Maesteg School
It was fantastic to be able to work with the incredible Lowri Evans and a super group of students from Maesteg School to record a song that they had written for #InternationalWomensDay!
Working with West Wales Americana/Folk professional singer songwriter Lowri Evans, twelve pupils from across Years 8 and 12 joined forces to create a new song acknowledging the struggles faced by women over generations, whilst celebrating their strengths with hope for the future.
Part of this year’s Dr Richard Price tricentennial celebrations across Bridgend, an early advocate of equal rights for all, with support from Awen Heritage Officer, Stefanie Vanstokkom, pupils learnt about the rich history of the suffragettes in Maesteg, with both Sylvia Pankhurst and her mother Emmeline having held public meetings at the Town Hall in the early 1900s. The great moraliser and politician Richard Price, originally of Llangeinor also greatly influenced the writings of his friend Mary Wollstonecraft, considered the first feminist with the publication of her book ‘A vindication of the rights of women’ in 1792.
From this initial discussion of history came an exploration of female identities and experiences within the world today, with pupils able to share their own experiences and thoughts, all of which have been sown into the creation of rich lyrics, giving them a voice through music. With the younger pupils supporting Lowri vocally, the older pupils contribute instrumentally, having started their own band. The track itself was professionally recorded with the pupils at the school thanks to support from Cobra Music and will be released to the public over March.
A huge thank you to Claire Cressey at Awen for asking me to be a part of the project
Find out more about the project here: https://bit.ly/3ZvgMd3 and stay tuned for the launch of the track!
