The ICMP will take over Proud's 'New Bands on the Block' for the day and evening with over 25 acts playing in the Main Room and the Terrace from 1-11.30pm, followed by student DJs until 1am. 

The live performances will feature students from all years but focus on graduating BMus and Foundation Degree students. The event promises to deliver high-quality original music with full band performances and acoustic chill-out sets covering a wide range of styles from rock, metal, indie and pop to jazz, funk and neo soul.

The event is open to the public and entry is free. 

Glasgow Science Centre

The day was introduced by Ruth Wishart, Chair of the Scottish Government's Creative Education Group. Participants were given the opportunity to explore and exchange innovative practices as well as learning how schools and teachers are already embedding creativity into their daily work, often in partnership with external organisations. The practical outcomes of the day were captured to complement and influence Scottish Government policy in promoting creative education practices.

A cello travels first class. Photo courtesy of ISMThe change to policy was made with no public announcement or consultation and has left musicians, the music industry and tour operators angry at the retrograde action. 

In the last two years, the ISM has received over 1,500 cases of musicians who have experienced problems when taking their instruments on planes. In January 2011, the society reached a breakthrough agreement with easyJet and is now calling on British Airways to follow their example, as well as that of carriers in the USA, and implement a consistent policy for the carriage of musical instruments.

British Airways' policy previously allowed for the carriage of small instruments as long as they were less than 126cm. This allowed for instruments such as violins to be transported safely in overhead lockers. The change to this policy means that instruments now have to be less than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm to be carried as part of hand baggage allowance. These measurements prohibit the transport of a small instrument such as a violin. The policy now requires instruments to be checked as baggage and placed in the aircraft's hold which carries the greater risk of damage to valuable items. Otherwise, BA advises musicians to purchase an extra seat for the carriage of their musical instrument but gives no guarantee that an extra seat will be available.

Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of ISM, said:  

'Given that easyJet changed its policy to support the creative economy and our professional musicians, it is baffling that British Airways has taken such a retrograde and damaging course of action. It is unreasonable to expect precious and valuable instruments to be placed in the hold of an airplane and it can be prohibitively expensive for musicians to purchase an extra seat for a small instrument such as violin.'

Julian Lloyd Webber said:

'It is almost unbelievable that British Airways should discriminate against musicians like this. The airline needs to realise that it is a service industry – and that includes providing a service to musicians who are among their most regular customers.'

Pippy Trentham, Director of OneStage Specialist Concert Tours, said:

'Seemingly overnight, British Airways have changed their official luggage regulations so that musicians carrying certain instruments can no longer take them in the cabin of the aircraft. Many passengers booked their seats long before the regulations changed and are now faced not only with additional charges but also the worry that their valuable instrument may be damaged in transit. It’s hard to think of any equivalent purchase where this would be acceptable.'

Peter Bolton, Chief Executive of Kent MusicHeld at New Line Learning Academy in Maidstone, delegates will learn more about Soundhub, a new partnership of organisations which will join to deliver a wide range of music education services across Kent.

The new plans follow the launch of the first ever National Plan for Music Education by the government last November. The county’s successful partnership bid, led by Kent Music, will see the recently formed Soundhub receive £4.5 million from September 2012 to March 2015.

Set up as a Community Interest Company, Soundhub's main aim will be to provide innovative and inclusive music programmes for five to 18-year-olds both in and out of school, ensuring that every child has access to a wide range of music opportunities. 

Soundhub will work with interested organisations such as Kent County Council, schools, academies, universities and music organisations including Rhythmix and Pie Factory Music.

Programmes will include Whole Class music-making for Primary schools and support for tuition and ensembles in Secondary schools. There will be new programmes at local and county levels plus a plan to use new technology to help deliver music education.

Peter Bolton, Kent Music's Chief Executive, said:

'We were thrilled to win Kent's bid and will now continue to work hard to develop Soundhub in partnership with all those involved with the county's music education in time for September's new beginning.

'The conference provides a collective opportunity to discuss the many different initiatives Soundhub will offer and to engage interested parties in discussion.'

Those wishing to attend the conference can contact Denise Milne at dmilne@kent-music.com.

Guests chatting before the presentationThe globally respected music education expert and creator of Musical Futures spoke for 30 minutes about the conference which he is directing for the first time in Asia. He outlined four key themes and talked briefly about the conference's core team of presenters which will include leading music educators from Australia, the US, China, the UK and Singapore.

David Price at the eventHe also confirmed that one major international artist and one well-known band (to be announced over the next three to four weeks) will perform at the conference. Singaporean music students, bands and choirs will be invited to provide the remainder of an exciting programme of live music which will run alongside the main conference programme. This will include keynotes, discussions, presentations and hands-on workshops as well as an extensive trade exhibition.

Representatives from the Ministry of Education (MOE), National Arts Council (NAC), Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), Singapore Tourism Board (STB),National Insititute of Education (NIE), Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music (YSTCM), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and Singapore Music Society (sgmuso) as well as musicians, music teachers and retailers were able to meet and chat with conference organisers, Music Education Asia, before and after the presentation.

Issue 2 of Music Education Singapore magazineGuests were also able to take home copies of Issue 2 of Music Education UK's sister magazine, Music Education Singapore, which was launched at the event.

musiclearninglive!Asia sponsors and partners already confirmed include:

• ABRSM (key sponsor)
• Trinity College London 
• Liszt Academy (Hungary)
• Jozzbeat (Australia)

Trade exhibitors already confirmed include MOE, Mondomusica (Italy/US) andHowarth of London (UK).

Presented by Access to Music in association with music, media and technology conference and live arts festival, Liverpool Sound City, the awards are designed to celebrate, identify and support new talent within music education.

According to Access to Music:

'The show kicked off with an amazing performance by the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Session Musician Orchestra. Conducted by Andy Stott, they got the evening underway with renditions of Wings' Live & Let Die and Michael Jackson's Don't Stop Til You Get Enough [...] Other performers on the night included Kamilla Lovett from Norwich; La Petit Mort from York; The Cutouts from Bury St Edmunds; Trudi/Things I'm Not from London;Strike from London; and The Union Dolls from Liverpool [...] The awards were presented by a host of industry professionals including Seymour Stein of Sire Records and Warner Bros Records fame, who presented the award for Best Achievement.'

Best School Act Award-winners, The Cutouts, with Sam Robson, who presented the award, and host, Edith Bowman

Almost 40 awards were presented at the event which took place on 17 May at Liverpool's Echo Arena. The following awards were decided on the night:

• Best Female Artist - Katie Bunting (Manchester)
• Best Male Artist - Mitchell Gibson (Brighton)
• Best Producer - Jamie Barrat Gibson (Yorkshire Coast College)
• Best Group - High Hopes (Norwich)
• Best Business - Christopher Diment & Darren Brown (Bristol)
• Best A&R Strategy and Campaign - HMS Productions (Birmingham)
• Best Employability Success - Tom Joy & Matt Munford (Norwich)
• Best Media Music - The Michael Kamen Award - Joe Wulff (Brighton)
• Best Single - Jack Tinner (Manchester)
• Best Live Act - Strike (London)
• The Joseph Lapin Award for Outstanding Excellence and Entrepreneurial Spirit - Joseph Kelly 

Ben Goodwin (left) with Trinity's Head of Business Development, David BobbySelf-taught bassist, Ben Godwin, who sat his Grade 2 Bass exam at Sutton Music Centre, said he felt very privileged to be the first candidate to take one of the new exams.

'I was very pleased with the experience of my Rock & Pop exam and am privileged to find out that I was the first ever candidate! I very much enjoyed the opportunity to perform and I think the song choices are excellent,' Godwin said.

Godwin began learning the bass two years ago and is completely self-taught. He was inspired to take an exam by his son, a Grade 5 trumpet player, and is now looking to continue through the grades.

Trinity College London's Rock & Pop exams are available from Initial to Grade 8 for guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keyboards and entry is now open for the Autumn UK exam sessions. The exams are available internationally and sessions will take place in several countries including India, Dubai, Thailand, New Zealand, Singapore and Sri Lanka. 

Anna CalviThe competition for aspiring singer/songwriters saw a record number of applicants compete for a place on the ICMP's BA in Songwriting degree course.

Ten finalists were chosen through a combination of public voting and a panel of experts from the ICMP's Songwriting faculty. The finalists and their videos were then presented to Anna Calvi who chose Mairead Furlong as the winner plus two runner-ups who will also take partial scholarships. 

Mairead FurlongThe competition is now in its fourth year of issuing places on ICMP songwriting courses. Last year, successful songwriting students included Elena Tonra and Igor Haefeli - aka Daughter - who are now signed to 4AD records, the home of Bon Iver, Iron & Wine and The National. 

The Shure Songwriting Award 2013 will be launched later this year. For further information, visit www.shuresongwritingaward.com.

First year MA Opera student, Jan Capinski, who has already made his professional debut with Scottish Opera, and final year student, Reisha Adams, who joined Glyndebourne Opera this April, perform in RWCMD's Spring production of The Marriage of Figaro.The sell-out production, set in the bull-ring of the local cattle market, will be accompanied by an orchestra of music students from the Royal Academy of Music.

Festival Director, Alasdair Nicolson, who visited the College earlier this year looking for singers for the production, said:

'I was bowled over by the standard of singing in the Opera department and agreed with RWCMD Head of Opera, Angela Livingstone, that we would cast the whole show from the College and there was no need for me to look elsewhere.

'I knew that the young singers I met in Cardiff would be up for the challenges of working in a non-theatre performance space. I hope that this cross-border collaboration will be the beginning of working with the College rather than a one-off.'

The students will be directed by Richard Williams and Charles Peebles will conduct. The performances will take place from 21-24 June.

Visiting artists to the MA Opera Performance course this year have included: 

• Natalie Dessay
• Susan Bullock
• Malcolm Martineau
• Simon Lepper
• Dame Anne Evans
• Sarah Connolly
• Donald Maxwell 
• Rebecca Evans

For more information on the MA Opera Performance, visit www.rwcmd.ac.uk/courses/ma_opera_performance.aspx.

For more information on the festival, visit www.stmagnusfestival.com.

Sing UpMixPixie album designs

 The site will professionally print bespoke CDs using album designs to which teachers can upload images and write text of their choice. Schools will then be able to sell the albums through the site or at school. 

Sing Up Director, Michelle James, said:

'We're really excited about the partnership between MixPixie and Sing Up. It will be a great way for schools to enjoy making their own CDs and raise money at the same time.'

MixPixie Co-Founder and Managing Director, Buffie du Pon, cites the partnership as 'an important step forward for music in all schools across the UK. Our system is an informative, easy-to-use platform which is a first for schools. We have been inundated with requests from schools to provide such a service and as a result are convinced that it will quickly establish itself as an important tool for teachers and schools alike in a very short space of time'.

The new website can be found at http://singup.mixpixie.com/.