About the Festival
The Ventnor Music for Fun Festival
The 2010 adjudicator will be:
Soo Bishop
Soo is the daughter of Betty Roe, for several years the Festival's adjudicator.
Later she qualified as a music therapist and classroom music teacher, working in Merton and Lambeth within mainstream and special school sectors. She also continued to provide regular support for an adult community choir in North Kensington and to build her profile as a singer and choral director
In 1991, Soo founded 'Play-a-Round', teaching music and drama to large numbers of young children in the Wimbledon area. She also ran regular sessions at the Polka Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and for the London Borough of Houslow.
From 1997-2005, Soo acted as full-time Music Coordinator at The Priory CE Primary School in Wimbledon and was subsequently appointed as Merton's first Advanced Skills Teacher for Primary Music. In 2004 The Priory became the first school in Merton to be awarded an Arts Council 'Artsmark Gold' for its dedication to providing creative and diverse arts provision for all its pupils.
Teaching and performing commitments have been combined with extensive work as an adjudicator and music consultant and representing organisations including Music for Youth, has taken Soo around the country to work with musicians of every age and level. Much of her original material for the Primary age group has been published.
in April 2005, Soo was appointed as Associate Director of Merton's schools music service, Merton Music Foundation, and in 2007 was promoted to become MMF's Deputy Director, with special responsibility for the development of MMF's curriculum service to mainstream and special schools. Soo gives training to Merton school staff, tailored to meet their diverse needs, including setting up of a teachers' choir. She has been responsible for the development and roll-out of Merton's 'Wider Opportunities' whole class instrumental/vocal tuition and the training of a new workforce to deliver it. Soo also devises, project-manages and delivers large-scale vocal-based performance projects to KS2 pupils, most recently taking 1000+ 9-11yr olds to sing at the Royal Albert Hall in an acclaimed performance of 'The Journey' by jazz musician and educator Pete Churchill. She currently directs a junior and youth choir for MMF.
Organisers:
DONNA BRIHMANI
Deputy Director (Schools' Service) for the Merton Music Foundation
Soo trained as a trumpeter at the Royal Academy of Music and pursued a successful career as a freelance trumpeter with numerous orchestras and ensembles in the London area. She also taught as a peripatetic brass teacher for ILEA and ran Saturday music-making workshops for children and adults at Morley College.
MAGGIE COOKE
VAL HAYWARD
GILLIAN LANGTON
ANGIE MULLARD