunting, roll up the flags and file the lyrics sheets: The Pop Up Proms Project has finished!

We've given concerts for Older Folk at ten venues around Norfolk, and each one was unique, involving different performers, different songs, and very different audiences. 

Time for a roll call of thanks, and some musings on the whole experience.

My thanks go to the bookings officers at the following venues for placing their trust in us and inviting us in:

• Brooklands, Costessey
• Corton House, Norwich
• Two Acres, Taverham
• Swardeston Day Care
• Mayfields, Long Stratton
• Eastlands, Taverham
• Overbury House, Wroxham 
• Mayfields (again)
• Austhorpe House, Tacolneston
• Norfolk Deaf Association Hush Club, Norwich.

Thank you to all those venues for making us feel so welcome.

My most enormous and sincere thanks also go to everyone who has helped in any way: 

• Maria from Corton House, Julia from Swardeston Daycare and Tracy from Eastlands, who all gave me excellent advice on suitable content and format for the performances, and again to Tracy for donating the all-important bunting!
• Michael Dann, who furnished me with Almost-Impossible-To-Find-On-The-Web backing tracks for the Proms Finale.  
• Jonathan from the Sound Archive and Christina, our team Reminiscencer, for their advice and practical work on the oral history recordings.
• The performers (in no particular order): Martyn Shults, Joan Hocking, Gus & Heather Woodcock, Izzy Pitman, Sally Harris, Louise Smith, Tracy Melton, Kaye Wright, Caroline Caldecott and Trevor Burton.
  

When I put this project together my intentions were very honourable; to entertain the old folks and to get some useful recordings for the Sound Archive. We've achieved both, so I'm going to indulge in a little reflection. 

It wasn't all plain sailing; permission for recordings and photographs was sometimes tricky and/or impossible to get- I've got some gorgeous photos I'm not allowed to publish. Co-ordinating the availability of the volunteers could also be challenging (thank goodness for social media!), and sometimes the staff who were there at the venues on the day weren't the same ones who took the booking. This meant that on occasion we were met by some fairly bewildered looking staff as we billowed in on a cloud of red, white and blue bunting.

But really, those little administrative stumbles were insignificant. When it came to the performances, our audiences were brilliant. Some of the ladies and gents were far more poorly and frail than I had anticipated, yet the Pop Up Proms performances delivered some of the most spontaneous, funny and moving audience responses I've ever witnessed.

When we arrived at most venues we'd be ushered into the boiling hot Residents' Lounge, a room edged by enormous padded reclining chairs. Each chair would hold a tiny, arthritic, marbled figure in a cardigan. Sometimes one would call out, or extend a shaky hand, seemingly insensible to their surroundings. Some would be more jolly and engage in a conversational loop, some would sit begrudgingly as we clambered around hanging union jack bunting on to any available hook or ledge. 

Some venues had much more able residents- at Austhorpe House, for example, and at our final concert for the NDA, the sense of excitement and anticipation about our performance was palpable- but in general, initially we received a muted reception from our audiences.

And then the music started, and the magic happened. 

As soon as the music began- and we usually began with 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' from Rogers & Hammerstein's musical 'Oklahoma'- it was like a light switch being flicked on. 

These people, who seemed to have trouble remembering where they were or what they had for breakfast, had no trouble remembering songs from forty, fifty or sixty years ago. 

They joined in the singing wholeheartedly, some knowing each and every single word of the songs. In spite of some amusing non-sequiters being shouted out (like "get me out of here" "help!" and "when's the Bingo?") our audiences made it obvious in whichever way they could, that they were relishing every moment.

The songs we chose were important. I'd been emphatically advised not to offer 1940s music. I wanted the music to be participative, and uplifting and familiar to the audience, yet I also needed a balance of moods and genres within the hour's show. Finally, I was reluctant to ask my volunteer performers to learn any new material.

Luckily the team was experienced enough to give an enormous variety: show content ranged from classical arias to Gilbert & Sullivan, Old Time Music Hall, musical theatre and even a bit of Doris Day! 

We worked hard to make eye contact and, where appropriate, gentle physical contact with the elderly folks. We started with a polite handshake during 'Getting to know you' and a bit of hat-wearing in 'A Policeman's Lot', then moved on to romantic hand-holding during the Matt Monro medley and  even a bit of light-hearted lap-sitting for 'Big Spender'. My top moment of the whole project has to be Martyn kneeling and singing 'A Portrait of My Love' to the old ladies: it brought a tear to my eye every time. One exceedingly poorly lady, who had done nothing but blow 'raspberries' throughout an entire concert, actually stopped and attempted to join in with the singing when it came to these very interactive moments.

Our song choices may have been cheesy but lots of the songs had an obviously positive and immediate impact on the residents and their visiting relatives. I spotted a lady resident weeping with joy throughout 'If I loved you', and the wife of a gentleman suffering with Alzheimer's recorded much of the concert for him so he could watch 'Nessun Dorma' again and again. 'Que Sera Sera' was poignant for another lady, who told us she had sung it to her mother to calm her during the aftermath of her recent stroke. We heard so many affecting stories like that, and hopefully, through our oral history recordings, we will have captured a few more for future generations.

Every concert finished with a 'Last Night of the Proms' finale. We gave out flags to wave and sheets with the lyrics for those who wanted them. We all sang 'Land of Hope and Glory', 'Jerusalem' and 'Rule Britannia' to round off the hour's entertainment. We never got all the flags back...

The photos I've added here give a flavour of the performances, but can never encapsulate the true atmosphere. I'm really glad I've had this experience. I'm not a saint by any means, but I genuinely did this for the benefit of others, and funnily enough I've ended up getting more out of it personally than I ever imagined. At the risk of sounding cliched, it has been a privilege.

This project has enabled me to get back in touch with singing friends from years ago, which has given me unspeakable joy. I've been deeply touched by the commitment to this project that volunteers have demonstrated, some going way above the call of duty in order to participate.

Visiting the various residential care homes and day-groups has also shown me the courageous and different ways in which human beings cope with their own age and infirmity. Most notably, I've been impressed by the everyday heroism of the carers, who look after all the elderly ladies and gentlemen with respect, with great humour and with utter humanity. 

A lot of the people who booked the Pop Up Proms have asked if I'll continue it for another year. I'm tempted, but I won't. It's been brilliant, but I don't want to push the limits or indeed the patience of my marvellous, wonderful volunteers. I think we all need a break! But who knows, another Big Idea might come to me. Do, please, watch this space!

And until then, a picture from the very first concert at Brooklands to say...

...and a final picture: performers and audience of the last Pop Up Proms concert today at the NDA Hush Club.

Fin.

The Pop Up Proms Project Reminiscence Archives

"Ah yes- I remember it well" or so the song goes.

Avid readers of this blog (and we've had a whole 165 visits, so I'm hoping to have stirred up some avidity amongst my readership) will know that as well as the entertainment side of the Pop Up Proms Project, there is the audio archive side.

The idea of the audio archive is to produce a record of the impact and benefits of the entertainment.

It is also to create recordings of our elderly audiences talking about the role music may have played in their lives.

I'm thrilled to say I've been working with the Norfolk Record Office on this side of it, and their sound archivist, Jonathan, is more than happy to make our recordings part of the official archive FOREVER.

Jonathan gave me some practical advice on doing the recordings, and this will stand us in very good stead. More on that as and when required.

He also said he's particularly keen to record older Norfolk voices in order to study the variations in dialect from place to place within the county. Most born and bred East Anglians recognise the difference between a Norwich and a Norfolk accent, for example, but Jonathan wishes to trace examples of more subtle variations while they can still be heard via the older generations, before we all start speaking like what they do in 'Essicks'.*

I will continue to update this blog with detailed info as it becomes apparent it is needed. And I will, of course, continue to harangue you all mercilessly via social media and possibly even in person.

Again, thank you all so much for your support and enthusiasm for this project. It goes without saying that I couldn't do it without you, but I'll say it anyway. Thank you, thank you, you lovely lovely bunch of Divas and Divos.

*I am allowed to do Essex jokes 'cos I live with an Essex man. Essex is lovely apparently.



  

Suggested (not suggestive!) Songs for Pop Up Proms

People are asking me for suggestions !!

Here's a list of the types of songs I think would work for our Pop Up Proms audiences. It's not exhaustive, it's just a list to get people started, but it gives a good idea of what's suitable. The over-reaching theme is 'WELL KNOWN' for people born in the 1920s and 30s, with a chorus or 'hook' they can join in with. You'll notice there's no Thrash Metal or Punk, for example...

Of course if you've got an idea to do a song (or indeed a poem - think Stanley Holloway) along these sort of lines and it's not on this list- that's fine.

Remember you will need to get hold of a backing track on CD for your song if you don't already have it.

Good places to get hold of backing tracks are, in the first instance, ME ! So do ask. Also you can try Martyn Shults, Michael Dann or Tracy Melton (we're all on thePop Up Proms Facebook Group so you can contact any of us that way).

In the unlikely event that between us we don't have your choice, most popular tracks can be very easily obtained from websites like Ameritz or NAP Music for literally a matter of about 79p.

Here are my suggestions, anyway:

• Gilbert & Sullivan e.g.  Modern Major General/ I've Got A Little List/ The Nightmare Song etc

• Old Time Music Hall e.g. My Old Man said Follow The Van/ Down at the Old Bull and Bush etc
• 1920s /30s e.g. Fred Astaire film music eg Top Hat/ Puttin on the Ritz etc, or Judy Garland eg Somewhere Over The Rainbow

• 1950s /60s Anything by Doris Day (Que Sera Sera?) / Cliff Richard/ Bing Crosby/ Sinatra/ Matt Monroe etc, or Flanders & Swann eg The Gnu/ The Hippo ('Mud, mud glorious mud')

• Showtunes:

Rogers & Hammerstein style rather than Kander & Ebb or Sondheim!
I suggest songs from
Oklahoma (Oh What a Beautiful Morning)
Showboat
Carousel
Annie Get Ya Gun
Calamity Jane
My Fair Lady (Danced all Night/Wouldn't it be Luvverly)
The King & I (Whistle a Happy Tune)
Oliver (Oom Pah Pah)
South Pacific (Happy Talk/ Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair)
and so on...

Picture from http://sunshinegirlnicola.blogspot.co.uk/p/sewing.html 

And then at the end we will finish with all of us singing together
Land Of Hope And Glory
Jerusalem
Rule Britannia

Thank you all once again for your enthusiasm and support- hope this list helps with finding your songs.

Here are some songs people have already told me they're doing (these are all well known but at the moment we still need more participatory stuff ) :

• A Policeman's Lot is Not a Happy One (G&S)- Gus
• This Nearly Was Mine (South Pacific)- Gus
• Born Free/Portrait of My Love (Matt Monroe)- Martyn
• Be My Love (Mario Lanza)- Martyn
• Secret Love (Calamity Jane)- Heather
• The Guinea Pig (F&S) -Selwyn
• Albert and the Lion (poem)- Selwyn
• If I Loved You- Izzy

I will just fit into the gaps...!






  

Pop Up Proms Project Audio Archive

I threatened to talk more about the reminiscencing aspect of the Pop-Up Proms Project last time. So to make good my threat, here's what's happening (hopefully).

Each time we perform we'll be building in time to talk to the people in the audience; after all, participation is what it's all about. I'll be asking the folks in the audience to tell us about any memories, feelings or associations the music may have stirred up, and I'll be making an audio recording of what they say (with their permission, of course).

What is the point of making these recordings?

• This project is designed to help increase social interaction for our elderly audience members within their existing group.  Locally and individually, keeping evidence of a community project like this acts as a reminder for the participants and helps add to their sense of 'belonging' and shared identity.
• Regionally, capturing reminiscences like this in audio 'snapshot' format is a way to gather original source material for local and social history museums and archives to hold and keep safe for generations to come. 
• Having the opportunity to hear real voices singing and talking about real songs will help history seem more 'real' for pupils, students and teachers in the future. 

What will happen to these recordings?

At the moment there are two possibilities:

• They'll be added to the Sound Archive at the Norfolk Records Office and held for posterity and educational purposes.
• I'll continue to build links between this project and Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service- specifically, bringing an audio element to some planned work on the 1950s displays at Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse. 

    

What is The Pop-Up Proms Project?

The Pop Up Proms Project is something I've been thinking of doing for ages. Initially, I'll run it from September 2013 to the end of August 2014.

I've got together a group of performers who are all happy to offer their time and talent completely free, to go out to residential care homes and day-centres for the elderly people of Norfolk and have a good sing.

It's not designed as a performance where we sing and the audience applauds at the end. The whole point is for the audience to join in. For example,

You know the brilliant joiny-inny bit at the end of the Last Night Of The Proms? That.

Fans at a football match lustily serenading their team? That.

Finding yourself enjoyably warbling along to Songs Of Praise on the telly? That.

That is the spirit of what we're trying to do with Pop Up Proms. All of that joy and exuberance that a shared experience of music creates, that's what we want to create for our audiences.


So our aims are simple:

• To provide free entertainment for the older ladies and gents in our county.
• To provide the elderly with an opportunity for participation in uplifting singing in a relaxed and familiar environment.
• To give opportunities for extra social interaction.
• To give opportunities for personal reminiscences and sharing memories

There'll be more on that last one later.

I'll be using this blog as a notice board and information centre for performers and bookers alike, so do please come back for updates!