About the Academy

 

In a Nutshell

The Groove Academy empowers musical young people (aged 11 – 18) to step out and extend themselves musically and relationally, as valued members of our friendly community known as The Groove Agent Collective. Our intention is not to provide ‘music lessons’ under a fancy title, but rather to coach our students by means of objectives and opportunities, in their collective pursuit of personal goals and rewards. There are three main elements to our strategy whereby we strive to inspire among our members a genuine sense of community, passion, integrity and excellence:

The academy can be a very challenging and rewarding growth experience for any aspiring young musician or volunteer. We are relatively inexpensive to join but we do expect a high level of commitment from everyone involved - to our values, our activities and to one another. Big egos and rebellious attitudes are not welcome in the academy and we therefore discourage favouritism and ‘selective’ participation. In the Groove Academy economy, respect is rewarded with responsibility which yields results - inspiring the most rewarding sense of achievement for all.

Background & Organisation

The Groove Academy is a privately-run community music school founded by Hampton residents Mark and Angela Ramsay. We launched in April 2004 with the aim of offering unique opportunities to musically-gifted young people in our local community. With many public performances to our credit and the release of our first Groove Academy album in June 2005, the academy has grown significantly - attracting students and volunteers from across the borough and beyond.

Although we are not organised or governed as a charity, our goals are consistent with the principles of social enterprise:

"Social Enterprises are businesses with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners"

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Mission Statement

Our mission is to build a community of empowered young people, using music as the essential medium by which to establish commonality, create opportunity and encourage teamwork among students between the ages of 11 and 18. We are committed to providing a broadly-accessible learning centre of excellence in contemporary music and music technology where students - regardless of race, background, culture or gender, can express themselves freely and develop their abilities in an atmosphere of fun, purpose, respect, reward and safety. It is our desire to see our students mature as musicians, as individuals, and to realize the value of collaborating in music as a means of enriching themselves, their fellow-students and the community at large.

We provide an environment in which our students are encouraged to explore a variety of contemporary musical genres and disciplines under the guidance and instruction of our experienced senior musicians and tutors who place strong emphasis on the following:

rhythm, harmony, orchestration, improvisation, composition, learning new instruments, dance, stagecraft / bandcraft & media arts

Our teaching construct is geared towards developing confidence, versatility and the ability to think 'out the box'. Our desire to balance excellence with community requires that we lead by example and that we establish high but reasonable expectations - for both behaviour and performance.

We are committed to learning by objectives and rewards. As of October 2005 the Groove Academy has introduced its own accreditation programme called ACE (Academy Credit Earning) whereby students are awarded credits for demonstrating good PACE (performance, attitude, collaboration & education). The programme encourages good participation, initiative and self-advancement - rewarding students for their efforts both inside and outside the academy. Each student is given four primary musical / media arts objectives per term that they must present to the group in order to qualify for credits.

The Groove Academy recognises the importance of the national music curriculum and also encourages its students to take the Rock School or ABRSM grade exams by offering maximum PACE credits if they obtain a grade at any level (although this is not a requirement for membership). Our aim is not to offer substitutes to formal teaching programmes but rather to complement them by keeping our students focused, engaged and challenged through various performance, composition and recording projects.

It is our sincere belief that by establishing in our students the appropriate musical disciplines and by developing their appreciation of the history and application of the vast array of contemporary genres in the early stages, we will see our young musicians, able and willing to perform, and produce material to the highest standards within their respective age groups. We are hopeful that their Groove Academy experience will make an important contribution to their futures while helping them realize their personal potential in a practical, fun and caring way at this very special time of their lives.