Tots Tunes - the back story…
Tots Tunes is the brainchild of cellist Tara Franks and the flagship project of Hackney based arts enterprise SoundsCreative Projects. Founded at Vortex Jazz Club, London back in 2011, Tara set up an award-winning weekly series of creative parent & baby workshops/classes with part-songs from around the world, original tunes and few dance moves for all - as much for the adults as little ones!
“ From the moment Tara opened the sessions with her cello we were both transfixed by the live music. For me, it was the joy of attending a baby music class and not just singing "wheels on the bus" but folk songs from around the world."
“ the way you channel your art forms is simply phenomenal and inspiring, thank you for doing what you do”
“Thank you so much for tots tunes virtual sessions!! …your creativity is really inspirational”
Credits & Press features
Award-winning Tots Tunes has featured at the London Jazz Festival, on BBC6 Music, gained commissions with Johnson & Johnson and collaborated with Nest Collective, National Trust, The Green House, Dartington Arts along with clothing brands Little House of Vild and Mama Owl. With a footfall of over 15,000 participants big & small over the years, alongside the release of two much enjoyed albums, Tots Tunes regular family classes/workshops are now also running on the South Coast (partnerships with The Bright Foundation, Hastings Contemporary, Towner, Create Music) as well as continuing in East London and early years focused commissioned workshop UK wide.
Tots Tunes on Tour - Full band show
With Arts Council England Project Grant support (2021) and to celebrate over 10 years of bringing joy to many East London families, Tara created a full band interactive show - Tots Tunes on Tour - bringing an exciting expanded version of the repertoire of world, folk and new music to audiences of mix ages.
“the composition of the songs is so inspired and infused with life we cannot begin to describe it, and all of your band were so incredibly connected beyond a purely musical level, it was a truly spiritual experience for me! ”
Audience testimonial
The Tots Tunes band collective includes a versatile roster of top class musicians from the London global folk, Jazz, post-classical scene inlcluding: Simon Roth (Percussion Kit), Bernhard, Shimpelsberger (percussion), Preetha Narayanan, Flora Curzon (violin/voice), Midori Jaeger, Francesca Ter-Berg (cello/voice), Clemmie Franks, Ellie Westbrook (backing vocals), Bev Lee Harling (voice, violin percussion), Kaw Secka (Sabar drums). Musical expertise/specialism across the group span - Klezmer, European Folk traditions, Indian Classical, West African Sabar drumming, British Folk, Jazz, European Classical, experimental, Improvisation. Ensemble size varies from 3 to 5 players adapted for each occassion and audience. A 2023 sold out tour was supported by Help Musicians UK.
Past shows include: EFG London Jazz Festival Southbank Centre - Music Halls Walthamstow - The Jamboree - LONDON, The Northwall OXFORD, The Beacon, HASTINGS. The Orchard BRISTOL (2022 - 2025)
Upcoming shows: Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Love Supreme (2026)
Testamonials:
“Tara is an exceptional musician and creator, and her Tots Tunes project is without a doubt the most creatively rewarding class or workshop I have ever attended as a parent! I have seen first-hand how transformative Tara's work is, and admire her ability to connect children, parents, and 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 in her planned tour”
Sara Mohr-Pietch (Programmer, Curator, BBC Radio Broadcaster)
“WOW! Pure joy! Tots Tunes incredible musical talent lifts the spirits of weary parents, laughter to little ones and dancing to both”
Music Halls London
The Tots Tunes repertoire & albums…
More about SoundsCreative Projects
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.
SCP values a creative inclusive approach to music making alongside high quality creative output whatever the context and whoever the participants.
