We sat down with Band On The Wall’s Gavin Sharp to learn more about their ‘The World of Song‘ and ‘Without Borders‘ programmes.
Could you tell us about The World of Song programme for anyone who may be unfamiliar with it?
We ran a project called World of Music which celebrated the migrant heritage of the city, the people who had come here from across the British Isles and the rest of the world – turns out most of this migration happened in the last two centuries and most of us who live here are migrants, which we believe is a huge part of what makes Manchester so unique as a city and culture.  We then also realised that this is an ongoing and dynamic process, so we developed the World of Song project – collecting and celebrating the evolving heritage of the city’s newest communities as they arrive in the city.  That has led us to working with different groups in hotels and communities as they become absorbed into Manchester’s ongoing cultural evolution.  It’s been pretty amazing and we have met some remarkable people with incredible resilience and skills along the way – many are musicians and songwriters; and several are pretty well known within their own communities.
How did Without Borders come about and what is expected to take place during the remainder of the two-year programme?
Without Borders is the youth band that we have been hosting and developing at Band on the Wall over the last twelve months or so.  They are largely from families who have already settled into life in Manchester, but from a range of backgrounds and countries of origin.   We have some really great musicians and music leaders within the cohort and it has been great to see them develop.  The gig they did at Home and Band on the Wall as part of the Horizons Festival were pretty special and really great to see it come together.
How do you see Without Borders shaping Manchester’s music scene and potentially influencing other music education programmes in the future?

I think it’s more about what each individual musician will go on to do and how they benefit from this experience and develop themselves as artists and performers, or just in terms of their own personal skill sets.  It’s important to recognise that their achievements are their own – we just provide an opportunity, space and resources (along with some excellent guidance from our staff and the staff of Community Arts Northwest) but ultimately it is down to them to get what they want from it.  Having said that, they really have worked great together as a group and we are really proud of what they have achieved.

In what ways does music succeed where words or formal support systems might fall short?
Music requires simultaneous co-operation, words are largely back and forth – it’s a uniquely human endeavour which transcends language.
How do you balance respecting the cultural traditions that young people bring with encouraging them to explore new cross-cultural sounds?

We treat music as music and everything comes with equal weight – we encourage interest and curiosity about different forms of music, and the traditions and culture that spawned them, within all our programmes.  We also see everything as part of an ongoing evolution – to separate it from what we might consider our own traditions (of the British Isles) is a mistake and comes from a ‘zoomed in’ perspective – zoom out to a view across centuries and we can see endless merging of repertoire, styles and traditions along with the constant and ongoing migrations of people.  This is a human strength that should be celebrated!  There is no doubt in my mind that songs and melodies from the fields of the Punjab will be part of our deeper traditions in future centuries, alongside the polkas of Eastern Europe which have already assimilated into our repertoire.

How do you go about creating a safe space where young people feel comfortable sharing their heritage and experiences?
We put a great deal of effort in building spaces that were well designed and fit for purpose, which sit beside well developed Standard Procedures and well trained and vetted staff.  Safety of everyone who connects with us across all our programmes and spaces is an absolute priority and we are proud of how we are recognised as a best practice provider across the sector, including being the first small venue to be awarded a Gold Standard by Attitude is Everything.
You’ve spoken about the negativity in today’s political narrative around migration, where much of the discourse can often feel centred on sowing division. How do you think a programme like this can build more inclusive communities and help change the narrative?
I strongly believe there is not a deep enough understanding of human history and heritage – that the presentation of migration as a negative is incorrect across the perspective of centuries.  Most of the people and politicians who are presenting migration in this way are manipulating that lack of understanding and education amongst their followers, so we work in our small way to present a counter argument.  Many of the people we have engaged with are intelligent, highly skilled, resilient and creative and will ultimately contribute positively to society (and / or their children or grandchildren will) – of course there will be some exceptions to this and we have to trust a system that controls and expels people who have dangerous motivations, but in our experience most people just want to get on, support their families and contribute to society and assimilate into Britain whilst not completely losing their own identity, and we are all the richer for it.

What has been the most moving or surprising moment for you or your team so far in working with the Without Borders Youth Band?

The ways in which the young people have collaborated together creatively has been incredible. They have each brought music from their own heritage and from their musical interests and managed to create songs that weaved it all together. This process happened naturally and did not need persuasion from the tutors. Whilst we were obviously interested in seeing the ways in which people’s musical heritage influenced music making, we didn’t want it to be forced as we wanted the young people to lead in the creative process. The fact that this happened so easily and so well was a brilliant outcome.

For further information about the Without Borders programme, click here.