The EGM will take place on Thursday 28th February at 6pm in the JHR. The purpose of this EGM is to fill the positions that have not yet been filled from the AGM last Wednesday. Voting will take place at the end of the EGM.

Secretary

Charlie Alexander

Hi, I’m Charlie Alexander, I’m a third year Natural Sciences student. I am a member of choir, through which I started my time on committee as choir rep, two years ago. Since then I have had a year being your treasurer. I enjoy being an active member of this society, both through singing in various groups as well as at socials. I wish to run for secretary because I believe that I have the skills for the job and the passion for ULMS which would make my time in this role beneficial for the society.

The collaborative nature of all the ensembles within the society leads to a large amount of organisational work to be done. I believe after two years on committee, that I have the best knowledge and understanding of everything that must occur each year for ULMS to function.

I have a passion for organisation, it sounds sad, and it sort of is, but I am the queen of google docs and making plans. I believe that my organisational skills will allow me to put into effect my knowledge of ULMS to be an effective secretary. This will allow me to be organised and prepared for events and queries throughout the year, helping ULMS to run smoothly. The nature of the role will also allow me to enjoy spending time helping to keep ULMS working so it can continue being great. I believe that I will be a valuable person to be on the committee this year due to the experience I have had. I know the needs and possible issues of each ensemble as well as their strengths and attributes. Over the last year I have been the treasurer of ULMS, this role has required me to be organised, which has given me preparation for being secretary.

I really love being part of this society and I would like to be able to continue to put my time back into the society. I believe that I can do this successfully as your secretary.

Patrick Ramsey

I am a second year natural sciences student, studying physics and maths modules, and currently play trombone with the orchestra and big band. I have spent the last year as treasurer for the Amnesty International society, so I have experience in administration from my responsibilities running the union cloud and of course the society bank account. I am excited at the prospect of taking a step up and helping run ULMS, a much larger society. I hope that, having had experience with a separate executive committee, I will be able to bring a new perspective to the committee and perhaps even suggest improvements. 

I have always considered myself a fairly organised person, and have a preference for completing necessary tasks as quickly as possible. It is very important to me to fulfil all my responsibilities, and I will ensure I do so in this role with a series of to-do lists. As secretary, I have a number of ideas I’d like to implement, some of which were prompted by the speeches I heard at the AGM last week. Firstly, I think there is scope for finding more students who are interested in PTM or in attending our concerts at the Freshers’ fair. My hope is that we would have a Google form for people to fill in, and that this form would give people the choice to indicate interest in membership, in hearing about our concerts (as a “friend” of the society), or in receiving instrument lessons. This would hopefully also be sufficient to be in line with GDPR (though as secretary, I’ll have to look into that). The database of friends of the society could then be augmented by having paper slips inside the programmes at our concerts which people could return. Secondly, Lizzy (the new brass band rep) talked about the possibility of people being able to take music away to practice. I have often wanted to do so myself, but been unable to access the music when needed. I would like to discuss with the committee whether we can set up an official borrowing system, similar to James’ system for equipment hire. Finally, I would like to ensure all concert dates are circulated to ULMS members via email as soon as they are known, to make sure that as many members as possible are free to play.

The music society is very important to me. I have enjoyed the opportunity to discover big band music and continue playing in an orchestra, and have made a good number of friends. I hope you will consider me a good fit for the role of secretary, and allow me to give back to the society over the next year.

Matt Hall

Hi I’m Matt and I am running for the position of secretary. Initially I ran for the position of PTM co-ordinator because of the skills and experience in teaching that I already had however I was unsuccessful which was disappointing. I am still very keen to be on committee for next year and feel as if the organisational aspect of my previous teaching experience can be utilised in the role of secretary. Being secretary for any society is a huge responsibility and needs to be carefully considered before applying. I feel as if I have the necessary time, organisation and diligence to fulfil this role. Although I don’t have any secretarial experience I am very organised and hate missing deadlines. As a maths student, I have assignments and homework tasks to complete every week which requires good time management skills which clearly is of great importance to the role of secretary If I was appointed secretary the main point I would change is publishing the minutes of each committee meeting through either Facebook or email, perhaps both. Currently people can request minutes from committee meetings but it is quite an inefficient way of distributing such information. In the interest of transparency I would work with the rest of the committee to make the information more accessible to everyone which I think would make the whole society feel more included about decisions made by committee. This idea in itself may require a constitutional change but I would push for this change to happen as soon as possible.

Treasurer

James Beadle

Hello Everyone! Hopefully you all know me by now, but if you happen to miss last weeks AGM, I’m James, A second year engineering student, and I’m (still) looking to take on the role of treasurer.

It’s quite scary to think that it’s been over a year and a half since I first joined Orchestra, my first ULMS Group. And ever since then, I’ve been overwhelmed by the opportunities and talent this society has to offer. I now do something music related almost every day. From Wind, to Swing, Orchestra and Clarinet Choir, and from a year ago, technician, chances are you will find (or hear) me somewhere around here.

Being on committee was an incredible experience. I thoroughly enjoyed working with a group of amazing people. As technician, I feel I’ve proved the importance of the role and I hope technician will continue to be considered of high relevance to the structure of our society.

Just to list a few of my achievements: – Those of you that have the opportunity of moving the electric piano will know it weighs almost as much as a grand piano – I installed reinforced handles allowing it to be moved around more easily – Not that I’m counting, but i’ve probably fixed any stand that you use at least twice – The new shelf in the Medici was put up by me, which should help keep the medici cleaner for longer after its been tidied – usually by me – I created and set up a new hiring system for ULMS, allowing hirers to input their request into a google form, which would auto add what they needed and when to the ULMS Google calendar – this will hopefully make the hiring of equipment much smoother and easier for any future technician (as it did for me) – The Drum trolleys ‘squeak’, which has be the bane of many ensemble reps duties, has finally been silenced.

There is another part of being on committee, which is less apparent to when you would first apply. This is to be involved in discussions and debates that may lead to changing the way our society is run. After a year of being technician, I am more than ever keen to make my views heard and contribute where I deem necessary.

It goes without saying that the main role of the treasurer is to keep the finances straight. That’s something I do regularly with my part-time job, keeping financial records for clients and accounting for work that my team does. Setting up spreadsheets and making admin systems work needs an eye for detail which I believe I’ve proved to have in abundance.

The past year has taught me how much I love being involved to get stuff done. I feel Treasurer is the right role for me as I have the experience and drive to play a major part in Committee, leading to another year of great musical practices and performances. It would be incredible to have your support.

Verity Bennett

Hello again everyone, I’m Verity and I would love the opportunity to be your Treasurer this year! Since the AGM on Wednesday I’ve reflected more on my time in ULMS and would love to use this second chance to convince you as to why I’m the perfect fit for this role.

Undoubtedly, the role of treasurer is a significant undertaking, but I feel that it is the natural next step for me in the society. ULMS was the very first anything that I joined in freshers week and I couldn’t imagine my life without it. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on committee as choir rep and am eager to stay a part of the inner workings of the society. Watching Charlie over the past year, I know what the job involves and I am confident that I can excel (pun intended) in coordinating the finances of the society. As choir rep, I have the experience of budgeting for a large ensemble and have organised purchasing new folders for the Choir in the hopes of streamlining rehearsals and to further promote the society at performances. On top of this, I have had experience with budgets since the age of 15; involving their creation, monitoring and review. In sixth form, for example, I helped raise £3,500 for charity and hope to use the skills learnt from this experience in the role. Honing these skills over the past few years, I am keen to continue this year’s work and ensure the financial stability of the society hopefully for many years to come.

Furthermore, alongside the typical tasks, I would be keen to explore more fundraising opportunities for the society. I believe we can use Henry’s newsletter idea not only to keep alumni and townsfolk up to date but also to establish a better donation scheme, which is common for music ensembles. This could involve one-off donations but also perhaps a scheme, where for an annual fee they can attend all ULMS events. Due to my part-time job I also have connections with nightclubs and venues in Lancaster should we wish to pursue sponsorship, for socials or otherwise. I would also want to work closely with the PTM coordinator and the small groups rep (Alex), as I believe they are two of the biggest areas of potential growth this year. Ultimately, although I am full of ideas, I am a team player and would never push for something that wouldn’t be of benefit to the entire society.

Overall, I am an approachable and hardworking individual and given my relevant experience and interests, I really do feel as though I have the right skill set to succeed in this role. I’ve always been an ambitious individual that has never shied away from difficulty and I know that I would work hard and persevere through any challenges this role may bring. My choice to re-run highlights my passion and dedication to ULMS – I’m incredibly grateful to be in such a friendly and welcoming society and I would love to be able to support it again this year, if not even more so.

PTM Co-Ordinator

Emily Hinks

Hello there! My name is Emily and I am first year student studying maths. As soon as I got to Lancaster University I was very eager to join the music society, and although I’ve only been here for half a year so far, I feel as though I’ve been absorbed into ULMS, and music has become an integral part of my uni life. I play the flute and the saxophone, and currently take part in Wind Band, Orchestra, Flute Choir, the pit band, and I am one of the conductors of the Big Band, and I would love to get even more involved in the society by joining the committee. I am running for the role of the Project Teach Music Co-Ordinator because I think that it is really important for ULMS to promote learning and loving music across the whole university as well as just in the society. Therefore one of the main things I would aim to do for PTM is to spread the word, and get more and more people involved in the project, as I don’t think enough people are aware of it. I have a number of ideas already about how I could achieve this, such as working with the person elected for the role of Publicity, and increasing the use of social media to reach more people. I always enjoyed taking music lessons myself, and I would love to be able to help give other people the opportunity too! I would be appropriate for this role as I love to keep track of things and to be organised, so I would be good at managing the spreadsheets and forms that would be required in this role. Also, I’d be a valuable member of committee, because I would love to contribute to the improvement of the society, to make it even better and more enjoyable to its members!

Ben Frondigoun

I’m Ben, a first year theoretical physics student. Since I arrived at university, ULMS has been the community with which I have engaged the most actively, and even outside of the ensembles I’m part of I’m continually amazed by what a connected and friendly atmosphere the society cultivates. For those reasons I want to take a more active role in the society, namely through co-ordinating the Project Teach Music scheme. I started with PTM in my first week at uni, and it has been an incredible learning experience for me, which has developed my interpersonal, communication and organisational skills, as well as challenging my understanding of music and music learning as a whole. I’ve loved being able to teach music through the programme and think that my skillset and personality would make me well suited to the role of co-ordinator, as I am very well organised, and my passion for outreach makes me want to help give as many people as possible the opportunity to participate in this amazing scheme.

Wind Band Representative

Fiona Bowler and Amrit Phull (running as a pair)

Hi we’re Amrit and Fiona and we’re running for joint Wind Band Rep. We play the flute and euphonium respectively and are part of a wide array of bands including Wind, Brass, Pit and Oompah. Since joining ULMS at the start of this year we’ve loved being a part of this welcoming society and being Wind Band Reps would be a great opportunity to get even more involved. We would like to maintain an engaging environment by working with the conductors to ensure we play music that is interesting and really showcases the talent of the band. We’d love to start playing more repertoire requested by the group – Amrit spends far too much time arranging music and we’d love to take some requests for different pieces that you’d like to play. As friendly and approachable people, we would prioritise listening to, and acting on suggestions of the members as we are eager to keep wind band fun and inclusive for everyone. We would aim to get the best opportunities possible for the band, for example gigs in collaboration with other ensembles, to ensure that we are consistently improving. We also believe that Wind Band has the potential to step up another notch with how we approach music; simple things like tuning and warm up exercises will help us listen to each other more and work as a united ensemble. Finally, we want people to make sure people can continue to look forward to rehearsals each week by working hard to keep wind band as enjoyable as possible. We understand that Wind Band Rep is no easy role to take on but we believe that with our combined 16 years of Wind Band experience, we think we have the knowledge to oversee the running of the group. We were part of South Derbyshire Music Centre and Birmingham Music Service for many years, playing in the senior Concert Band, Concert Orchestra and Wind Orchestra which have really added to our enthusiasm for playing as part of a band. These experiences and skills would be transferable to the role of wind band rep as it shows that we know how to prepare for rehearsals and organise gigs as well as showing our long-held passion for music! We know how difficult Henry & Sean’s jobs are and will do anything we can to help them; through a whole lot of teamwork, perseverance and positivity, we know that we can make Wind Band the best it can possibly be! Thank you :)))

Swing Group Representative

Katie Farr

Hi, I’m Katie. I’m a first year English Literature and Creative Writing student. I play the alto saxophone in swing group and wind band. I would like to be swing group rep because I’ve really enjoyed the band so far and I want to make sure it stays running smoothly. I would be a good rep because I’m organised and dedicated. I want to keep up the use of Facebook to let everyone know about concerts etc and making decisions collectively. I would be a clear line of communication between the group and the committee.

Technician

Nathan Wright

Hi everyone, my name is Nathan Wright, I’m a 2nd year studying Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology. Hopefully many of you will have had the chance to meet me and talk to me before, though of course if anyone hasn’t I’d be more than happy to have a chat to you sometime. I play in Wind, Brass, and also the function band Inglorious Brassters, so chances are if you’ve been to an ULMS concert or small groups showcase you’ll have seen me (attempt to) play. I’ve been in ULMS since I came to Lancaster Uni and I’ve grown exceptionally fond of it since then, in large part due to the fantastic people involved. Because of this I’m incredibly eager to try and give something back by becoming part of the committee and helping in some way to continue providing the wonderful experience that ULMS can offer. The role of Technician particularly interests me as I have a keen interest in all things technological, be it software or hardware, and think this role would be an exciting opportunity for me to build upon that interest. I have a fair amount of prior technical knowledge, having dabbled with computers and computer parts for a good few years, and though admittedly an optical mouse is not quite the same as a music stand, I can’t imagine there is a large difficulty spike between fixing one and fixing the other. I have become relatively good at diagnosing issues with equipment, which became somewhat of a necessity during my first-year labs. The close relationship with sine-wave oscillators that was thus developed will hopefully provide me with the patience required to deal with the more troubling issues the Technician role provides, as nothing could ever be as tedious as figuring the correct setup of a bunch of coaxial cables from a poorly labelled and underdescribed lab manual. Finally, if for whatever reason an issue can’t be fixed with liberal use of a multi-tool, WD40 or duct tape, my ability to problem solve will no doubt put me in a good place to find a solution. It seems to be quite common to point out in Technician bios that you have had a chat with the previous Technician. I have had that conversation and I have an understanding of what this role will require, and I am confident that I will be able to fulfill this role and quickly learn whatever I need to do a pretty nice job at it. If any of you would like to ask me any more questions, please contact me however suits you best and I will endeavour to reply to you as soon as I can. Thank you for reading my bio, I hope I can have your support on Thursday!