After 10 years at the helm, B Sharp founder Fran Williams is stepping down as Chief Executive and Artistic Director.
Fran started the young people’s music charity in 2007 with young people and a team of dedicated volunteers after working on a series of successful youth projects in Bridport and Lyme Regis. The Charity has gone on to lead the way inspiring a new culture of music and opportunities for young people in the region, and recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary.
Fran will be leaving in October to do some training and research into opportunities for cultural exchanges and social action programmes. She commented: “It’s been a great joy to work with so many different young people over the years, an inspirational team, partners and many supporters. Everyone involved in B Sharp has given so much energy and expertise adding to its mix, keeping it fresh and relevant as well as professional – and that’s what makes it so special. I feel that it’s time now for a new cycle to begin. I am confident that B Sharp will find a new leader with the right set of skills, experience and passion to take it forward to the next ten years.”
Over the ten years B Sharp has become more than just music. Its peer-to-peer model of working has been rolled out across the region and has a local and national reputation to be proud of. Its can-do approach has seen the organisation gain a reputation for giving everyone a fair chance to shine regardless of background or interest – enabling young people to build transferable skills and confidence in a creative and positive way through music.
Hannah Lovegrove, Chair of B Sharp’s Board of Trustees, noted: “Fran has achieved an amazing amount for young people’s music. It’s sad to see her go and we all wish her well for the future. Opportunities for young people are as needed as much now as ever – if you are interested in building a sound future and working with us in any way or joining the board get in touch.”
B Sharp will be recruiting a full-time replacement for Fran to steer them through the next stage of its development.
After a great contest betwen inspiring and up and coming, original musicians, bands and singer-songwriters, three bands have emerged as winners of the B Sharp Bridport Sounds competition! The Collaborators, a hugely popular local bridport band won 1st prize of £200 and now go on to headline at Bridport Sounds live gig on July 21st, 7.30pm, at Bridport Arts Centre. 2nd prize went to Pizza for Dogs an emerging young band and 3rd pize went to Bridport Jams both of whom will play as support acts on the night.
Ellie Walker, coordinator of Bridport Sounds noted, “We were very impressed with the level of entrants, it’s great to see what musical talents there are in the Bridport area. The prize winners have such a fun and lively sound that we thought they would be perfect for the gig. I’m excited to not only to be launching and organising this grass roots gig for young musicians, but also to go to it, it’s going to be a really fun night!.”
The gig, and the work leading up to it, will be supported through ‘IWill’ an exciting programme funded by Dorset Community Foundation which in this instance enables young promoters and volunteers to gain experience in event production, training them up, utilising their own ideas and concepts, and enabling them to gain invaluable work experience. Hannah Cumming joint coordinator of the event commented “One of our core aims at B Sharp is to support young people to try things out in all areas that interest them around music, so it’s great for us to work on a project that will enable young people to do this – they will have opportunities to shape the gig we are putting on, and put on their own events in the future. What a great opportunity that is for young people to gain valuable work experience and life skills.
Everyone loves a live music event and this one will be such a great way of having a party and platforming emerging and semi -professional bands at the same time. Tickets are on sale now from Bridport Arts Centre 01308 424204. More information about the gig and the bands performing on the night can be found at https://bsharp.org.uk/whats-on/bridport-sounds/. If you are interested in working on the IWill programme get in touch.
