About

Focus on Sound is a MusicFirst company
- part of the multinational Music Sales group.

Author

The programs have been written by Dr Simon Foxall, formerly a senior examiner in the UK. He has written teacher support material as well as running courses for teachers in the UK and abroad. He has also examined in composition and has many years experience as a secondary school head of music.

His PhD research was on the use of computers in testing music and linguistic ability.

Developers and consultants

  • HTML5 conversion, website design and advertising: Ben Vallack (Phototropic)
  • Portal, database and server programming: Tom Ford, Kris Sum and Jay Bush (Switch Systems)
  • Database, server and music score programming: Julian Foxall
  • Business Development Manager for Silverlight version: Nick Kilby (Starland)
  • Videos: Dez Minto (Broadwater Studios), Jonas Persson (Music Sales), Nick Gordon
  • Jazz/rock consultancy and composition: Dave Bowen
  • Consultant (brass): Brian Moore
  • Consultant (world percussion): Steve Crossen

Licences

  • Main audio and video licences from Naxos, Chandos, Euroarts, ARC and Audite
  • Photo licences from Shutterstock and iStockPhoto

Performers

It has been an editorial policy to ensure that most of the videos and many of the photos feature young performers. Musicians on the specially commissioned videos are young professional players.

Artists featuring on the Euroarts videos include The European Chamber Orchestra, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble and the world-renowned organist and conductor Ton Koopman.

The hundreds of audio recordings include artists of the calibre of Willard White, singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot to demonstrate the bass voice.

Commissioned Videos

Accordion: Aidan Shepherd
African drums: Sam Yeboah
Balafon: Alphonse Touna
Bass guitar, double bass, tuba: Sean Davey
Brazilian percussion: Adriano Adewale
Clarinets: Alison Turriff
Classical guitar: Sam Cave
Drum kit: Ian Evans
Flute: Charlotte Bettle
Folk guitar: Alex Bishop
Folk violin, mandolin and tenor banjo: Tom Newell
French horn, alto/tenor horn: Sam Pearce
Jazz/rock guitar: Jesse Molins
Jazz Trumpet: Corben Lee
Oboe, cor anglais: Uchenna Ngwe
Percussion: Ed Scull
Saxophones: Ben Lowman
Sitar: Mehboob Nadeem
Tabla: Sanju Sahai
Trombones, euphonium: Adrian Cleverley
Trumpet, Baroque trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn: Ellie Lovegrove
Violin: Jane Gordon

For MusicFirst

Director: Jim Frankel
Sales director (world): Robin Hodson
Sales director (UK): Richard Payne
Senior product manager: Michael Avery
Customer support manager: Julianna Mateyko
Product manager: Brad Smith