Call for participation
Women in Music Lab Week with Shirley Tetteh
Background
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. British Council Algeria manages a range of activities that sit within four strategic business units (SBUs): English, Arts, Education, and Society. All of these activities in Algeria support collaboration, inclusion and make a real difference to people’s lives. We develop strong and vibrant relationships between individuals and institutions in both the UK and Algeria. This builds trust and understanding among people around the world.
Our arts team in Algeria works with the best of British and Algerian creative talents to deliver innovative, high-quality events and develop collaborations with artists and cultural institutions.
Tomorrow’s Warriors are an outstanding creative talent development organisation specialising in Jazz and in supporting in particular young musicians from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and female musicians. Based in London, TW are at the heart of the recent exciting revival in Jazz and have helped to develop the careers of many of the foremost jazz musicians such as Shirley Tetteh who have emerged in the UK in this period, ensuring that artists are able to develop to their full potential and are equipped to fulfil successful careers as professional artists.
Shirley Tetteh
Shirley is a rising star of the UK Jazz scene. She is a member of the Jazz FM Awards nominated septet Nérija, also winners of the 'Jazz Newcomer of the Year' category at the 2017 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, who released their debut album on Domino Records this August 2019. She is a member of Maisha, whose debut album was released in November 2018 on Giles Peterson’s ‘Brownswood’ label and nominated for the 2019 Worldwide FM Awards ‘Jazz Album of the Year’.
She is part of Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED Ensemble, who were nominated for the prestigious 2019 Mercury Music Prize. Winner of the 'Jazz Newcomer of the Year' category at the 2018 Parliamentary Jazz Awards herself, and having accompanied such notable musicians as Gary Crosby (OBE), MOBO award winners Moses Boyd, Zara McFarlane, and alto saxophonists Nathaniel Facey and Camilla George, as well as critically acclaimed tenor saxophonist Courtney Pine (CBE), Shirley has shown great ability as a left-of-centre pop songwriter and producer.
In October 2018 she released her first song ’Speedial’ under the artist name Nardeydey and was included in The Guardian newspaper’s ’Best new music of 2019’. Having additionally made BBC Radio 1’s ’Next Wave’ artist pick with her second single ‘FreeFalling’, whilst being played multiple times on 1Xtra, 6 Music and Worldwide FM, Shirley Tetteh in her many guises is one to watch!
Project description
The contribution and visibility of women in the music sector is an issue receiving increasing attention across the world. In the Maghreb, despite the great potential women have in the field of music, they still face many challenges in proving themselves as talented artists and are not necessarily perceived as such.
We wish to draw attention to the challenges women in music face in Algeria, encourage discussion and make space for female artists to tackle these challenges, nurturing creativity, increasing visibility and advancing sector knowledge and awareness.
The Workshop
A maximum of 11 female musicians from diverse musical backgrounds will spend 4 days together in an exploratory creative workshop led by UK jazz musician Shirley Tetteh. The selected musicians will receive individual mentoring and also create an ensemble piece to be performed on the 5th day with the supervision of Shirley.
The workshop will also include presentations and discussions on career development for musicians.
Eligibility
Female instrumentalists or singers with a background in any genre. Any instruments will be considered but applicants should have reached an intermediate or advanced level (not beginner). We seek musicians who are curious to expand their creative horizons in music, open to experimentation and ready to collaborate within a group from diverse backgrounds and interested in taking their career to the next level. Reading notated music IS NOT a requirement.
Selection Criteria
The selection panel will be evaluating the applications, candidates will be selected based on their level, the instrument played and geographic localization. The selected candidates will be informed on 15 November 2019.
The Application should include
- Application Form duly filled
- A short Video of two (2) minutes of you playing (and/or singing) a musical piece of the genre of your choice
- Up to date artistic CV
- Incomplete candidacies WILL NOT be taken into consideration.
| Application open | Thursday 17 October 2019 |
| Apply by | Thursday 31 October 2019 |
| Selection process | 4-13 November 2019 |
| Announcement | Friday 15 November 2019 |
Please submit your application by Thursday 31 October 2019, with the email subject 'Women in Music Lab Week Application' to: imene.bouchair@britishcouncil.org