Set Design for Cambridge Production 20 hours - CREATIVITY

CREATIVITY

Start:   03/06/2013

Finish:    10/06/2013

Hours collected: 20

 

First Draft of Poster

During June 2013, I volunteered to help with set design for a local musical production. It was in an intense time period - a 6 foot painted poster had to be completed in 7 days. It was great experience and practise for my career ambitions, and all the money from the production went to a cancer care charity.

How did I increase awareness of my strengths and areas for growth?

  I realised I have a talent for painting and set design, but realised I needed more practise at it.

How did I undertake new challenges?

I had never tried to do any set design before, never mind a poster that had to be completed in 7 days! 

How did I plan and initiate activities?

I initiated meetings with the set design manager to discuss the poster, as well as setting up a meeting to discuss what they thought about the activity, and what they wanted. I also met with the cast to see how they wanted to 

How did I work collaboratively with others?

I had to work collaboratively with the set design manager and team to complete the poster in time, to the right dimensions, and colours.

How did I show perseverance and commitment on my activity?

  It took me about 8 hours to get a first draft right, and then another 12 hours to paint up the full 6 foot poster and deliver it to the theatre.

How did I engage with issues of global importance?

No issues of global importance were engaged with in this activity on a personal level, however all the money that was raised by the production in the end was donated to a cancer charity, helping to improve cancer care world wide. 

How did I consider the ethical implications of my actions?

   No ethical issues or implications were apparent.

How did I develop new skills?

   I improved my painting skills and communicational skills. I want to go into opera, and possibly set design of opera, so this really gave me some great experience. 

Sports Week 20 hours - ACTION

SERVICE

Started: 06/08/12

Finished: 10/08/12

Hours Collected: 20

During the summer of 2012, I took part in the National Citizen Service, a government project designed to encourage young people to become more of a part of their community.

 

This CAS Entry refers to Week 1 in the correspondence email between me and the youth worker that ran the project. I participated in a 5 day residential sports week at Grafham Water (as can be seen above).

How did I increase awareness of my strengths and areas for growth?

   This week really made me realise that sport could be a team building activity, as well as a social exercise. It made me aware of the fact that I need to do more exercise, but could involve friends in the process as well.

How did I undertake new challenges?

  I had never done much sport at all, never mind a whole week of it! I also had trouble with the high ropes as I am terrified of heights.

How did I plan and initiate activities?

   We took part in team building activities, and I was leader of raft builder, where I had to organise my peers into set jobs. I also initiated the movement of materials and equipment for the activities.

How did I work collaboratively with others?

   The whole week was coordinated around working with others, so that we could engage fully with our team in the weeks to come. We really had to trust each other, in cases such as rock climbing, where we had to trust someone completely to beeline for us. 

How did I show perseverance and commitment on my activity?

   The week did not change my opinion of sport, I am still not its biggest fan, but I had to complete the week, and I wanted to get to know the people I was with so I tried to complete each task with the utmost perseverance.

How did I engage with issues of global importance?

  The project was aimed at getting young people more involved in their communities. This is an issue that affects the globe and conquering this starts at home. Possibly more of a national problem, than global.

How did I consider the ethical implications of my actions?

  I considered the activity and came to the conclusion that there were no ethical dilemmas with doing the sports week.

How did I develop new skills?

  I really improved my fitness, and got my fear of heights (and sports!) a bit better.

 

 

 

 

Baking Cakes for Homeless Charity 20 hours - SERVICE

SERVICE

Started: 25/08/12

Finished: 31/08/12

Hours Collected: 20

During the summer of 2012, I took part in the National Citizen Service, a government project designed to encourage young people to become more of a part of their community.

This CAS Entry refers to Week 4 in the correspondence email between me and the youth worker that ran the project. I baked and decorated 148 cakes for the homeless charity, Emmaus.

How did I increase awareness of my strengths and areas for growth?

   I was made aware of my new found skill for baking! It did however make me aware of how little I do for the community on an every day basis.

How did I undertake new challenges?

  I had never really baked before, certainly not on this big a scale, and so 3 days of continuous baking (with a terrible oven) was quite challenging.

How did I plan and initiate activities?

   We had to complete a community based project to complete our NCS Qualification. The topic and execution was completely up to us, and organised to bake 148 cakes. 

How did I work collaboratively with others?

   I worked collaboratively with the Youth Coordinators to obtain ingredients, and to organise where and when the cakes would go.

How did I show perseverance and commitment on my activity?

   It took me 3 days to bake all the cakes, and another day to decorate them.

How did I engage with issues of global importance?

  Homelessness and hunger is a global issue. Tackling such global issues can be difficult, but starting at home is one of the most effective ways to bring about change. 

How did I consider the ethical implications of my actions?

   The cakes were supplied to numerous homeless shelters all over Cambridge as a result of my actions, which helped to cheer some people's lives up.
I also used free range eggs, and fair-trade ingredients, so as to ethically considerate to the food supplier.

How did I develop new skills?

   I improved my baking skills, and organisational skills, in that I organised with the Youth Coordinator when and where to take the cakes.

Phoenix Chorale 20 hours - CREATIVITY

CREATIVITY

Start:   05/04/2013

Finish:   On going

Hours collected: 20

Phoenix Chorale was founded in 2009 as a fully auditioned SATB youth choir. It provides opportunities for talented and committed young singers ages 14 to 24 to perform a wide range of constantly changing choral repertoire to the highest musical standards. The choir has a reputation for it’s dynamic and versatile performances of large scale works accompanied by orchestras and ensembles, music for the church liturgy, madrigals and part songs, arrangements of folk songs from around the world, vocal jazz arrangements and contemporary works.

It meets on a course basis throughout the year to enable undergraduates from many universities to join.

Our Musical Director is Julian Wilkins, a highly regarded and inspirational conductor and pianist working throughout the UK and abroad with prestigious musical organizations.

Phyllida joined Phoenix after a successful audition in April. She came with a well established singing pedigree and has quickly established herself as a valuable member in the Soprano 1 line.

- Lesley Ford, Treasurer of Phoenix Chorale

       In April, 2013, I auditioned for the regional youth choir, Phoenix Chorale, which rehearses 10 days of the year for 7 hours a day. We undertake large scale works, such as John Rutter's Gloria, and smaller pieces but all to a very high standard.

How did I increase awareness of my strengths and areas for growth?

   Phoenix Chorale really highlighted how as a choral singer I needed to work to blend my voice with others, as I needed to improve my sight singing abilities.

How did I undertake new challenges?

   Phoenix is extremely tiring - 7 hours a day of rehearsal was certainly a new challenge! The pieces were also very hard, and as I joined late, and the rehearsals are not every week I did not have long to learn the pieces (by heart!) for our concert on the next course.

How did I plan and initiate activities?

   Planning and initiating activities did not really come into this activity, as it was all organised by professional musical directors.

How did I work collaboratively with others?

    In order to blend my voice with others, I had to work collaboratively with other singers. Blending ones voice is about working out when you're too loud and have to pull back, but also identifying sections where one has to take the lead and guide others in the part.

How did I show perseverance and commitment on my activity?

   I showed perseverance by continuing each day of every course - despite the fact that they were 7 hours each! I still attend every rehearsal of Phoenix Chorale, despite all my work, which shows my commitment to the group.

How did I engage with issues of global importance?

   Issues of global importance did not really come into this activity.

How did I consider the ethical implications of my actions?

   Ethical implications did not really come into this activity.

How did I develop new skills?

   I developed (/am developing) my sight singing and voice blending abilities by being and rehearsing in Phoenix. It was a great help to my Choral Scholarship Audition at Oxford.

Musique-Cordiale 20 hours - SERVICE

SERVICE

Start:   02/08/2013

Finish:   17/08/2013

Hours collected: 20

   During the summer of 2013, I went to sing and help at a Classical Music Festival in Seillans, France called Musique Cordiale. Whilst there I performed as a soloist, singing Pergolesi's Stabat Mater - a duet - and as a soprano in the choir. I also coordinated orchestra rehearsals, moved music stands from the top of Seillans to the bottom, and help prepare lunches for the Academy.

      I hoped to improve my musicality, in preparation for university application to read music, but also to have a great time with like-minded, musical people. I also hoped to help to festival run smoothly.

How did I increase awareness of my strengths and areas for growth?

   Musique Cordiale really gave me confidence in my singing, but made me realise I need to improve my performance of the pieces I sing. It also very quickly improved my organisational skills, for instance on one of the days I had 30 music stands to get to the bottom of a very steep hill and 8 people organise.

How did I undertake new challenges?

  The whole experience was a new challenge! Organisation on such a big scale (200 people) was also a new challenge.

How did I plan and initiate activities?

   I organised all the rehearsals with a pianist for me and the other girl doing the duet, and organised the concert programme for the day of the recital. 

How did I work collaboratively with others?

   I had to work with the musical directors and conductors to arrange rehearsals and logistics.

How did I show perseverance and commitment on my activity?

   The choir piece we performed was 90 minutes long, with no break so this really needed perseverance! Rehearsals for this piece were also every day, for 5 hours a day, which was very tiring work. The organisation of the music stands had to be done every day, and I never missed one.

How did I engage with issues of global importance?

   It was an exercise in international relations, communications and idea sharing, as there were many nationalities there. It was the first experience I had had of organising a festival in a situation where it had to be taught in so many languages all at the same time. 

How did I consider the ethical implications of my actions?

   Musique Cordiale brings economy to the town, doubling it's population during its festival time. It also allows the otherwise unused medieval churches to be seen. Although it makes the town very busy for the residents, the positive economic outcome for the town lasts all year.

How did I develop new skills?

   My large-scale organisation skills really improved in the two weeks I was there.

Bridge The Gap 4 hours - ACTION

ACTION

Start:   09/09/12

Finish:   09/09/12

Hours collected: 4

       For my first CAS activity, I did a 5-mile charity walk around the Cambridge Colleges. It took us from 9am to 1pm to walk through all of the colleges, and college chapels of Cambridge.

      I hoped to improve my fitness, raise money for charity, and aim to be more social with my new college peers. As a new student at a college in the middle of Cambridge, it was also a brilliant chance for me to get myself familiar with the area!

How did I increase awareness of my strengths and areas for growth?

   Bridge The Gap certainly showed that I needed to improve my fitness further, and therefore this was an area for growth.

How did I undertake new challenges?

   Sport is not something I'm particularly good at, keen on, or partake in regularly, but this helped me see that it could be a social activity.

How did I plan and initiate activities?

   I initiated the group of us that went: my mum was paying for her and my brother and sister to go along with me, so I asked my friend to accompany us.

How did I work collaboratively with others?

    This was more of a solo activity, and therefore working collaboratively with others didn't really come into it.

How did I show perseverance and commitment on my activity?

   I finished the walk.

How did I engage with issues of global importance?

   I donated money to a charity that helps with a hospice in Cambridge, which concerns regional issues, but not global ones. Global issues did not really enter this activity.

How did I consider the ethical implications of my actions?

    I considered whether I had any ethical problems with the properties I walked on, for instance, disturbing the privacy of college students, however I came to the conclusion that the charity work that was being done outweighed this potential problem.

How did I develop new skills?

   My level of fitness was increased by this activity, as well as improving my socialising skills with my peers.