Performer Jason Mraz with Zomba Records' Ralph Simon

Over the course of the conference, speakers included:

• Daniel Ek, CEO and co-founder of Spotify
• Neil Warnock, CEO of the The Agency Group
• Bill Silva, CEO of Bill Silva Entertainment
• Omniphone Group Executive Chairman, Rob Lewis
• Sire Records founder and CEO, Seymour Stein
• Nettwerk Records CEO, Terry McBride
• Rani Cohen, CEO of TuneWiki
• Scarlett Li of Zebra Media

The conference was a productive one for Mongolian band Altan Urag. Invited to perform as the opening act of Music Matters, the six-piece was so impressive that they have signed to performing rights association BMI for their worldwide performing rights representation. Altan Urag consists of six graduates of the Music and Dance College of Mongolia. Formed in 2002 and with seven albums to date, the group is sponsored by coal mining company South Gobi Resources whose CEO Alexander Molyneux said: 'We are delighted to see Altan Urag sign its first international agreement with BMI thanks to the networking opportunities at Music Matters.'

Music Matters 2010 culminated in the inaugural Music Matters Live with H&M Festival featuring 37 bands from 12 countries playing five venues in Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong district.

The President of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, with the President of the People's Republic of China, Hu Jintao

According to Middle East Online, a deal signed by Algeria with China on 14 April 2010 will pave the way for the construction of a new Opera House in Ouled Fayet at a cost of more than $30 million.

Algerian Culture Minister Khalida Toumi said:

'This big cultural project [...] is a gift from the Chinese government to Algeria', explaining that it was decided on during a visit to China by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in November 2006.

Construction of the Opera House in the western suburb of Ouled Fayet is due to start before the end of 2010, a Chinese embassy official said.

Peter Moser

Following the success of The Long Walk community music project in the UK and Hong Kong earlier in the year, renowned British composer, performer, teacher, producer and Artistic Director of More Music, Peter Moser, has begun a two-week tour of China and Hong Kong in which he plans to develop a major new project to coincide with Shanghai's EXPO 2010.

'Music is for Everyone' comprises a series of creative music-making activities tailored for teachers and students which introduce techniques that have been developing in the UK community music scene over the last 20 years. These techniques focus on the inclusive activity that allows everyone to have a part in the creative process and is becoming part of mainstream music delivery in UK schools.

Following 10 days in Shanghai, Peter will travel to Shantou to deliver a lecture and workshop at the Arts Education Centre at Shantou University before going to Hong Kong and Macau where he will deliver seminars and workshops for the British Council and other local organisations.

Peter's visit is funded by the British Council and is being hosted by Fringe Shanghai. Check out his blog here.

Music students from the JZ School and a number of Shanghai’s international schools were invited to cut their teeth at the JZ Festival in Century Park this weekend on the Ensemble & DJ Stage.

On Saturday 17 October 2009, festival-goers were treated to sets from students of SAS Puxi and SCIS Pudong while on Sunday 18 October, students of Dulwich College Shanghai, BIS Pudong and Ecole Francais entertained music-lovers in the sunshine. Students from the JZ School played on both days with sets from JZ Kids, JZ Jazz and JZ Rock Ensembles.

I caught up with the bands on the second day of the Festival and checked out a varied and ambitious programme of jazz standards and rock originals. While ticketing problems meant I was too late to hear the first part of the performance, I arrived just in time to meet The Funkadelics, Dulwich College Shanghai’s five-piece jazz combo, as they came offstage after their 30-minute set.

The Funkadelics

After a quick photo op, I asked Philip (piano), Joseph (guitar), Calum (drums), Garrett (bass) and Naman (drums) what they’d enjoyed about the gig. For Calum, “it was a great opportunity to perform in a bigger environment” while for Joseph it was a chance to try out his writing skills on an original 4-minute interlude linking two of the numbers, ‘Funkadelic Slam’.

The band’s full set consisted of six numbers: ‘Four on Six’, ‘Watermelon Man’, ‘Chopin Waltz’, ‘Mercy, Mercy, Mercy’, ‘Funkadelic Slam’ and ‘Chameleon’. Music teacher, Patrick Sabberton, who chose the material and has coached the band for the last two years, felt that the opportunity to perform outside the school environment gave them “a bigger goal to work towards” and made them “more focused”. Meanwhile, Dulwich College Shanghai’s  “very proud” Head of Music, Fritha Jameson, felt the set “went mighty fine”.

Fritha Jameson

Next up were BIS Pudong seven-piece, Lend Us A Tenor, under the tutelage of Head of Expressive Arts, Martin Game. According to Game, this was Lend Us A Tenor’s first proper performance: “While they enjoy the freedom of expression and creativity that comes with jazz, performing in public will give them that extra confidence.”

   
Lend Us A Tenor

The band gave soulful renditions of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’, ‘Watermelon Man’, ‘Killer Joe’, ‘My Funny Valentine’ and ‘Canteloupe Island’, featuring vocalists on two of their numbers.

14-year-old Rosie, one of Lend Us A Tenor's featured vocalists, has been singing for four years. She started in the school choir before moving on to individual singing lessons. She enjoys acting in plays and doing cabaret.

And so to Impact, Ecole Francais’s “new punk band”, according to JZ School Manager and Festival organiser, Ben Denton.

 
Impact

I chatted with these guys briefly before their set and was intrigued by their combination of good looks and attitude. Singer/songwriter Hannes told me their music is “like a rock salad” (i.e. a mixture of different styles in the rock genre) which guitarist Julien qualified with “well, it’s more punk rock really”. Whatever, I was impressed by their excellent songs, slick arrangements and budding showmanship with Julien trying a couple of proto-rockstar-type leaps and Hannes lounging with his legs dangling over the front of the stage for one number. Bass player Maxime and drummer Olivier provided a solid backing for what was a tight and impressive set.

Whilst Impact have done ten gigs in public, including performances at the Yu Yin Tang and Live Bars, this was their first outdoor experience and was, according to Hannes, “something else”. I snapped a couple of pictures of this very happy band after their set with all agreeing it was a “great performance”.

With the afternoon’s show finishing with a set from JZ School’s Ensemble No. 4, it was time to head off to the main stage to sample songstress Cao Fang’s wistful melancholy and a slice or two of pizza.

Will I be back next year? Just try and stop me.

To read more about Ensemble No. 4's performance, click here.

Top international and local artists are to play non-stop at Shanghai's forthcoming music trade fair, Music China.

Artists from China, Denmark, Japan and the USA will entertain visitors to the show at both indoor and outdoor venues. Hit-makers Michael Pagaard from T-Rex Engineering, Tonni Jensen of Danish Dynamite and TM Stevens will be playing at the Warwick booth while Japanese artists Eric Miyashiro (trumpet player), Hiroyuki Noritake (drummer) and Yasuya Tomioka (Electone player) will be at the Yamaha booth. Other performing artists include bass guitarist Jonas Hellborg from Sweden and Steve McNally, appearing for Korg.
 
The line up from China includes Beauty Lv (Line 6), Eric Chin (VOX), Zhang Dawei (Clavia Nord) - the forerunner of Chinese electronic music - and Xiao Wei (Numark) - a renowned DJ in China known as “DJ DRAGON-V”. 

A daily fringe programme of events, including Chinese folk music, a drum circle and a MIDIFEST complete with MIDI forum, seminar and MIDI music competition, is also expected to draw a large attendance.