The Irene Taylor Trust: The Open Fund for Organisations
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Singer-Songwriter James Dey’s Music in Prisons North-West Prison Residency
This prison Musician in Residence role brings an exciting opportunity for prisoners to become part of a flourishing musical community, working with accomplished singer-songwriter James Dey to develop skills and create original music on his weekly sessions, which focus on composition and performance.
“My mind was opened up, helping me to be creative and think with clarity,” participant.
This project will be life-changing for participants – boosting their confidence, motivation and offering a medium to creatively express themselves; allowing them to grow as musicians and re-frame their identities (becoming musician/composer/band-mate rather than just ‘prisoner’). Prisoners work towards creating original songs and live performances with an emphasis on discovering their own unique sound and developing this to the highest possible level. Several exciting gigs throughout the year will showcase new music created. James Dey says: “I have been able to both facilitate and encourage a large and creative musical community within the prison, while also finding that the work feeds into my own musical output …an enormously valuable, varied and thought-provoking project to work on.”James Dey is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who has several years’ experience in facilitating music projects in prisons and a passion for supporting artists’ progression in composing, recording and performing their own work. He recently released his second album The Night-time. James will benefit from mentoring/support sessions with the Irene Taylor Trust’s Artistic Director, Sara Lee. These combined experiences will feed into James’ own creativity and song-writing.