Musician Sam Glazer has been working with Create since 2008. Here, he tells us what inspired him to do community work, and what he loves about Create.

“I started playing the cello aged 9. My grandfather had also played the cello, and I now play his old instrument. At secondary school I joined two orchestras, which was a fantastic experience for me. I was quite shy, the orchestra was really the first place where I was able to develop more confidence socially. After university, I worked in arts admin for a bit before starting as a volunteer on some community music projects. I loved it and soon realised that this was what I wanted to do. Within a few months I’d quit my job to freelance as a musician. That was eight years ago and I haven’t once regretted my decision. My work nowadays is varied – I work with a colourful mix of people, or perform with my band – but there’s always a creative element, scuh as composition or improvisation. I love working with people of different ages and backgrounds; it’s a privilege to make music with them. Music can be hugely life- enhancing, I believe everyone should be able to experience this. There’s a real risk that such opportunities will soon only be open to the advantaged few, and it’s great that organisations like Create are working to ensure that access to the arts remains broad and diverse.

“My favourite Create project is called creative:space, which are interactive concerts for disabled children and their families. I’m the presenter, bridging the gap between audience and performers; finding ways for people to join in. Create always books top-whack bands for this gig – most often, I’ve worked with a funked-up New Orleans jazz band (Bad Ass Brass): the musicians are great performers, interacting brilliantly with people. It’s by far the most exhausting of all the jobs I do, but extremely rewarding and inspiring as a model of how people with varying needs can be engaged with music. The project is successful because Create does not compromise on artistic standards.

“Create has recently given me the opportunity to work in a new way. Following a series of school workshops, I’m now working on a score for a new piece of music, based on the stories of four child characters from the novels of Charles Dickens. (Create’s writer, Jo Ingham has worked with young people to create a fantastic libretto). Watch this space!”

This piece was written in 2011.

Create’s Indian dancer Shalini Bhalla relishes opportunities to share dance with people who have little access to the arts.

Shalini grew up in Kenya, where she began dancing at just three years old. Her mother had always wanted to dance but never had the opportunity, so she was quick to enrol her daughter in lessons. Shalini started with Indian folk dancing and began learning the art of Bharata Natyam (a form of South Indian classical dance) aged twelve. For her graduation performance, musicians were flown in from India to accompany her. After her GCSEs, Shalini travelled to India to learn more about her craft. Pursuit of a “formal education” meant that dance was put on the backburner for the next few years. It was only when Shalini came to England to complete a Masters in Tourism and Education that she began taking dance to schools. After her degree, she worked in a variety of hospitality roles, but none of these felt right. Her sense of fulfilment came from her dance workshops.

“When a teacher tells me that she has seen one of her quietest pupils in a whole new light, I know I’ve done a good job.”

Shalini’s own work focuses on making dance accessible. She wants her movements to speak to the people who have never seen dance before. Working with Create, she has a chance to apply this ethos to her education work. For the past two summers, she has engaged people of all ages, from all walks of life, in Create’s free More Creative dance workshops at The Scoop, More London, SE1. Most recently, Shalini led Create’s East Meets West project, which brought together children from Muslim and Catholic backgrounds in Poplar, East London, to create Bollywood dance. For Shalini, the highlight was watching some of the shyest children gain in confidence and become active members of the group.

“Moments that stick out for me include three white teenagers from the local area dancing alongside a group of Brazilian internationals; and one man who, too shy to join in at first, was enjoying himself so much at the end he wouldn’t leave!”

East Meets West was particularly close to Shalini’s heart because the relationship between what she refers to as her own “East” and “West” sides is something that she explores in her own work. Her cultural identity is the subject of a piece Asmakan – The Quest, which she premièred at Cranleigh Arts Centre last year. She is currently seeking funding to revive, develop and take the piece on tour.

This piece was written in 2011.

Professional musician and Create workshop leader, Mike Poyser, reflects on his passion for music and the power to transform lives.

“I started playing the tuba when I was 10 years old after a brass teacher came into school and asked if anyone fancied playing one. I was enticed by the shiny brass and the incredible sound the instrument made. I was allowed one because I was the biggest in the school! I went on to a unique school called Wardle High where there were 500 brass players and six brass bands! There I joined the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain.

“I then studied ‘Physics with studies in Musical Performance’ at Imperial College and a Masters in Orchestral Performance at the Royal College of Music. As a musician I have been lucky enough to play all over the world. As a physicist, I have done very little!! Music is a huge part of my life. I have a very varied career, currently combining my work with Create with teaching at the Royal College of Music and at a primary school, playing in three of my own groups and in orchestras and other ensembles. Every day is different – I love the variety and I love performing and making fantastic music. From an education side of things I enjoy seeing children discover the magic of music making and having lots of fun. Whilst at college, I joined a group called The Elastic Band, which tours the country giving fun concerts for all ages. The conductor is an incredible person and an absolute inspiration. I was so amazed by what he and his group do that I decided I wanted to be involved in community settings myself.

“Music can mean so much to so many people, from evoking distant memories in residential homes for older people, to the eye popping excitement of young children seeing live music for the first time, to the relaxing qualities in hospitals and hospices. I like being involved in this.

“I started working with Create when I got a call asking me to cover for another tuba player on a music and maths workshop. I love maths (prime numbers are ace) as much as I love music so I was very pleased to be involved! I was just out of college and was looking to develop my community work so I was really excited about getting the call. Since then I have been involved with all kinds of projects and I have enjoyed them all. One of my favourites has been that first project, Count the Beat. Seeing Create’s workshop leader coordinate such great music and informative maths sessions for the students was amazing. But the most special projects for me have been those bringing together disabled and non-disabled children at two schools in Kent.

“Seeing the autistic students come out of their shells and forge real and meaningful friendships with the non-disabled students has been great.

“Working for Create is very easy, because the charity is really well organised: from planning sessions, to Create staff being present, to the evaluation processes. It is always a pleasure. Also, it’s great working with other professionals and I have worked with some truly incredible musicians. I also love meeting people from other disciplines and it’s been fascinating collaborating with one of Create’s dancers and with a performance poet.”

This piece was written in 2011.

Create’s visual artist Sheridan Quigley talks about her experiences working on Create projects. (Interview from 2011.)

“I have always had art in my life. My parents are artists, so I grew up steeped in it. At school and university, though, I tried hard to be ‘normal’ – people’s perception of artists was that they were bohemian and flaky! So I studied Modern Languages & European Studies and spent a large part of my working life in the City doing law and accountancy. In my late twenties, I went to Central Saint Martins to do a part-time MA in Fine Art. I only got into art properly about six years ago, though, and am now a painter/sculptor, working across a wide range of artforms.

“I think what art brings to people is ‘the art of looking’. The more you look, the more you notice and the more you want to understand. Everything is fascinating.

“I started working in community settings when someone from the De La Warr Pavilion in East Sussex saw a workshop I’d run for an after-school club and asked me to run a project at a school based on ‘Utopia’. I worked for a while as a teacher for ‘gifted & talented’ children and also for Creative Partnerships.

“People learn better through a creative process – it’s all about the creative experience and using it to develop the whole person. My favourite project so far has been creating a memory tree with the older people during art:links, being able to give them a different creative experience. The new materials and techniques expanded their comfort zone and they made something amazing! I really enjoyed building relationships with them over the 10 week project too – normally when you run workshops, you just see people for half a day! The sense of continuity added a whole new dimension to the project.

“I love the communities that Create chooses – I get to work with groups that don’t tend to have access to art and are often far removed from anything creative.”