We were lucky to catch up with Helena Summerfield recently and have shared our conversation below.
Helena , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on is Jazz North’s ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’. As a young female musician I lost count of the number of times that I was told I was “good for a girl” or that I did not “sound like a girl” when I played my saxophone. It was normal for me to be the only girl in the jazz band or at least to be the only girl who did not mind playing improvised solos. My role model growing up was the saxophonist Barbara Thompson. My mum took me to hear her play when I was around 12 years old and she totally inspired me. At that time I was not aware of many other female jazz musicians and it made me release of the importance of role models – you need to see it to want to be it!
Working on ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’ is therefore very personal for me – I want the young musicians who attend our camps to see that there are amazing, talented women working in the jazz industry today and that there is a place for them in the world of jazz.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Since graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London in 1997, I have worked primarily in music education in a variety of mainstream and inclusive settings. In 2019 I became the project manager for Jazz North’s ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’ which aims to give young female musicians a positive introduction to playing jazz and improvising. In 2022 I created a tutors resource pack with scores, audio and video files to support delivery of the camps and was awarded ‘Jazz Educator of the Year’ at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards for this work. I continue to perform around my teaching commitments playing saxophone, clarinet and flute in a number of Manchester based bands including ‘NGUVU’, ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Mike Hall’s ‘Boplicity’.
Jazz North is the Strategic Development Agency for jazz in the North of England. It was founded in 2012 to address gaps in provision identified by Arts Council England (ACE) and the sector itself. A registered charity, the organisation has been funded by ACE since its inception with National Portfolio Status (NPO) since 2015 and as a Sector Support Organisation (SSO) since 2018. Jazz North’s ultimate aim is to see the north recognised both nationally and internationally as a leading talent hub for jazz. The organisation works with, and on behalf of, the jazz sector, creating cohesion across a largely disparate scene. Unique in its approach to supporting and nurturing jazz, this is an organisation with an ethos and delivery method rooted in artist development whilst also cultivating partnerships and networks.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Although this may sound very cheesy, for me the most rewarding aspect of being a musician and working in music education is sharing my love of music. I find it so rewarding helping my students to improve and develop their musical skills and also to give them confidence which impacts on other areas of their life. I love getting positive feedback from the girls that attend our jazz camps – here are some comments from the 2022 camps.
The best thing about Jazz Camp for Girls was –
– being able to play music with other girls
– being involved in something cool
– having the opportunity to improvise for the first time in a nice setting which is a skill that
can be taken through into other bands / projects
– making new friends and meeting new people that feel the same way as you and do / like
the same things as you do, like play music
– gaining more confidence and being able to have a solo (and surprising myself that I’m
good at it)
– the opportunity to learn new skills with amazing staff and musicians
– when improvising it was nice to be free to experiment and play whatever you felt like
– I am so thankful for the experience and I learned so much and I can’t wait to do this
again
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Regarding the ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’ project my mission is to continue to grow and develop the project. At the moment our camps are not literal camps, they are day or weekend (non-residential) events and I would love for us to be in a position to run residential camps in 5 years time.
Although I have focussed on working in music education I still love to perform and I am hoping to be able to record some of my own compositions in the near future. I think that it is important for educators to still be active performers and to be able to demonstrate their own passion for the art form that they are passing on to others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jazznorth.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenajsummerfieldmusician/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jazzcampforgirls/
- Youtube: Song that I composed for the Jazz Camp for Girls project https://youtu.be/VVHe7BzEZ1Y
- Other: https://linktr.ee/HelenajSummerfield
Image Credits
Nigel Slee Phil Portus Rich Price