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Shake It Up celebrates first ever winner at awards ceremony

Shake It Up, the musical arrangement competition for Schools hosted by the Schools Printed Music Licence (SPML), last week held its first annual awards ceremony. The event celebrated the success of its winner, Iain Wilkinson from Keswick School, Cumbria, along with the other shortlisted finalists.

Winner Iain Wilkinson with YolanDa Brown

Shake It Up was launched in September 2017, inviting music teachers from across the UK to make the most of their Schools Printed Music Licence by submitting a unique arrangement of published music. The competition celebrates the passion and dedication behind music education, and showcases the importance of printed music and the good work of the SPML.

The SPML was created to help drive student progress in music by giving them greater access to printed music, while also ensuring that creators receive fair payment for the use of their work. The Licence allows teachers to copy and reuse content from printed music, as well as make flexible arrangements, in order to deliver high quality music education.

The awards ceremony was held on 10 May at the KX Café at the PRS for Music offices in Kings Cross, attended by the finalists, judges, organisers and professionals from across the music industry. The event saw judges Jane Dyball, CEO of the Music Publishers Association (MPA) and YoLanda Brown, premier saxophonist and two-time MOBO award winner, take to the stage to talk about the importance of printed music and music education for our young people.

All of the finalists submitted some truly fantastic arrangements and the judges spent several hours deliberating. However, it was Iain Wilkinson, a guitar teacher at Keswick School, who was declared the first ever winner of the competition for his arrangement of Greg Lake’s classic hit, ‘I Believe in Father Christmas’, made for the school’s Senior Guitar Ensemble. The arrangement was commended for its variation and use of dynamics. Along with their trophy, the school will receive £700 to spend on resources for their music department. The two runners up, Ian Raisbeck of Sandbach School, and Peter Desmond of Welbourne Primary School, also received £400 for their schools’ music departments.

The competition has enjoyed a wonderful first year and through its entries has witnessed the rich and diverse nature of music education in the UK. Shake It Up will return later this year so keep an eye out on our dedicated page for updates and maybe we’ll be toasting your success next year!