SoundsCreative Projects

Connecting people through creative musical experiences

Founded by Tara Franks - Cellist, Composer,Creative Leader

What? We gather together people of all ages through collaborative, creative, musical experiences

How? We run workshops, courses, bespoke co-creative projects and curated events.

Why? We aim to bring out the creativity in everyone and build connections within ourselves and across communities.

SoundsCreative Projects (SCP) specialises in facilitating creativity and bringing people together through musical experiences of all kinds. The creative workshops involve voice, strings, improvisation and collaborative composition with a strong value placed on embodied aurel collective music making.  Founder Tara Franks draws on her thriving performance & composition practice to build a network of artists to feed into the projects as co-leaders/collaborators - incl Preetha Narayanan, Balladeste duo co-founder.

SCP values a creative inclusive approach to music making alongside high quality creative output whatever the context and whoever the participants.

“the way you channel your art forms is simply phenomenal and inspiring, thank you for doing what you do” workshop participant testimonial

From 2022 the SCP structure has been in development in our new base of Hastings, implementing selected neighbourhood projects (Tots Tunes, Vox Voices) and building local partnerships to ensure new projects enhance & compliment existing community activities. Partnerships include - Create Music, Bright Foundation, Hastings International Piano, Sounds St Leonards, Tuft Arts. and growth of

Short Film about the SoundsCreative ‘neighbourhood projects’ structure to give an idea of the ethos of the organisation - Hackney, East London 2011 - 2020/2022.

National & International creative commissioners incl: Barbican, Aldeburgh Music, Royal Opera House, Music Masters UK, Music First, Turner Contemporary, National Gallery. Sunland school of the Arts Mexico, Kobe University Japan, Korean Arts and Culture Services, South Korea. Largescale community performances at Union Chapel, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican, Hackney Empire.

STRING LAB model will draw on successes and learnings from SoundsCreative Ensemble project (2014-2018 Hackney) - adapted for new area & identified target group.

Testimonials:

“Tara is an exceptional musician and creator… I have seen first-hand how transformative Tara's work is, and admire her ability to connect to communities in person and online through original music of the highest quality. I am excited to see her extending the project's reach to new locations, and to witness the creative burgeoning of the project to include other brilliant musicians …” 

Sara Mohr-Pietch - Programmer, Curator, BBC Radio Broadcaster

More about founder Tara Franks and the artistic branch of SoundsCreative Projects:

Balladeste

String duo collaboration & business partnership with Preetha Narayanan, all original co-composed music

“Narayanan’s and Franks’s collaboration is pure magic… Beyond Breath is musically speaking, by far their greatest achievement to date. There is nothing remotely quite like it” BackSeat Mafia 2021

“defies easy definition … very very special indeed” Katie Derham BBC Radio 3 In Tune

 ‘It has been clear to me since their time at Guildhall that Tara (and Preetha) are both exceptionally talented artists. Their work transcends many of the conventional categories, both stylistically and as regards the contexts in which they work. They combine an in-depth knowledge of creative practice, both individually and in collaboration, with a huge range of skills as composers, arrangers, performers, producers and improvisers. There are very few artists who can combine diverse musical systems with the integrity that Balladeste are able to do’

Jan Hendrickse  - Lecturer GSMD, Performer, Sound Artist

Websites:

SoundsCreative website (SCP) - soundscreativeprojects.co.uk

Balladeste - balladeste.co.uk

Instagram - tara_soundscreative