Oi Musica uses the music of street bands to bring people and communities together.

We create inspirational musical experiences for absolutely everyone – from complete novice to professional musician, with a focus on forging connections and finding common ground between players. Our projects, events and workshops celebrate the joy of making music in a group, and we are passionate about increasing participation in music throughout Scotland, particularly amongst young people.

Our work is inspired and informed by our combined creative and professional experience, which includes performing, composing, arranging, directing and creating for street band, marching band, samba bateria, orchestra and digital music projects. We have experience in outdoor arts, street theatre, education and international working, as well as in tour management, event production and festival programming.

We are an artist-led social enterprise, working across the education and events sectors. We run our own projects and programmes as well as working as guest artists, educators and musicians on a wide range of external projects. We specialise in the following three areas:

Street Bands

A catch-all term for any kind of music that can be made out of doors, on the move and with no need for amplification – the street band offers endless exciting possibilities. We work predominantly with samba drums and brass sections, but we’re happy to include all sorts. Every street band is different, involving anything from half a dozen players right up to 100 massed drummers.

Our passion for creating and working with street bands continues to flourish with each new project. We have established a number of groups in communities throughout Scotland – both adult and youth – and we continue to work with many on a long term basis.

We offer everything from one off taster sessions and open have-a-go workshops to educational programmes, massed band extravaganzas and advice and support for setting up your own street band or horn section. Just get in touch!

Digital Music Making

Our digital music making workshops provide participants with the opportunity to use drum machines, samplers, keyboards, record decks and effects units. Working with hardware in this way – as opposed to using music software on a screen – allows participants to develop musical skills that are tactile and hands on. Players can develop their musicianship in a tangible way, with the added possibility of making music in a group. Our digital music workshops can be tailored either towards creating a band, or to developing individual music writing and arranging skills. We have run a number of digital programmes for young people facing challenging circumstances at home or in school, often focused on recording tracks by and for the young people we are engaging.

Team Building

Music has an incredible power to unite. It is a fantastic and effective tool for creating meaningful shared experiences. We have worked with a host of organisations, companies and businesses to create accessible and rewarding activities, using music as a tool for bringing people together. Whether you’d like something structured and challenging, or just a fun shared experience away from the office, Oi Musica can create bespoke team events to suit any organisation, big or small.

Previous clients include NHS Lothian, City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Women’s Aid, People Positive, Proserv, Maximillion Events and more. Please get in touch to discuss your idea!

photos by Chrisdonia (chrisdonia@gmail.com)