Working to the beat for a band of Stratford refugees
MUSIC is helping a group of young refugees in Stratford rebuild their lives and their self-belief after they fled their own countries because of war or persecution.
Some of the refugees are from Ukraine and have joined a voluntary-run music project called Spark Youth Music. They meet in Bearley near Stratford for weekly rehearsals and are making good progress with their musical journey despite some never having played an instrument before.
The Herald reported in January how Clare Thomas and her sons Sam and Brad from Bearley brought the group of refugees together with the intention of helping them improve their mental health and boost their self esteem through music.
Thanks to funding from Warwickshire County Council, the band of refugees and asylum seekers will write their own song, record it in a professional studio, create a music video, design and make T shirts and finally play live in front of an audience at the Arches Venue in Coventry in May.
“I’m really glad to see the joy that they get from performing and they need to have that mental interaction because it helps give them security which boosts their mental health. What we saw grow at the rehearsals was teamwork, the development of life skills and work skills and confidence being built. Some speak good English and are others are a bit more shy but music is the vehicle that brings them together even though they may have very different backgrounds,” Clare said.
Both Sam and Brad are music tutors to the group and are as passionate about this project as their mother. Sam is a semi-professional musician and part of a four-piece group and Brad is also a musician who came up with novel idea of asking people for instruments to help the youngsters via social media and the response was overwhelming.
Brad simply asked: “Do you have an electric guitar or bass you no longer want?”
He then went on to explain that while the refugees had access to an instrument at rehearsals they needed to have their own so they could practise outside rehearsals to help them fulfil their dreams of being in a rock band.
He added in his post: “These youngsters have fled war and persecution, and some were starting to learn a musical instrument back in their home country but needed to leave their belongings behind.”
Brad also said: “The youngsters are now in a band, meeting new friends and performing live music which is wonderful.”
Clare said: “The donations flooded in and we got all the instruments within three days We then went on several pick-ups all over the place to get the instruments including Stratford, Henley, Leamington, Solihull and even Leicester. We wanted to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who donated and the instruments have been cleaned, re-strung and are now with the band members.”
The ages of the refugees involved in Spark range from 11 to 18 and Illia from Ukraine is one of them.
For his 14th birthday - last year - Illia was given a guitar, it was something he’d always wanted but he had to leave it behind once the war broke out. Now, thanks to the generous donations he can play guitar once again.
Olya is from Odesa in Ukraine and is in the band and plays guitar. Her English is very good and she likes Stratford and the surrounding area. “It is very nice but there are no massive buildings like we have in our city, but it is nice here,” she said.
During last week’s band rehearsal at Bearley Village Hall – which the Herald was invited to - the six members of Spark performed their version of Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes and there’ll be more practise sessions before the band goes into a recording studio with producer, John Rivers of Woodbine Street Studio, Leamington who has worked with Paul Weller, The Specials and Ocean Colour Scene. In addition, the refugees will be making a video and have already designed their Spark T shirts for future music events.
“The band is incredible and we have six inspiring and brave young people from the Stratford area who have come together with the common purpose of performing music. They are from different countries and lots of traumatic backgrounds but now it’s a real feel-good story as they are having the time of their lives on a Wednesday evening at Bearley Village Hall rehearsing and having fun with new friends,” Clare said.
