MUSIC FOR CLEAN AIR DAY

Portsmouth Music Hub is playing its part in the UK's Clean Air Day with two new songs that put an 'energy-saving' spotlight on the perils of indoor and outdoor pollution.

The songs have been written by the award-winning team of composers at the Music Hub, and they draw attention to the changes we can all make to create a safer and healthier environment to live, work and play in. The songs form part of the One World environmental campaign which has been running since September 2018.

Over the past 10 months beach cleans, art and poetry competitions, performances in schools, together with concerts, events and a special performance for BBC Music Day 2018 have inspired thousands of local children and young people to take action to protect and save our environment.

On Clean Air Day (20 June) the Music Hub will be releasing footage on Twitter of children singing the Clean Air Day song during their rehearsals for the One World Showcase.

The Showcase, which will be performed at Portsmouth's Guildhall on Thursday 4 July, is an evening of music and entertainment that highlights local environmental issues that may have a global impact, and children from schools across the city will take to the stage to encourage us all to take action to help save our world.

Sue Beckett continued: ‘Children understand how important it is to change behaviours and they've responded with so much energy, with clarity and a real determination. Children really care, and when you fire up their imagination, they really can change the world!"

To see the Clean Air Day song rehearsal footage follow the Music Hub on Twitter @portsmouthmusic.

Sue Beckett, CEO of Portsmouth Music Hub has led the One World campaign. She said: "In the past year the One World campaign has received overwhelming support from so many people and organisations. People really care about the environment and the impact our actions are having on the planet. However, the enthusiasm of thousands of local children and young people really has been inspirational.’

YOUNG POETS CHANGING THE WORLD

Why would a Music Hub, which is committed to providing musical opportunities for children and young people, start dabbling in poetry?

 It's not that Portsmouth Music Hub has run out of ideas, or that the staff have nothing better to do, quite the opposite, the award-winning team are busy developing new programmes, planning shows, composing music, visiting schools and inspiring thousands of local children and young people to pick up an instrument, to sing and take part in music-making.

However, since September 2018 Portsmouth Music Hub has been working hard to highlight a range of environmental issues that may have an impact on our planet, and poetry has played its part.

Portsmouth Music Hub's One World campaign harnesses the power of music and the arts to engage children and young people, to challenge their thinking and inspire them to change behaviours. The message is simple; how we interact with our environment and how we sustain our planet's precious resources really will shape our future, and the future of generations to come.

Music lies at the heart of One World, but the campaign has included art competitions, short films, story-telling in schools and an extensive use of web-based media, and on Thursday 23 May, at a special prize-giving ceremony at Milton Park Primary School in Portsmouth, poetry was in the spotlight. Children and young people of all ages put pen to paper, fingers to keyboards, and described their feelings for the environment. Deforestation, ocean pollution and recycling plastics were just some of the many aspects of environmental awareness on display.

 Sue Beckett, CEO of Portsmouth Music Hub who attended the prize-giving, said: "Creativity knows no bounds and from the very start of our One World campaign we wanted to ensure that we communicated an environmental message utilising as many art forms as possible. Tapping into the creativity of young minds with music, words and art, has fired up the imagination of children and young people, engaged a wider community of people and made the messages of One World far more compelling and, we hope, enduring."

POLLUTION REVOLUTION

Portsmouth Music Hub released its latest film today as part of its One World Environmental campaign.

The film called Pollution Revolution, which can be found on the Music Hub's YouTube Channel, has been created with children in mind, and it encourages the viewer to take positive steps to improve the local environment and to safeguard our planets limited resources.

The film is set to music, and Pollution Revolution is just one of 17 songs that have been created by the Music Hub's Award-winning team of composers. With subjects ranging from air pollution, blue whales and chlorofluorocarbons the One World songbook tackles challenging environmental issues in a positive, exciting and engaging way. The songs have been made available, free to download, for everyone, and educational providers in the UK, France and Canada are already using the Music hub's songs to inspire children and young people.

Social Media plays an important part of the One World Environmental campaign, and the Hub has deliberately embraced a variety of social media platforms to communicate easily and effectively with young minds.

Sue Beckett, CEO of Portsmouth Music Hub, said: "We've composed an exciting range of environmental songs that are having an incredible impact with children in Portsmouth and around the country, so the next step had to be to create a series of films that brings the songs to life. Throughout the One World campaign we've sought to deliver key environmental messages in a way that children will understand and enjoy, which is why our films are colourful, exciting and dynamic. The music, lyrics and films really do bring our One World campaign to life."

Pollution Revolution is the sixth song that has been made available on YouTube, with more to come in 2019.

One World Week

Portsmouth Music Hub has been praised for its commitment to promoting environmental awareness by the national charity One World Week.

The charity encourages people to take action to build a just, more equal, inclusive and peaceful world that safeguards environmental resources for future generations. In the lead up to One World Week, which takes place from 21 - 28 October, the charity said: "Portsmouth Music Hub launched its One World campaign recently with a great song which 1500 children sang on the Guildhall steps in Portsmouth"

The charity continued: "We all have to keep reminding ourselves that we’re not doing enough to protect our world. We have 7.2 billion people on a planet with limited resources yet we throw things away without a thought, we ignore the costs to people and the environment of producing them and we never worry about supplies running out for future generations.

'We don’t seem to care about pollution either, even though we know that poor air quality is damaging children’s health and that marine animals are dying entangled in plastic. We don’t worry that pesticides are wiping out insect populations including bees, or that housing, roads and industry are destroying other wildlife. We’re also taking huge risks with our climate. Burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests are warming the atmosphere, melting ice caps and threatening sea level rises. Scientists are warning us that we’ve only got a few years to change if we are to prevent runaway climate change. We need to make changes fast.'

'The world is a deeply unfair place. Just look at the hunger, poverty and homelessness around the world and the sheer number of refugees. Surely we can come up with a better way, a system which works for the common good? A system which isn’t focused on growth at all cost, which acknowledges the limits of our one world and sees how these issues are linked together by the way we live.'

One World Week starts on Sunday 21 October. To find out what’s going on in Portsmouth visit www.campaign.exchange/events-for-one-world-week-in-the-portsmouth-area

1500 Voices Save the Planet

The BBC were in Portsmouth on Friday 28 September to film 1500 local children singing about the environment for BBC Music Day.

This was Portsmouth's contribution to the BBC's national celebration of music that takes place all over country.

The children, aged 6 - 16, performed the 'One World' anthem on the Guildhall steps for the BBC cameras. The song, created by Portsmouth Music Hub's award-winning team of composers, reminds us all that we have to take care of our planet, and that changes we make to the way we live our lives can have a huge impact on the environment. Portsmouth Music Hub's recently launched environmental campaign will hold events throughout the year, including art and poetry competitions, special drama productions in schools, social media campaigns and in June there will be major concert at the Guildhall, with performances from local children to celebrate World Environment Day 2019.

Sue Beckett, Chief Executive of Portsmouth Music Hub, who led the children's choir, said: "The children have had an amazing experience and we've all been excited to be part of the BBC's Music Day. We're really pleased that the BBC decided to be part of our special event and to film the children performing our One World anthem, it really has helped us to communicate our important environmental message, that the children of Portsmouth will change our world one song at a time."

Prior to the BBC filming the children had the chance to see YolanDa Brown, the UK's premiere female saxophonist perform her stunning stage show inside the Guildhall. YolanDa has toured all over the world and presented on BBC Radio 2 and SKY. She is soon to have her own show on CBBC and has recently been appointed as Chair of Youth Music, a national charity that promotes music-making for children in difficult circumstances. Speaking after the BBC filming YolanDa said:

"I know the impact music can have on all our lives. It doesn't matter who we are or where we come from, we can all create, compose and enjoy great music. As Chair of Youth Music I've seen at first hand the power of music to inspire confidence, self-respect and a passion for creativity that will last a lifetime.

After the concert inside the Guildhall YolanDa and her band performed with the children on the Guildhall steps, all of them singing Portsmouth Music Hub's 'One World' song for the BBC cameras. YolanDa went on to say: "Portsmouth Music Hub shares a commitment to give every child, no matter what their personal background, the opportunity to learn, create and achieve, and they encourage every child to believe in themselves. Music Hubs around the country share that dedication and it's a privilege and a pleasure to be making my contribution to inspirational music and culture in Portsmouth. BBC Music Day is a day of talent, creativity and inspiration, and it reminds us all that music has the power to change our communities and the world."

THE NIGHTMARE OF NURDLES

Portsmouth Music Hub have launched a new film that aims to encourage us all to think about the impact that our actions have on the environment.

Nurdles are pre-production pellets. They are used by industry to create the products we all use every day. If these small pieces of plastic are spilt or mishandled they can have a devastating effect on the marine life in our seas, rivers and waterways by entering the food chain.

Portsmouth Music Hub has created a film which explores the impact of nurdles on our environment. It's all part of the Music Hub's year-long environmental campaign which aims to harness the power of music and the arts to encourage every child in Portsmouth to think about the environment and to take steps to improve our planet, both locally and globally.

Nurdles is taken from Portsmouth Music Hub’s songbook ‘One World’

Sue Beckett, Chief Executive of Portsmouth Music Hub said: "Nurdles are not something that we encounter day to day, but the damage that this plastic is having on our environment is significant. Nurdles absorb toxins, they enter our seas and oceans, and are consumed by marine life which damages the natural food chain. Part of the Music Hub's environmental campaign is to draw attention to key issues that are damaging our world, and hopefully, with awareness, we can all take steps to change the way we live our lives.

MAKING WAVES

Southsea beach had a surprise spruce up on Friday (14 September) when the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth joined hundreds of local children for a very special beach clean.

The event marked the launch of Portsmouth Music Hub's 'One World' campaign.

'One World' brings together musicians, composers, performers, dancers, teachers and thousands of children in a year-long festival focussing on the environment and how we can make our planet a cleaner, safer and more sustainable home for future generations and the animals who share our world.

During the year the Music Hub will take music and drama into schools, hold art and poetry competitions and launch a special social media campaign. The year of events will finish on World Environment Day, with a major concert at the Guildhall in Portsmouth on 5 June 2019.

Sue Beckett, Chief Executive of Portsmouth Music Hub said: "Our aims for the One World campaign are two-fold; first of all we want to highlight some of the environmental issues that have an impact on our city, secondly by harnessing the power and impact of music and the arts we're encouraging the next generation of adults to fully embrace life-long environmental principles. Our 'One World' songbook has been composed to inspire children and young people to get involved and take practical action to save the world around them."

At the official launch on Friday at Southsea beach children from nearby schools sang three original songs from the Music Hub's newly composed songbook 'One World'. Fittingly the children sang 'Pollution Revolution', 'Tidy Up the Beach' and 'Nurdles' (the infamous small pellet of plastic that infests our seas). With 17 original songs the songbook, available to schools across the country, aims to change the world one song at a time with music about a whole host of issues including blue whales, plastics, bees and chlorofluorocarbons!

Sarina, aged 8, from Cottage Grove Primary School said: "I really enjoyed the singing and I'm very excited about picking up litter!"

Portsmouth Music Hub have received enthusiastic support for the One World campaign from the teaching community, Portsmouth City Council, Environmental groups and on 28 September the BBC will be filming 1500 young singers from Portsmouth performing the 'One World Song' as part of BBC Music Day.

The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Lee Mason, who helped with the beach clean said: "We all have a responsibility to preserve and protect our environment, and as Portsmouth is a coastal city the safeguarding of our environment has real resonance. Small changes to the way we live our daily lives can have a positive effect on our planet, whether that's by recycling, taking our rubbish home or by simply switching off a light when it's not in use. This is why I'm delighted to be supporting Portsmouth Music Hub's 'One World' campaign, which will stimulate and encourage us all to protect our city and our planet."