Totnes – the home of the Voices Around The World Project
Laurie Lewin has been organising the international charity music project Voices Around the World since 2011. Below he tells us a bit about one of Totnes’ best kept secrets!
In 2011, we went to Namibia and spent time working on a music project in a school in Otjikondo. As part of the work, we recorded students singing some local folk songs. We had the idea to get students in a UK school to learn and record these songs so that we could then mix the African and UK voices together on a recording.
While working on this recording project, someone said ‘Hey! Why just one other school…..we could get lots of schools recording a song together!’ This was the moment when Voices Around the World was born! After 14 years, and eight song projects later, our most recent 2023 song/video track release involved vocals of around 8,000 youngsters in 65 different countries.
The 2023 Song/Video Release
This magic did not just happen on its own of course. Some truly amazing people have helped along the way. For example, some of our song releases have been written especially for us by pop legend Howard Jones, who continues to support the work that we do.
Voices Around The World is an on-going music project that involves young people in making an international song/video release each year. The project is free to enter and all proceeds from eventual song/video download sales currently go to help education projects in Africa. The family of schools working with our song projects has grown immensely over the years and last year even included three schools in Kyiv in Ukraine.
Sometimes we go into schools and run workshops and help students working on the songs and recording vocal parts. It is always really special to see the fun and excitement the project provides, and this is what keeps us doing what we do! There is no doubt that this kind of involvement can do much to raise the self-esteem and confidence of the students and help develop their awareness of other world cultures. For us, it really is about making them feel like ‘International Recording Superstars!’ If you know of any schools that would like to turn their youngsters into superstars in our upcoming 2024/25 project, please put them in touch with us via our website https://voicesaround.com or by writing to us at info@voicesaround.com.
This short video, gives a quick glimpse of the Voices Around The World musical journey. The journey continues with another great song project due to start for schools in September 2024…..All of this from operating out of a small music studio in Totnes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h–_2i7C3A
A New Home?
Sadly, we soon have to move out of this current studio home as the owner intends to repurpose the building….so if you are reading this and know of any suitable working/studio spaces that may be available in Totnes, DO please let us know.