Living Archive Milton Keynes
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Living Archive Milton Keynes (LAMK) is a child of the new city, born in the 1970s. It was an antidote to the notion that ‘new towns’ have no history. In 1967 there were 40,000 people living in the three towns and 13 villages of the designated New City area of Milton Keynes. Fifty years later, there are over 260,000 citizens living in the six towns and 44 villages of the Metropolitan Borough of Milton Keynes – and every one of them has a story to tell.
This has been one of the two Living Archive mottoes: Everybody has a story to tell – and the thousands of hours of interviews collected from local people are evidence of human experiences in the area that go beyond historical dates. Their stories cover the Great War, the Depression, the Second World War, the expansion of homes after it; they describe their lives on farms, in factories, at home, in love, at school, in old age… These personal accounts have been celebrated by LAMK in books, digital stories and film, sculptures, photographic exhibitions, dance, radio ballads and documentaries, but most significantly community documentary musical plays, as originally initiated by Living Archive co-founder, Roy Nevitt. Living Archive’s other motto is Dig Where You Stand – not just for the stories to inspire you but for the talents to transform those stories creatively. We have been particularly blessed with musical talent over the years. Over 100 songs have been written by local musicians for Living Archive projects, based directly on people’s words and events. The Milton Keynes Song Book has scores for just 36 of them, but with a copy going to every school in the Milton Keynes Borough, our new generation of citizens may discover the remarkable local history that the songs celebrate and perhaps even be inspired to create their own. We are proud that the British Library has requested – and now has stored in its Sound Archive – five Living Archive CDs: the Living Archive Band’s All That’s Changed Vols 1 and 2; the LAMK radio ballads The Horse and the Tractor and The Works; and the music of Calverton, the Songs… so there is access to Milton Keynes’ history in song from anywhere in the world! Roger Kitchen Chair and Co-founder of Living Archive Milton Keynes |
The Living Archive Band
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The Compilers
Craig McLeish: Composer, arranger and director, Craig began his musical life as a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral, composing his first pieces at the age of ten. He has arranged music for West End shows such as Les Miserables and Miss Saigon, and worked with a wide variety of groups in several genres, performing concerts throughout the UK and for BBC broadcasts. Craig has collaborated with composer Tolga Kashif, writing orchestrations for the RPO’s Seo Taiji Symphony; with saxophonist Tyler Rix for Classic FM’s chart-topping CD; for the Genesis Suite, premiered at the Barbican; and recently with Yaw Asiyama, composing new Milton Keynes music for MK50. As musical director of Young Voices UK since 2000, he brings large school choirs together to perform with live bands and solo artists such as Joss Stone, Lemar, Beverley Knight and Kathryn Jenkins. He conducts the MK Community Choir, Hart and Soul Community Choir and the MK Youth Choir.
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Marion Hill: Marion Hill has written 21 published social history books, 15 of them about the area now covered by Milton Keynes – its places, from the new city to the borough’s towns and villages; its eras, like the Great War or the railway’s heyday; and the life experiences of local people – both ‘settlers’ and ‘natives’, who have been interviewed over the last five decades by Living Archive Milton Keynes. [Details of the books can be found here] Marion also sings with the Living Archive Band that performs the songs inspired by local people’s experiences; and she is a tenor with the Danesborough Chorus. A former Deputy Headteacher, Marion is currently a Deputy Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Vice-Chair of the Arts and Heritage Alliance of Milton Keynes – a forum of organisations that collaborate to position the sectors as strategic contributors to the community and economy of Milton Keynes.
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Copyright
Copyright is the automatic right of the creator of a work which is considered as his/her property. S/he therefore has the right to decide how and when a piece of music should be played. Others may wish to make a public performance of it (including its recording). If so, they must first seek permission from the copyright owner. This permission is known as a licence. In order to enforce the copyright, the creator needs to be able to prove ownership.
In the case of the songs in this collection, most have emerged from a collaborative creative project produced by Living Archive Milton Keynes (LAMK). Composers used documents or oral testimony from the LAMK archive for inspiration; and the creative process was often shared or evolved through LAMK workshops. As the composers may not themselves have asserted or proved authorship, LAMK can testify to the right of the composers identified in this book to own the copyright. On their behalf LAMK administers all permissions for use.
With LAMK permission, the material can be performed, copied or distributed for educational or non-profit purposes free of charge. Any other performance or use must be negotiated through LAMK.
All approaches for permission to use this music must be made via LAMK: [email protected]
In the case of the songs in this collection, most have emerged from a collaborative creative project produced by Living Archive Milton Keynes (LAMK). Composers used documents or oral testimony from the LAMK archive for inspiration; and the creative process was often shared or evolved through LAMK workshops. As the composers may not themselves have asserted or proved authorship, LAMK can testify to the right of the composers identified in this book to own the copyright. On their behalf LAMK administers all permissions for use.
With LAMK permission, the material can be performed, copied or distributed for educational or non-profit purposes free of charge. Any other performance or use must be negotiated through LAMK.
All approaches for permission to use this music must be made via LAMK: [email protected]