Award Winning Students

Big congratulations to MIC student Heather Illidge who was crowned winner of Crawley’s Got Talent at the live final in the Hawth on 11 February.

Singer Heather wowed the audience and impressed the judges with a stunning performance of ‘On My Own’ from hit West End musical ‘Les Miserables’.  Judges Kevin Eason, Steve Evans and Erin Witton awarded her a place as one of the six grand finalists but is was members of the audience who voted to place her as overall winner of the contest.

Finalists were selected from all over Crawley in a series of auditions which ran in each neighbourhood towards the end of 2011 and the event was put together by Crawley Borough Council. MIC project director Tony Witton was at the awards and said ‘Heather was sensational. She really stood out from the rest of the finalists, putting heart and soul into her song to give an emotional performance brought to life by that fantastic powerful voice which we have all come to know and love. I look forward to the moment she makes it the West End!’

Heather wins a cheque for £500 and studio sessions to to make a promotional CD and video.

Earlier in the year, a second MIC student, Frankie Friend, won the Fitzroy Award for an outstanding contribution to music at St Wilfirds Secondary School in Southgate.

From a nervous audition for the MIC in August 2009, Frankie has gone on to work with other students to sing and play guitar on their original tracks as the band Best Intentions. She has performed on stage at live music events and outdoor festivals and has been in the studio to record with the band for the MIC CD.

Teachers gave her the award in recognition of the progress she has made both musically and with her self confidence as a performer.

Album now available!

The album was released on 19 December. Well worth the wait, it has 12 original tracks and features all of the 24 musicians who took part in the project. The tracks are in a range of musical styles from rousing electropop, rap and punk to beautiful soulful indie and vocal solos.

With artwork inspired by the students and brought to life by talented graphic artist Jo Harrison, it looks stunning as well.

Project Manager, Tony Witton says ‘The album is fantastic quality and was a complete joy to make. It is a real tribute to the imagination and musical skill of all of the young people who took part in the project. They should all be very proud.’

The album is available by post from the ‘Buy the Album’ link on this website or can be downloaded from iTunes.

Hawth Showcase 21 October!

Exciting album on the way!

This week project organisers heard the first cut of the album and they are stunned by the quality of the tracks and really excited about what is going to be a truly professional product.

Over the summer, the project has been hard at work in the studio recording and mixing tracks with talented engineer and producer Jez Larder. Students have recorded original compositions which they have written as part of the year long project and they have been able to put into practice some of the tips and tricks they have picked up from James Hadden, Music Leader for the project and some of the working musicians who have visited to provide masterclasses including Marcus Bonfanti, Richard Durrant and Lynne Jackaman.

Currently, artist Jo Harrison is working with the students on artwork for the CD cover http://www.jo-harrison.co.uk/website/?p=1046

The album which will contain 12 tracks in a range of musical styles is due to be released before Christmas.

Mainstage gig a stunning summer success!

Around 500 people gathered in the sunshine in the picturesque setting of Memorial Gardens to watch a great outdoor show for the finale of Crawley Festival. Students from the MIC were amongst those playing on stage and each one of them gave a great performance. Excellent songs and brilliant musicianship were the order of the day and an impressively high level of quality and professionalism was maintained throughout the afternoon’s show. A Festival spokesperson said ‘it was great to see the MIC students getting some experience of playing on a full size outdoor stage. They rose to the occassion and really seemed to enjoy it. It was a fantastic afternoon of great music.’

Exciting new album due out in October!

We are in the Shameless Talent studio now and over the summer to record what should be a stunning album if the tracks we have already finished are anything to go by. The album will feature a range of musical styles which everyone on the MIC plays or enjoys listenting to. Recorded by experienced engineer Jez Larder, produced by Neil Reed with artwork and photography by Jo Harrison, the album will be a top class professional product. It’s all about musicians who play music in Crawley and its all about the music being played in Crawley right now. Be sure to listen out for it.

Picture by Tom Lay

Hawth showcase fantastic success!

The second showcase which took place at the Hawth theatre on Saturday 4 June was a great gig. Everyone from the project got a fifteen minute slot on stage which was plenty of time for a couple of numbers. The standard of playing was outstanding and with everyone so much more confident than our first gig in January its clear that the workshops are paying off. It was great to hear everyone doing their own songs which they have written at the MIC ‘…much of their own original material was delivered with a professionalism and confidence that betrayed the age and experience of the performers’ (Crawley Observer 15 June 2011). Well done everybody!!