Foals team up with the Royal Albert Hall to inspire future talent

The Royal Albert Hall today has announced a collaboration with award winning guitar band Foals where together they will host a set of education initiatives as part of the venue’s wide education programme.  Foals will host a music workshop and an education press conference.  In addition Peter Mensch – who founded the band’s management company – will host a careers talk.  The events come ahead of the band’s two gigs at the Hall on 28th March.

The music workshop, held on February 12 in the Hall’s Elgar Room, will offer 50 music students from the London boroughs of Islington and Haringey, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to spend an afternoon learning from the band, asking questions, gaining advice, and creating music together.  Aged 14-16, the students, who have a specific interest in rock and indie music, will have an intimate Q&A with the band followed by a live jamming session and workshop to remake one of the songs from the band’s forthcoming album Holy Fire.

An education press conference, held on the morning of the band’s gig will give 40 11-16 year olds from Greater London and the surrounding areas a chance to ask the band questions to fulfill their interest in music and journalism.  It will be followed by a careers talk from Peter Mensch, founder of Q Prime Management who manage Foals, and chaired by former MP Louise Mensch.  The session will target 200 students studying for either a B.A in music management or those in bands to get a first-hand insight into the world of the music business.    

The education initiatives are part of a programme run by the Royal Albert Hall offering children in London and beyond the opportunity to learn from and be inspired by the hottest music artists on the scene.  The series has already seen Emeli Sandé teach song writing to students from Hackney and saxophonist YolanDa Brown develop music improvisation to students from across the capital.

Commenting on the programme, lead singer Yannis Philippakis said: “The Royal Albert Hall suggested we get involved in their education programme to supplement our gigs there and we thought it sounded like a grand idea. I would have loved a similar opportunity when I was younger – I had a pretty weird taste in music but always looked to my favourite bands for inspiration.  It will be a fun day and hopefully the kids will learn something of use”

Peter Mensch, Q Prime Management added: “I’m delighted to talk to teenagers in the UK about the music business. Music is undoubtedly one of the UK’s greatest exports – culturally and commercially. It can also be a young person’s game. Whether you’re an artist starting out or looking to work behind the scenes, it takes a lot of hard work. It’s never too early to learn. By the time I was 26 years old, I was managing AC/DC – and as my former clients said, ‘It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock n’ roll.’  I tapped mentors for help and advice from day 1 – so I’ll be glad to spend my sixtieth birthday at the Royal Albert Hall talking to young people who want to do the same.”

On the Royal Albert Hall’s involvement, Lucy Noble, Head of Programming and Education said: “The workshop builds on our education programme from last year which reached over 100,000 people. It’s great to be able to work with such popular acts to host exclusive sessions with local children as part of the Hall’s charitable mission to offer education and champion youth music – this year we’re also excited to be working with Nicola Benedetti and MOBO Award winner Soweto Kinch. We’re delighted to be able to give local students a special opportunity to both learn from the hottest music acts on the scene and to perform in one of the world’s most famous venues”.

The band is participating in the Royal Albert Hall’s education programme ahead of its Albert Sessions gigs on March 28th. As with all Albert Session gigs, tickets are offered to the public at substantially lower prices; as a charity, the scheme is in line with the Hall’s mission to increase accessibility to the arts.

The Royal Albert Hall strives to develop its education offer as part of its extensive public benefit remit. Not just providing a venue for some of the world’s most popular artists, it offers an education and outreach programme which aims to support cultural life of the country for future generations as part of its obligation to the nation.

All of the musical instruments used in the workshop will be generously donated by Yamaha Download UK.

Notes to editor:
For more information on the education programmes of the Royal Albert Hall, please contact:

Good Relations:
Hannah Hayes 020 7861 3176 / hhayes@goodrelations.co.uk 
Nicola Hamilton 020 7861 3189 / nhamilton@goodrelations.co.uk 

For the Royal Albert Hall please contact:
Sean Carrigan  020 7959 0531/ seanc@royalalberthall.com

Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is the world’s most famous stage. Its breathtaking auditorium hosts over 370 shows a year by the world’s greatest artists. The magical atmosphere combined with inspired artists creates legendary events.

Opened in 1871 as part of Prince Albert’s vision for a centre for the Arts and Sciences, the Hall is a registered charity which operates without public funding, remaining true to his founding ambitions within a modern context. Extending the brand with 200 events outside the auditorium, the Hall has broadened its appeal to younger, diverse audiences whilst still engaging its existing customers.

The Hall also offers the Elgar Room, a state-of-the-art small-scale performance space which hosts performances of classical music, jazz and world music, comedy, dance and hush, a series of gigs for just signed bands throughout the year. In the main auditorium, it offers the Albert Sessions, an initiative that encourages up and coming acts to play at the Hall by offering reduced rental fees to promoters and lower ticket prices to encourage younger audiences to visit the Hall. It also works extensively with schools, young people, disadvantaged groups and partners such as Music For Youth through its Education programme, reaching over 100,000 participants each year as part of its extensive public benefit remit. It has also been appointed by the Arts Council as one of the country’s regional music education hubs.

For more information, please visit www.royalalberthall.com 
Registered charity number: 254543