Alec Thompson-Miller

When Alec took part in a singing workshop with Christopher Bell at Harlaw Academy in Aberdeen in 1999, little did he know that NYCoS and the Kodaly approach would not only bring him much joy, inspiration and incredible moments of togetherness, but they would also become beacons of hope and gratitude throughout the next 23 years, helping him overcome and better understand the many personal challenges he faced, and turn them into sources of strength to inspire others to step into their own inner power.

To date, his NYCoS/Kodaly journey has included a wide variety of learning experiences: Singing in the flagship choir for two years (1999-2000); volunteering as a singing assistant with NYCoS Edinburgh Area Choir (2000-2001); British Kodaly Academy Summer School (2005-2006); NYCoS Aberdeen Area Choir Staff (2009-2012); Summer Residential House Staff (2011); NYCoS Kodaly Study Tour (2012) and Summer School at Kodaly Institute in Hungary (2015); RCS/NYCoS Musicianship training (2013); anniversary performance events (2006, 2011 and 2021); and most recently, NYCoS’ ‘Loving Learning Through Music’ project as a creative practitioner.

During this ongoing journey, Alec has grown to really appreciate the holistic intentions behind Kodaly’s mission to weave together a variety of different music education approaches, that Kodaly learnt on his travels, to help people of all ages to enjoy listening to and making music in a deeper and more enriching sense. Inspired by Kodaly’s personal journey, which still has huge relevance today, and the concept of bringing together different multi-disciplinary themes and elements under one roof in innovative ways, in 2010, after a clowning course called ‘Courage To Be’, Alec had the whisper of an idea to leave his full-time job teaching singing and choirs, and to create an organic tapestry of projects that could help people of all ages to connect with each other and our wider natural world. 12 years later, ACE Voices is the result of this leap of faith.

Founded in 2011, ACE Voices is a family of play-centred community projects in Aberdeen and beyond. Led by Alec and Rachel (Assistant Director and Co-Founder), they specialise in empowering people, communities & the wider natural world to thrive through the creation of open, fun, inclusive, nurturing & transformative community play spaces involving music and the arts, outdoor education, intergenerational relationships, leadership mentoring and many more themes. So far, they have supported 10,000+ people across Aberdeen/elsewhere, worked in partnership with 250+ UK/international professional organisations and practitioners, mentored 170+ volunteers from ages 8-90, and provided paid work for 10+ freelance practitioners.

In 2022, Alec was chosen to be one of 12 Multipliers as part of The Cares Family’s Multiplier 2022 project, a national leadership mentoring programme that helps to empower community leaders from around the UK to contribute toward systemic change in many different ways. Being part of this Multiplier community is already helping Alec and his team to forge ahead with bigger, more ambitious actions/plans now and in the future.

Alec would like to dedicate his involvement at this year’s NYCoS Kodaly Summer School to Anne Farquhar from Aberdeen, one of the kindest and most generous people he has ever met. A music teacher from the heart, a passionate advocate for the Kodaly approach over the past 50+ years, and now in her nineties, she funded Alec’s participation at the Kodaly Institute’s Summer School in Hungary in 2015, and has inspired him to always go the extra mile to support his students.