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This website was initially created to provide resources for the Vocal Union project. All materials on the site are freely available to people working in community music and education.
We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Sage Gateshead and Sing Up.
The site is currently hosted in collaboration with BlueJam.

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Vocal Facilitators

Claire Tustin

 

Val Sonley

I've been a practitioner on the Vocal Union programme since it started in 2007 and have worked in a broad range of schools. At present I'm working in South Hetton Primary School in County Durham with each year group in turn. I've also worked for several years on the Big Sing programme, helping both primary and secondary school children throughout the North East prepare for the thrill of appearing at The Sage Gateshead to perform in its annual children's singing extravaganza.
For as long as I can remember I've been passionate about singing, and I'm increasingly convinced of its benefits to individuals and to the community. Over the years I've sung in a wide variety of choirs and singing groups. Currently I'm in a female a capella group, The Wands, founded with some of my friends three years ago and performing a breadth of musical styles and genres. I also love to form one-off singing groups for special occasions. I've almost completed an Trinity Guildhall / Open University qualification in music making in Key Stage 2, and am now studying Kodaly, a method of music education, which I use to help inform how I teach in my Vocal Union schools. And in between my singing activities I also work part time as a university librarian.

Jilly Jarman

Jilly Jarman is currently working as a vocal facilitator for Vocal Union in Cumbria. She is directing the Penrith Transition Choir and collaborating with Sarah Wallcook from Soundwave on bringing accessibility to forms such as jazz and opera to primary schools.
She focusses on songwriting and musicianship for singers, jazz, world and improvised music, and writes a lot of material for primary and secondary schools and community choirs.
She is also a founder director of BlueJam in Cumbria and London.
See jillyjarman.co.uk and bluejamarts.org for more details

Claire Tustin is a singer, song writer, performer, trainer, and workshop leader based at The Sage Gateshead. She manages Vocal Union, so is the person who oversees how all the projects in each school progress, supporting Vocal Union musicians and organising training for teachers and musicians on the project.
Claire also creates musical shows for children that link to the curriculum; performing at The Sage Gateshead and touring around the region. Recent shows include – 'At the Seaside'; a sing along show for EYFS and KS1, 'Winter Wonderings'; a puppet show for primary aged children about traditional tales, friendships and feelings, and La Chanson du Retour'; a musical multi media show in French, using singing, rap and movement to inspire young people to enjoy learning French.
She co-leads a singing and movement group for pregnant women at The Sage Gateshead called Musical Bumps, and a community choir; Mouths of the Tyne, based in North Shields. When Claire is not at work she likes to sing, walk her dog, and spend time with her family.
To contact Claire email claire.tustin@thesagegateshead.org or ring 0191 443 5169



Vocal Union is a part of the Vocal Force Skills and Training strand of the national Sing Up programme. Based in the Sage Gateshead and delivering music activities in schools across the North East and Cumbria it has developed a successful and innovative method of work.

The programme has always valued and collected the resources used and developed by its practitioners and leaders and school students in the programme.

Currently the site is hosting the reports from Vocal Force and Sing Up gatherings as well. These will be available soon on the Sing Up site, in the Skills and Training section.

The Big Sing songbooks are produced regularly, have amazing songs in them with well-produced CD and thoughtful notes. They are available for sale for £22 from the SageGateshead.



Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, produced by Youth Music with AMV-BBDO, Faber Music and The Sage Gateshead supported by Government.
Vocal Union is part-funded through Sing Up and is part of its national singing programme.