Beyond the Classroom

Get Sorted are working with Brinsworth Comprehensive School to bring Music to young people.

Get Sorted are involved in several workshops including Rap, Samba and Band Development workshops... and some of the young musicians will be performing at a concert later this year (keep your eyes on the blog for more details!)

Samba

A chance to experience Latin American Heat. Pupils will be taught Samba music as part of a large group working closely with staff from 'Get Sorted' in Rotherham to add flair and pazazz to our music department.

Pop Band Coaching
Students will form pop bands and develop their band skills. Working on guitars, basses, drums, keyboard and vocals, students will train themselves to become the next Kings of Leon.

That's a Rap
A small number of selected students will work with the team from 'Get Sorted' on their rapping and DJ'ing skills. They will use computer software to create their own tracks and record their own tracks.

Rotherham rapper makes his message clear

Former Get Sorted student G-Dott's debut album - The Unexpected - is now available in the shops! Here is an article that appeared in the Advertiser a couple of years ago in which G-Dott describes his path to Rap and his progressing career.

Rapper Guy Lawther—aka G-Dott—is sending out a powerful message to other teenagers after signing up to a music label.

The 19-year-old MC from Kimberworth Park says he found a talent for rappin' after spending time in care, a short spell in the army and, as he puts it, "in the wrong crowds on the streets."

Guy has just signed a contract with MK Productions and his career is taking off.

"I want to get a really important message out to young teenagers from the age of thirteen up to myself," says Guy, who has also played semi-professional football with Harrogate Town.

"It is that rappin' and MCing can really be for any one."

"It was a shock to me the talent I had, as I could have started at an earlier age."

"But instead I was in the wrong crowds on the streets drinking, causing trouble just to get a buzz and always feeling down after the loss of my mother at the age of nine."

"That's the age I also went into care but I have got to say that care has really sorted me out made me grow up and try things, as I have achieved semi-professional football for Harrogate Town FC and also soldier in the Coldstream Guards."

Guy spent a month in the army before deciding it was not for him.

Then Five months ago he found his real talent and his love of word play.

Now he has signed for MK Productions after being funded for studio time by the Bridges Project, an organisation which helps young people after they leave care.

He says:"It's something I love doing everyday. Even doing it freestyle, just things I see I just make them rhyme, mostly funny lyrics what make people laugh and can cheer them up when feeling down."

"After only three months into music I got a phone call off one of my friends saying would I like to perform at a club in Rotherham called the Vault because she had heard one of my tracks on some one's phone who knows me."

"At the time I was really nervous as I had only been doing rappin' for such a short time."

"I did the gig the best I could with a hell of a lot of girls shouting my name. The feeling was amazing and it just keeps getting better."

"After I finished my gig I was talking to Kezzo, the manager of MK Productions and she asked if I wanted to sign to MK and that basically topped it off."

"I couldn't have asked for more and I want to thank Kezzo and the Bridges Project for the studio time they funded.

Guy explains his style:"I started on bassline because that's what peaple wanted to hear in clubs, but the lyrics are always about fightin / girls / or drinking n drugs, so I decided to take music to the next level."

Friends of Thornhill School - Building the capacity of charities and community projects.

Aside from it's own activities, Get Sorted provides the facilities and expertise for other community groups and charities to carry out own projects. Here is a 2008 case study of 'Friends of Thornhill School' with funding from South Yorkshire Community Foundation.

Colin Martin said: 'It is important to give children a sense of belonging and opportunities that will build their confidence and teach them respect for others. As well as the Wednesday drama group we run a music group on a Friday and they have aspirations of starting a school band before the end of the year.'

Rob Hannon, President, Rotherham Chamber of Commerce said: "It is so important to support our local community and this is just one example where extra curricula activity is making a real difference to the pupils of Thornhill School. The dedication and commitment of Amanda Benton was reflected in the enthusiasm and energy displayed by the kids who without doubt were enjoying every minute of their performance as did we all."

Since receiving the grant from the Community Foundation the group have gone on to access further funding for musical instruments for after school music workshops in partnership with local organisation Get Sorted Music Academy.

As a result of the increased capacity and confidence of the management committee, they are now hoping to involve more people from the community by organising events such as Keep Fit.

Gillian Smith, Secretary of Friends of Thornhill said. " We would like to get more parents involved with activities in school and if we can organise more clubs we might be able to do this."

- "South Yorkshire Community Foundation (SYCF) has funded a variety of projects throughout the region that make a big impact on local communities. We use our expertise and local knowledge to make targeted grants, connecting people who care to causes that matter."

Get Sorted Brochures

Get Sorted have a range of brochures outlining the services provided, that are available for download or in full colour print.

When royalty came to Get Sorted...

Get Sorted have been around for a long time and have long been attracting the attention of the high and mighty! Here's an article from the archives, from The Star in 2006, when the Andrew Duke of York got sorted!

"PRINCE Andrew arrived at a business park this morning amid tight security at the start of a whistlestop tour of South Yorkshire.

Looking tanned and wearing a dark suit, the Duke of York, who had flown into Doncaster's Robin Hood airport, was almost 30 minutes late.

He was greeted at Castings Technology International on Waverley business park, Rotherham.

The firm is one of the first to move to the park which will eventually house some of the top UK engineering companies.

The duke was shown CTI's 9 million plant which employs about 100 people and moved to the site in April.

The duke was later due to keep an old promise when he dropped into a music project set up to help jobless youngsters. Prince Andrew visited the Get Sorted project in in Westgate, Rotherham five years ago and promised to come back next time he was in the area.

He was to have lunch at Sheffield Town Hall and visit the Winter Garden and Millennium Square en route to his last stop in St Paul's Place."

'Children, Young People and Families Consortium'

Get Sorted is a member of the 'Children, Young People and Families Consortium'. Please click on the link to see the GSAM profile.

The Children, Young People and Families Consortium was formed in 2003 'by a group of voluntary sector organisations who provide services for children, young people and families' and has as it's aims 'to achieve the best possible voluntary sector contribution to improving the lives of children, young people and families in Rotherham'.

The Get Sorted profile features all key information about GSAM included services and objectives, a brief breakdown of organisational structure as well as user comments and catchment areas... amongst other things!

Donate to Get Sorted's Big Give 'Unite Together and Rap' project

"The Big Give is the intelligent way for proactive philanthropists to find and support charities..." Get Sorted is one of those charities and is currently seeking funding for the "Unite Together and Rap" (UTR) project.

The UTR project is aiming to get young and vulnerable Rotherhamers off the streets and put a mic in their hands. As the 'Big Idea' states, "Most of these young people use the streets as a leisure time activity which often results in turning to drink, drugs, gangs and crime."

Please follow the link to Get Sorted's UTR project Big Give page for more details on the project... and then donate to this project! With a recognised track record of getting the most out of young people, your pennies and pounds will go to good use in your town!

M-Star ready to rock hospice's Midnight Walkers

Get Sorted student M-Star is continuing to make the news! This article appeared in the Rotherham Advertiser.

Midnight Music winner Liam Mousley has been practising hard for his big night on stage tonight.

Liam, who performs under the name of M-Star topped the poll in our music competition, and won the right to perform at the party tonight before Rotherham Hospice’s Midnight Walk fundraiser.

And this week he met up with Rotherham rapper Jay Mya, who has been backing the competition, to get some top tips for his debut.

Jay, who is headlining tonight’s show, is going to write a song for Liam to record in a special session at the Music Factory Studios in Rotherham.

Jay’s latest single, In The Morning, was released at the end of last year, and he told the Advertiser: “I am really excited about composing a song for Liam.

“He has shown that he is very talented and has the drive to succeed.”

Also performing at Parkgate tonight before the charity walkers set off are Jay’s fellow performer Jason Quainoo, Midnight Music runner up Sam Shirtliffe and Sadie Bates, who recently won Wickersley Comprehensive school’s talent competition.

And hospice fund-raiser Jacqui Watson said it was not too late to join the fun and take part in the five or 10-mile sponsored walk.

You can register on the night and entry costs £15.

Get Sorted - Rock School!

Get Sorted is "the accredited centre for Rock School exams in South Yorkshire."

"Rockschool is Europe's No. 1 rock music exam board, we offer rock musicians the opportunity to get the same qualifications that classical musicians can get. All our graded music exams have original set repertoire, encourage improvisation and have an element of free choice so you can play the music you love AND get a qualification. We are committed to making music examinations and qualifications practical, flexible and fun." - www.rockschool.co.uk

With regular examination dates and high pass rates, Get Sorted students can be sure of making progress in their chosen instrument (or instruments) and that they "can take these qualifications with them anywhere they go".

 

Exam dates booked:

06/05/2011

20/05/2011

10/06/2011

24/06/2011

08/07/2011

15/07/2011

22/07/2011

Get Sorted at Aston Extended Services May Holiday Activities.

Get Sorted held a series of workshops at Aston Fence Activities 1st June 2011. Here is a write up from Get Sorted staff, with links to the Aston Extended Services Newsletter which features Get Sorted.

Our activity day at Aston Hall was a great success and the children that attended were a joy to work with. We began the day with a Rap workshop which received a fantastic respoinse from the students. The workshop is aimed at improving children's confidence by allowing them to express themselves and all the students made huge progress. By the end of the morning session everybody had wrote and performed an original Rap to the rest of the group and we were very pleased that the session had been successful in including everybody who attended.

The afternoon continued in the same fantastic amnner and again achieved some very positive outcomes. We began with 'Drum Fit', an activity based on improving children's fitness by exercising to music. The activity has already been very well received in the schools we have worked in and this session was no different. Again, all the children participated and enjoyed the fast pace of the session, learning important coordination skills as well as having a great work out!

We finished what had been a very productive day with an electric guitar session. Many of the students had not played an instrument before and were very interested in learning abbout the guitar and how it works. The session succeeded in all the students leaving the activity with a greater knowledge about the guitar and how to play a piece of music on the instrument.