SPOT: Ensemble Reza

 SPOT: a slightly different format to the Roundtable discussions where we Spotlight a Charity or in this case a Social Initiative making a positive difference in the local community.

Sheet music can be a comfort blanket, but it can also be the thing that stops people from showing up. We talk with Hannah Carter, Managing Director at Ensemble Reza about the Crawley Music Collective, a welcoming community music project where anyone can walk in, pick up an instrument, and start creating improvised music together. No auditions, no pressure, just a room full of people listening hard and building something new in real time.

Hannah shares how Ensemble Reza balances there concerts with deep community work and school music, reaching thousands of children, then zooms in on what makes this collective special: the moment a single rhythm becomes a full-room melody. Augustus, just 10 years old, puts it perfectly, describing how “one person starts playing and then someone else joins” until the whole space feels like it’s making music by magic. He also makes a strong case for beginners: you do not have to feel “musical” to start, you just need the willingness to try.

We also dig into the multicultural heartbeat of the group, where Iranian, Turkish and Greek instruments can sit side by side, and the sound becomes a kind of shared language. Along the way we cover practical ways to join, what happens if you do not own an instrument, and how professional musicians guide the sessions so nobody gets left behind. If you care about inclusive music education, wellbeing through music, and building real community in Crawley, this one will leave you wanting to grab a guitar and turn up.

More information: https://www.ensemblereza.com/events/cmc190426

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Transcript

Local Spotlight And Music Tease

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The Statistics and Surrey soapbox in the community. Supporting local charities, social initiatives, and events that make a refreshing difference. So with us now, lots of beautiful music. Hannah, do you want to introduce yourself?

The Crawley Music Collective Idea

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Yeah, thank you. Um so I run a group called Ensemble Rezz. We've been working for about 13 years now, and we run, I always say to people, we run concerts, we work run a lot of work in the community, and we run a lot of work in schools. Um in fact we worked with over 5,000 kids just this year. Um but today we've got this amazing group that we've we're in our third year of running now called our Crawley Music Collective. And the idea really is to just bring any musician, any age, any ability together just to make music with no sheet music. It's literally just making it up. Um, and you always kind of think I was thinking at the beginning of the session, how on earth is this gonna work? And collectively it just does, it just does, and we we create some beautiful music, um, and it's just such a joy to see, and and all sorts of instruments have joined the group. So today we've got um an Iranian musician who's joined with his instrument, we've got um a Turkish, um we've got Turkish instruments, we've got Greek, um, a whole combination of music that comes together, and that's the beauty of it really. It's just letting the power of music speak.

A 10 Year Old Explains The Magic

SPEAKER_01 1:24

And uh we're listening to it at the moment. Fascinating, a nice space. This is in the county male for the next few Sundays. Hannah, I'll come back to you in a moment. But Augustus, 10 years old, how are you enjoying it?

SPEAKER_02 1:36

Uh the way we create these songs, it's just like magic, you know. One person starts playing and then someone else joins, and then before you know it, the entire room has joined in and we're playing like this beautiful melody and songs. It's absolutely amazing how we do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

And what instrument do you like to play?

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Uh I play guitar, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar, and I play I sing as well. And my dad plays acoustic guitar as well.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Lovely, and it's good to do it with your dad as well. Now you've been doing it uh a couple of years or so?

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Yeah, two two and a half years, about yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

And anyone listening at home, any kids listening say, oh I'm not sure, I'm not that musical, what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 2:14

I would say to them, even if you're not musical, if you put in the hard work and determination, you can do anything.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

And and and of course there's a number of instruments, right? So if someone's not that musically inclined, you can come along and uh the rest of you will help them join in, even doing some simple things.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Yeah, yeah. Um the the best thing about I think the best thing about Ensemble Reza is that everyone here just interacts, you know, we have a kind of bond, if you know what I mean. We have a kind of bond together, you know, we just really work together well.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

I'll tell you what, you're very bright for 10 years old and very articulate, and it's lovely the multicultural aspect to the music as well, huh?

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Yeah, last time we had a Greek instrument called a Gementia. It's a very nice instrument, it's kind of like the violin.

How To Join And Key Dates

SPEAKER_01 3:01

Tell you what, you know much more about this than I do. You're only 10 and you're having a fantastic time. Now, Hannah, this is uh for the next few Sundays as well, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Yeah, we are here um um on the 26th of um April, the 10th of May, and then we're meeting um and taking part in the World Day for Cultural Diversity with um lovely diverse Crawley on the 23rd of May for their amazing event. Um, and then we're back here again on the 7th of June for our kind of final informal performance. So if you want to just come along and check us out, go and visit our website which is www.onsemble reserve.com and have a look there. Um or just pop in on a Sunday and and come and have a go. Like you were saying, we have all sorts of instruments. If you don't actually have an instrument, you can just come and pick something up and play. And the beauty of it is the sessions are supported by three or four professional musicians, and they're really happy just to show you.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

So you're not left alone, they give you some guidance.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

You're given lots of guidance, and um and it's really you know, it that's the whole community spirit of it, really, is just to let everyone have a go. And it's yeah, it's a really beautiful thing, and and the power of music speaks really, doesn't it? You know, it's so important, really good for your soul.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

So it's basically every Sunday up until the middle of June at the County Mall. What times?

SPEAKER_00 4:19

So um we're here at 10.30 setting up, and we start at 11 o'clock. Um, and um our concert later on in the month is gonna be in June, even is at um the I think it's about 2.30. So just go to the website and have a look at the dates and the times and come.

SPEAKER_01 4:35

Just give us that website one more time.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

So it's www.onsembleresa.com.

SPEAKER_01 4:41

Thank you very much, Hannah, and thank you, Augustus, for listening to your brilliant music. It sounds absolutely lovely. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Thank you, thank you.

Listener Feedback And Sign Off

SPEAKER_01 4:58

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