ABC Creative Music are the twelfth recipients of Hands Up for Trad’s Business Limelight Award. The “Limelight’s” are a monthly initiative (launched in October 2012) that recognises the outstanding contributions made by businesses and organisations who contribute, shape and influence the arts and cultural sector in Scotland today. ABC Creative Music are pioneers in creative education and fronted by two brilliant musicians Tom and Phil Bancroft.
Company name
ABC Creative Music
What is your principle company activity?
developing creative music resources for primary, early years and SEN teachers to use.
When and where did the company first start trading?
We started in Musselburgh in 2000.
What made you want to work in Scottish culture?
We live here, love living here, and are professional musicians here and wanted to support our performing careers here with a different kind of music related business and also are very passionate about a) getting more creativity and music into schools and b) how to teach music and related subjects and creativity better.
Can you tell us of any particular company highlights?
Winning the ‘Who Wants to be an Entrepreneur” Award (run by Scottish Enterprise) in 2000. Our first contract for a nursery pack for 30 schools in 2001. Then when we put our resource online for use in interactive whiteboards in 2010 was big moment. This year we have just launched a new integrated resource for 0-5/Early Years including a fantastic pack with visual aids, percussion instruments and puppets, linked to online interactives and iPad apps. Parents will also be able to log in from home, see what their child has been doing and do some of the interactives with them at home on Mac, PC, or iPad. We are also
involved in a project bringing over 7 musicians from Africa next May to meet and work with scottish school children who will have been learning drumming and dancing patterns from them from online videos, will meet them in the flesh for drumming and dance workshops ending in large scale performances.
What are your company’s plans for the future?
We want to keep improving our online resources and integrate them with iPads, and hard copy resource packs (which are still needed for early years and SEN), expand into new markets in the UK and abroad. We are also working on a scots language module featuring performances by Sandy Wright, Corinna Hewat and Karine Polwart.
How will you celebrate receiving Hands Up for Trad’s Business Limelight award?
Our core team ( Tom, Phil and Barbara) will drink half a pint of shandy each and whoop and holler with happiness and then get back to work….lots to do!!
ABC Creative Music
Unit 1b, Cockburn Halls,
Ormiston, East Lothian
Eh35 5JB
tel: 01875 898340
Phil Bancroft
phil@abccreativemusic.com
Tom Bancroft
tom@abccreativemusic.com
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