THE
MARC BOLAN SCHOOL
of MUSIC and FILM
.....give every child a chance...
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BANG THE DRUMS!!
ANOTHER DELIVERY TO
SIERRA LEONE! |
We would like to offer our Special Thanks to Terry Churchill, former Spurs player and now owner of an International transportation company (Quality Assets Ltd - Freight Air Transport), Niel Muroe (IJS Global - Freight Forwarding and Logistics Services) and Angela Pyart, Phil Stead and Mike Oxlade of Westminster International Ltd - Specialist Security) who have been transporting and shipping instruments from the UK and USA to Sierra Leone for free - this is truely a great gift! |
Above: The delivery to Madam Helen of two full drum-kits from Zak Starkey (Oasis, The Who, Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band and many others) , some congas, a trombone and four electric stratocasters (see below for details)
There is another opportunity to send more instruments and equipment in the near future - so please get in touch so we can make full use of this valuable donation of free transportation for the school |
We would like to thank everybody who has given their time, money and instruments to the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film in Sierra Leone - we are now well equipped and growing, 2012 was such a good year for getting all these things together. Gigs in Wigan, the 20th Century Boy theatre show in Coventry and the Radio sessions in Milton Keynes have all helped raise much-needed funds and awareness. We have also had donations of money from students at various schools in the UK, funds from events held in London and support from the Fan Club plus TAG's Marc Bolan Rose fund.
2013 promises to be one where the solid commitment we are building on will see more children learn both the theory and playing skills that will see them grow in confidence and expression on a wider range of instruments than before. The passion and energy that Marc Bolan realised through his performances will live on and spread through the generations in a very real way.
Boogie on and please keep giving,
Jed Dmochowski - UK Director |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
click here
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The Gibson Les Paul in the lower right hand corner was donated by Charles Politakes (see story below) and the Hagstrom bass in the middle of the front row was donated by Victor Luna. Charles drove Gloria Jones to JFK Airport in NYC, packed the guitars and put them on a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca. It's so great to see that these beautiful instruments safely reached their destination and that the children are playing them!
(by Natalie McDonald)
"Sierra Leone is my home as well as America is my home. The School of Music and Film is in honour of Marc Bolan and it is to work with children to have a purpose for being. If you're able to create, you never know what you may come up with. If you can learn how to write a proper song or play an instrument it can always give you a livelihood, not per se only for the African children; it's for all of the children."
GLORIA JONES | |  |
 | | AUGUST 2012:
We are profoundly grateful to ZAK STARKEY who has donated THREE full Drum Kits!! Two kits have been despatched to the school (see below), the third will be sold and monies raised used for the school
'The school is great and a very inspiring story of the buskers. Great that it is named the Marc Bolan School of Music & Film' - Zak |
 | | On August 22nd Tyrannosaurus Jed, accompanied by Ben Hooper appeared on 'The Groovelounge' to talk about the schools progress and to perform a few Bolan gems |
July 2012: ... the school has also had a set of two fabulous 'Performance Percussion' congas donated by Gary Eccles and Rachel Preston (big thanks) - they're very musical, very professional and very T.Rex!
...........and........
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 | | a fantastic trombone donated by Nick Newland! |
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June 2012: We are delighted to be able to announce that 4 electric stratocaster beginner guitars, with straps and a supply of strings are now at the School. The guitars were purchased from the proceeds of various fundraising events including The Wigan Bop
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PLEASE CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE FOR
THE SCHOOL INSTRUMENTS LIST
& WISH LIST |
April 2012: We have been overwhelmed by the kindness of T.A.G. (T.Rex Action Group) who have offered to split 50/50 the funds raised from the sale of the forthcoming Marc Bolan Rose. Funds are being raised to finanace the rose through donation or the purchase of beautifully crafted Bolan wall plaques - please click on the banner below to visit TAG's site - more information on the project will appear here soon
January 2012: We are delighted to report the success of two students of The Marc Bolan School Of Music and Film. Twins Hans and David Ceesay are now performing, writing and earning money through music in Sierra Leone! This very happy news is a reflection of all the hard work and faith shown in this project and is just the beginning of the many successes we hope to achieve. We will be publishing an interview with the students soon
January 2012: We have had an amazingly generous donation to the school from Artist and Producer Charles Politakes - his Les Paul!
From Charles Politakes:
I'd been watching the School's progress for some time, not quite sure of how to play a part, when I came up with "Project Les Paul". I'm not a wealthy celeb... just an adamant Marc Bolan fan, who is giving a gift which I hope will have enduring value to those in need.
We're all one with the students in Sierra Leone; their hardships are ours... so are their triumphs. One doesn't have to be rich to help (I know I'm small, but I enjoy giving anyway) and maybe inspire some famous fans to dig deep and donate to this important cause.
To me, Marc's line "Our Lives Are Merely Trees Of Possiblities" suggested the idea of planting one... in this case, it's a wine-red, six-string, electric tree.
Best, Charles
www.politakes.com
A big Thank You to Hanks Guitars of Denmark Street, London W1 for raising funds for the school - nearly 20 pounds, which is a lot for a little collection box!. Hanks guitars specialise in very fine acoustic instruments [April 2012] |
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 | | November 2011: The Marc Bolan School Of Music & Film has been chosen for inclusion on a new initiative Brand Sierra Leone TV - http://brandsierraleone.tv/?cat=8 - this bespoke video on demand channel includes a series of studio news updates and mini documentaries that cover a broad range of interests such as business, arts and culture, fashion, diaspora affairs, music and sustainable tourism in Sierra Leone
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A brief summary regarding The Marc Bolan School of Music & Film appears in the first edition of the channel Brand Sierra Leone Video News at 3:50
The station is still in pilot mode and is constantly updating the video site
The dodgy quality extract below is for those who need the quick-fix, otherwise use the office link above |
January 2011. Students at the Marc Bolan School of Music And Film perform 'Above All', written by Michael W. Smith, filmed by Dominic Von Trapp
A video of the students performing 'Ring Of Fire' can be found on the school reports page
The Marc Bolan School of Music and Film is in Makeni, Sierra Leone, West Africa |
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BP Fallon & Gloria Jones meet after 33 years!
Click on the image below:
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TELEGRAM P.A.M.
The Pound A Month campaign
We are launching a fundraising drive to purchase a number of PC's to send over to the school for the students to be able to edit film and music on, as well as to use for other study purposes. We have volunteers who have offered to travel to the school at their own expense to install and set-up the equipment.
Please click on the image below for more information
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For information and reports about The Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film, please click here
For a copy of 'The Motivator', the Newsletter from the school, please click here
For links to previous editions of 'The Motivator', please click here
Last year the school was featured in THE DAILY EXPRESS. Click on the papers name to see the article
News Announcement 12/09/11:
The Marc Bolan School is pleased to announce that Mr Abibu Dumbuya FCCA is now their Financial Advisor. Originally from Sierra Leone and now based in London, Mr Dumbuya is very enthusiastic about helping the school grow and for the project to develop in a responsible way.
News Announcement 2/10/2011:
We are very grateful to Brian Dunham, the staff of The New Wolsey Theatre, the cast and crew and the theatre goers to The Marc Bolan Musical for raising a substantial sum for the school. |
| Statement
We wish to state that there was misdirection in The Independent article of July 2011 about The Marc Bolan School Of Music and Film. The Marc Bolan School Of Music and Film is not (and never has been) especially a school for Orphans but for the young people of the community of Makeni, including orphans. If this article has offended, misrepresented or upset or otherwise caused hurt to any one we would like to sincerely apologise. The Independent newspaper wrote the article to publicise the school so that we can build on the goodwill of everybody who wishes to help and be involved. No persons in any picture attached to the article are assumed or ever were assumed to be ‘orphans’. The Independent newspaper is not in any way attached to the Marc Bolan School of Music and Film.
Our aim is to build a school of Music and Film in Makeni so that the talented and creative people there have access to a professional level of facilities for learning music and film so that they might benefit from them throughout their lives and inspire others to believe in the strength and power of education in the arts
Jed Dmochowski Director The Light Of Love Foundation UK
[The link to the article has been removed from this site] |
The Marc Bolan School Of Music And Film website: www.marcbolanschool.org
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