Our Learning for Living and Work (LfLW) students have been working with Community Artist and LfLW Placement Teacher, Becky Newbould, and Community Musician, Matt Laurie, to bring a traditional story to life for Barnsley Libraries.
Matt and Becky have been funded by Youth Music and Barnsley Libraries to work alongside LfLW students to create an accompanying soundtrack and original artwork to the story The Little Blue Bird, which will play across the Barnsley Library sites.
“The story explores themes of loneliness and the fear of not being able to do things others can and shows how a community can come together to support each other. We know that this resonates with the students and hope that others can relate to this too, especially now.”
Over the course of three weekly sessions, Matt joined each group online, transforming Microsoft Teams into a recording studio telling the story along to a soundtrack.
Matt said: “Students added narration, sound effects, instruments and music to the collaborative soundscape. Together with original artwork made by College students adding visuals to further tell the story.”
Becky added: “We are hoping that our version of the story can be enjoyed by people across all Barnsley Library sites. The story explores themes of loneliness and the fear of not being able to do things others can and shows how a community can come together to support each other. We know that this resonates with the students and hope that others can relate to this too, especially now.”
Barnsley College LfLW tutor, Gavin Mitchel, said: “Becky and Matt were brilliant with the students. They made sure that they were all involved, and they loved every aspect of the project; the fun story, using instruments, using iPads and making different sounds.
“They loved hearing their sounds being played back to them and are excited to hear and see the end result in the future. All the students and staff looked forward to every session we had with Becky and Matt and we really hope we can do something else together soon.”
Keep an eye and an ear out at the Barnsley Library sites to experience the finished project. For more information on the Learning for Living and Work department at Barnsley College please call 01226 216 123 or email info@barnsley.ac.uk.
Last updated: 8th June 2021
Originally posted on: 8th June 2021