Mac Makes Music – case studies about equity, diversity and inclusion in music education hubs

“Anita was incredibly organised, determined, and communicative throughout. The end products went above and beyond expectations. She took time to explain processes unfamiliar to me and to offer lots of options throughout. She was incredibly flexible as the project developed throughout, with considerable patience! The content of some of the interviews was quite sensitive and Anita handled this with care, professionalism, discretion, and integrity. Her in-depth knowledge of and connections within the music education sector was invaluable. Overall a really brilliant service and a pleasure to work with.” Holly Radford, ex-Creative Producer, Mac Makes Music (now CEO, Soundabout).

 

Mac Makes Music (MMM) had been leading an informal partnership of five music education hubs. Senior leaders met monthly, to support and challenge each other to move the needle on inclusion in their hubs. Holly Radford, the MMM lead, wanted to share what they were learning. She approached Anita to research and write a series of in-depth case studies.

Anita and Holly agreed that the case studies would explore all aspects of inclusion. They needed to take perspectives from senior leaders as well as the musicians delivering on the ground. They were also keen to find ways to make the long-form case studies more appealing.

Anita carried out desk research and one-to-one interviews by Zoom. She also spoke with the musicians and asked if they’d be willing to film vlogs on their iPhones. This would involve answering a series of questions about inclusion. Anita provided the questions as well as a briefing note that included tips to help with technical aspects of the filming.

MMM released the videos on social media, alongside the case study documents which were graphic-designed to make them look more appealing and easy to read.

There was time and money left over from the agreed budget, so Anita suggested an additional case study. It focused on a partnership between MMM and Soundabout, a charity for disabled young people.

MMM shared the resulting stories and learning with music education hubs and others working in music education.

You can see and read some of the videos and case studies here:

Solihull             Sandwell         Coventry         Severn Arts     Soundabout