STAFF at Wren Music are keeping their fingers crossed for a big lottery win when the Okehampton-based charity features on national TV this Saturday evening. The folk and community arts development charity has been voted through to the finals of the National Lottery Awards 2007 for its Nice Warm Socks project. It is one of only three arts projects across the whole of the UK to be selected, and stands the chance of winning the £2,000 first prize, which would go towards further work in arts education. The project will be featured on ?The National Lottery: Big 7?on BBC1 on Saturday, when the winners and runners-up of each category will be announced. Wren?s music director Paul Wilson, whose dedication in preserving, maintaining and creating traditional music over 25 years has been recognised with an honorary MA by the University of Plymouth, said: ?We are all delighted that the Nice Warm Socks project has received such strong support from people across the country ? it is a great recognition of this country?s heritage in music and song.? The show will be broadcast live in two parts: 7.20pm to 8.05pm, and 8.55pm to 9.40pm. The Nice Warm Socks project uses folk song to develop the basic communication skills of children with severe learning difficulties and physical impairments. With funding from the National Lottery Awards For All scheme, the Wren Music team of professional composers, musicians, songwriters and educators worked together with speech and language therapy specialist Shan Graebe and staff and students from the Ellen Tinkham School in Exeter to create songs relevant to young people with special educational needs. The success of the project led to wide interest from other Special Needs schools and from speech and language therapists across the UK and further afield. A professionally recorded CD was released in late 2006 and interest has continued to grow and it is now being used as far afield as Australia, Canada, USA and Italy. The project has been widely used in mainstream education, where it is valued for its usefulness in developing early-years language skills. Wren Music is also starting a new weekly workshop series next week and launching Okehampton Song Tales, a community musical to be staged in 2008. The charity?s spokesman Kevin Buckland said: ?All who wish to sing are welcome, whatever their ability level or experience. Enthusiasm is more important than having a trained voice. Players of all instruments are welcome, and a basic ability level will be required. There will be no auditions, and participants will not need to read music, although scores will be provided if desired.? The singing, music and songwriting workshops will be held on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm, in the Okement Community Centre, starting on September 18. There will be a fee of £1 per week. The workshops are open to people of all ages, but under 14s will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. The workshops will be led by Paul Wilson. Wren would also like to hear from people interested joining in the musical, as actors, props and costume managers, sound and lighting technicians or stewards. Volunteers can call 01837 53754, or email [email protected]">[email protected] The project is a co-production between the Okement Centre and Wren Music. The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded a grant of £17,200 to the Okement Centre Association towards the project, and further funding has been received from Okehampton United Charities, Arts Council England South West and Devon County Council.
