Annelies de Bruine

Annelies de Bruine, Swindon and Wiltshire's new part-time Community Music Development Workers is enthusiastic about her role as point of contact for community musicians who work in the area.

Anyone who is involved in music to help people build confidence, learn new skills and open up routes to new opportunities can contact Annelies for advice on funding, training and networking.

Her task involves supporting, promoting and developing the work of community musicians to aim for more, better quality and better supported community music throughout Swindon and Wiltshire.

Annelies, who is Dutch and is currently also working on a PhD-proposal on technological change in the music industry, believes that there may be a wealth of music activity out there that she is so far unaware of.

Music and the people - a great match!

"I'm looking for musicians who may be making music with people who have never had the opportunity to make music before," says Annelies.

"I can help by organising networking events, offering musicians space on my website to find work, hosting an on-line message board, developing a skills base, putting people in touch with local arts officers or national arts organisations and visiting community musicians who may feel they are working in isolation. But I need to know where these community musicians are, so that I can offer maximum support."

Annelies suspects that many people who use music in their work - such as playgroup
leaders, primary school teachers, care staff and others - may not consider themselves community musicians.

Getting closer to music

"In fact such people form an important element of community musicianship, for community music is all kinds of music for all kinds of people, and I would love to hear from as many of them as possible," she says.

Annelies is also interested in hearing from people who would like advice or training on leading community music ventures, or who simply want to be put in touch with other community music workers.

• STOP PRESS: 7 October from 1530 BST at the University of Bath in Swindon: Launch of the Community Music Resource Centre. This free event is a good opportunity to meet colleagues, to try a few community music workshops, to browse in the new resource centre and to meet Annelies.

To find out more, visit her website.

Your comments to this story

Marleen de Bruine
Lot's of succes Sissy !!! xxx

Debbie Wolfsohn
The girl done good!

Janneke de Bruine
I'm so proud of my (little) sister Annelies!!