Patrick Allen (born 17 October 1955) is the English author of '' Singing Matters'' (Heinemann publishers), which won the

Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

Schoolbook Award in 1999. He also won

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School in 2004 and the NUT ''Teacher Award'' for "inspirational leadership of a music group" at the 2015 National Festival of Music for Youth. Until July 2015, he worked as an

Advanced Skills Teacher Advanced Skills Teacher was a role in a maintained school in England and Wales from 1998 to 2013. Advanced Skills Teachers were judged through external assessment against a range of criteria to demonstrate excellent classroom teaching practice. The ...

, based at

Ifield Community College Ifield Community College (ICC) is a state school, maintained Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school in Crawley, England, for pupils aged 11 to 18. Admissions It caters for around 1000 pupils in years 7 to 13, including over 100 in ...

Crawley Crawley () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a populat ...

, England where he was also Head of Music and Chair of Arts. He was awarded Advanced Skills Teacher status in 2001. Allen is a UK judge for the

Teaching Awards ''The Teaching Awards'' is an annual teacher awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. In 2008, the awards were hosted by Jeremy Vine and Myleene Klass. In 2009, the awards were hosted by Jeremy Vine and Christine Lampard. In 2010, Lenny Henry prese ...

, a music education consultant and a PhD research student at

SOAS The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

Early career

Patrick Allen studied French, Music and English at three Universities (Leeds, Sussex and Strasbourg), and he began his career as a teacher of English and Drama. He switched to music teaching following MA studies at Sussex University. His practical, hands-on approach to music proved popular with students and word of his success with classes and performing ensembles led to approaches from publishers in the 1990s.

Publications

''Singing Matters'' (Heinemann 1997) was widely acclaimed in the educational and academic press and remains a very popular text and teaching tool with music educators in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and beyond. Allen's subsequent Heinemann publications, ''Developing Singing Matters'' (1999) and ''Composing Matters'' (2002) are also widely used in schools and provide a practical and inclusive repertoire of activities for secondary pupils. Allen also contributes to educational journals, and was a co-author of ''Music Suite'', an interactive

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

published by On-Line Classics (2004).

Outreach work

His work as an Advanced Skills Teacher and his consultancy work have seen him provide support and training since 1998 for

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

and

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

across the United Kingdom the National Association of Music Educators, The Scottish Association for Music Education, The

Halle Orchestra Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), or Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (electoral district) ** Halle (region), a governmental district 1952–2004 ** Bezirk Halle, a district 1952–1990 ** Halle-Neustadt, a former ci ...

, the Department for Education and Skills and a range of private training providers.

Ifield Community College Choir

Patrick Allen has been the director and conductor of this youth choir based at

since 1987. As well as being seven times regional winners and national finalists in the National Festival of Music for Youth, the choir was one of two choirs selected by the BBC in 2011 to represent the UK in the international Let the Peoples Sing choral festival. The choir has performed five times on

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. In 2011 it was the subject of a feature on BBC Radio 3 ''Music Matters'', focusing on the integration of the school's Chagossian drummers, and later in the year performed in a broadcast gala concert from the BBC

MediaCityUK MediaCityUK is a mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in City of Salford, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by The Peel Group, Peel Media; its principal tenants are Mass media, ...

Salford Quays Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it faces Trafford across the canal. History Built by the Manchester Ship Canal Company, Sal ...

. In 2012 the choir performed live on BBC Radio 3 from

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...

in London. As well as receiving widespread praise for its musical achievements the choir has also been praised for its inclusive approach, multicultural repertoire and for "raising the aspirations" of its members. The choir was the subject of a film by SVC Television, directed by Andrew Vere in 1996 and has performed at world class venues such as The Royal Festival Hall,

St Mark's Basilica The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark (), commonly known as St Mark's Basilica (; ), is the cathedral church of the Patriarchate of Venice; it became the episcopal seat of the Patriarch of Venice in 1807, replacing the earlier cath ...

in Venice and

Barcelona Cathedral The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. The cathedral was constructed from the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, with the principa ...

. The choir perform on

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's single Towards the Sun (released March 2015), co-written and produced by former choir member, Tiago Carvalho. The song, featuring the choir and Patrick Allen as Choir Master, also appears in the

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

production Home: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, curated by Rihanna.

Chagossian Drummers

Patrick Allen is responsible for the formation and development of a drumming group at

consisting entirely of boys from the displaced Chagossian community, who had been arriving in

from

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

since 2004. The special musical culture and relationship between the performers led to immediate national interest, and integration with the choir. A first performance at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

for the National Association of Music Educators, was followed by a performance at the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

at the ''Chagos Regagne'' Conference and two performances with the

BBC Singers The BBC Singers is a professional British chamber choir, employed by the BBC. Its origins can be traced to 1924. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time profes ...

in Crawley and at

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

, entitled ''Rhythms of the World''. In May 2011 they, and the choir, were the subject of a feature in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

. The drummers performed with the college choir on BBC Radio 3 and were interviewed for BBC Radio in 2011. Their journey and experience in Crawley is described in a blog, and in a number of articles. They have also come to the attention of academic researchers, including a conference at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

in March 2012. The group have also had coverage in the Mauritian press and won awards in the Crawley community.

Books

Published articles

References

External links

Chagossian Drummers BlogIfield Community College Choir

Patrick Allen websiteHeinemann Publishers TES report on Singing Matters Teaching Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Patrick 1955 births Living people English male writers British music educators Alumni of the University of Leeds