The Young Womens Band Project is based at the Ark T Centre in Cowley Oxford and is in it's 8th year.
YWBP offers monthly workshops on songwriting. performing and jamming, with special female guest leaders from the fields of music industry, sound engineering, session work and performers. The project produces a yearly CD compilation of young women's music and a launch featuring performances from girls on the CD. During the year other performing opportunities are provided for the girls on a regular basis. In 2006 we produced a documentary film 'Young Women Rock' about YWBP with a local film maker which was shown as part of a Channel 5 event in Oxford in collaboration with Ruskin College and Oxford Contempory Music.
The project aims to empower young women through raising confidence and musical skills, whilst increasing the participation of young women playing and singing popular music across Oxfordshire, which is very low compared with the boys.
The YWBP is about personal empowerment for girls through music. It creates an atmosphere of safe learning and confidence building; promoting the idea of co-operation between young women, in order to share skills and develop musical relationships and friendships. It provides positive role-models across the field of music and careers.
The YWBP is part of the main music project at the Ark T Centre in Cowley, Oxford. It has been running for 9 years.
Based in a multi -cultural area of Oxford, the project offers young people aged 11-19 rehearsal, recording and performing opportunites in a safe environment with two trained music youth leaders and young trainees. We regularly produce CD compilations of music from the young people and run monthly gigs at the centre. Over the last five years we have worked with over a 1000 young people from many different backgrounds. As well as local young musicians, the project works particularly with vunerable young people through referals such as Oxford Social Services,Connexions,Youth Offending Team and local homeless projects.
To get involved email ywbp@hotmail.co.uk and just come along to the monthly workshops held at the Ark T Centre 2-4pm on the 2nd Sat of each month.
So far, young women have enjoyed workshops from Jo Laverty from the Musicians Union on careers in the music business and band promotion tips; Girgit Dhinsa, sound engineer from Gateway Studios in London, on live sound, engineering and production skills; professional session guitarist Ella Reid, on guitar techniques and session tips; and Australian singer-songwriter Lisa Fitzgibbon, on releasing records and touring independently.
We are currently in recording for the next album, if you have a track that you would like to feature, there is still time to get in touch!
Best wishes
Kate Garrett
Young Women’s Band Project's Friend Space (Top 40)
Hey Thanks For The Add Page Lukin Good Think Is Great What Your Doin! Im UneeK. Rapper & Producer. Make Sure You Check Out My Page & Music Comments Appreciated. Tell Me What You Think :D Tc x
It seemed to go well at the Carling Academy on the 9th. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to perform my songs. Good luck with the project.
hey i hope the 9th of may went well - gutted couldn't come down and see everything. Hopefully we can get involved in any workshops or anything that you do in the future.. xxx
Hey Z, absolutly wonderful, i think what your doing is great!! I look forward to doing something with you... and thankyou so much for the lovely words :-)
A Big thanks for the add guys...!!absolutly awwwesome to know about you guys i think its so great, would love to get involved if possible...Kiran x x x
Hey, thanks for adding me. What your doing is really excellent. Its very true the ratio to guys to girls on the local music scene is a depressing statistic. I love the tracks you've got up at the moments, do you have a cd coming out of various artitists? Dave x
hey ow no I'm ebing forced to go for a family meal thats night which sucks because I would really like to come down and watch!! we have a band myspace : www. myspace. com/newrioters but its only really been running for a few weeks and we've got exams atm so it's being a bit rejected! we have a couple of okish live recordings on there. bex
hey wow this looks really good! I'm 15 and I'm in a band with a couple of other people we've all got exams for like the next month but is there any chance of us getting involved with anything afterwards?? x
Thanks, that's great. if you have any links to good venues, or even better good promoters, that'd be great, but there's no need to go out of your way. If u ever need any help from us, then just say! Edxx
hey, cheers for accepting. and i know this is random, but do you know any good venues for unsigned bands to play at in oxford? cos i cant find anywhere? Thanks, Edx
Hi! I may want to book to record soon got some acoustic stuff but like none of them are finish i go off things i write so quickly. but yeh i want to get soemthing down. speak to you soon hopefully x
hello there, bumped into Zahra in Oxford yesterday who said you were looking for some people to record stuff for the next spark CD? I am at uni here now and after a couple of weeks of hideous essay writing i am definitely up for some mnusicality (farrar is here too). Ummm there is a track on www.myspace.com/thecutoffpoint called 'ten days that shook the world' that I've been hoping to re-record. If you like it it would be lovely to see you all again. Leila x
