We believe that there’s no better time to develop as a unique singer/performer than when you’re young, yet there’s little opportunity to either be developed or to perform publicly in this way at that age. The premise behind ‘Once Upon a Song’ resolves this issue. In fact, we have been resolving it since 2004, working with young people from age 9 upwards. However, in the past this service was only available to a select few, it’s only now that we’ve launched it publicly as ’Once Upon a Song'.
What we do is get the young student to learn & perform original high quality songs so that rather than, for example, trying to emulate established artists like Adele for example (which can be counter productive) they evolve their own unique personality & ability. Though we use, and value, covering other peoples songs to further development, we’re not interested in developing tribute acts.
When we feel they’re ready, we get the students to perform publicly. Although we focus on music, we have seen first hand how our work raises self worth, confidence & esteem. Music has that amazing power! Combine that with the feeling of belonging to a team that is working together to a common, creative & very enjoyable goal, & the sky's the limit. Though we have a few people involved in 'Once Upon a Song' it's predominantly run by Francesco Scarito. That's me! Hello.
Now, we all have passions, I probably have a few too many. Photography, Design, Illustration, Filmmaking are just some of mine. My greatest passion, however, is songwriting! It started in my teens & I expected it to fade in time. It never has. In 2004 I began volunteering in a school nurturing young people to sing and act through original story and song. At that time it felt that I'd discovered my true vocation. It still does. Since then I've worked with numerous young people nurturing their natural gifts through original song and drama. With the help of others I created the full length anti bullying movie 'Once Upon a Bully', created a number of stage shows including 'Reach Out' and QuarterVille. I was the creative behind the 2014 Milton Keynes inter school competition. I feel so proud when I see young people grow in both confidence and ability and wake up to the amazing standards they can achieve. The proof of the pudding is in the eating so please listen and watch examples of our work in our 'portfolio'.
