Unidos have moved our practice venue from Sandown High School to Priory School, Whippingham. The practice time remains unchanged as 7:30pm every Thursday during term time. Full directions to Priory School can be found in our Joining Instructions.

As some of you may be aware from the County Press headline last week; the council is proposing to axe the Music Service. This would mean an end to all instrumental lessons in school, as well as having a large impact on the Saturday morning Music Centre. The end result of these changes is likely to be no bands, orchestras, choirs for anyone except the ‘elite few’ who can afford to fund their children’s music education privately. (Example of cost change: Currently students pay ~£150 a year for weekly instrumental lessons. This would jump to £20 to £30 a week under the new proposed ‘music hub’ arrangement).

Ventnor Blog has extensive coverage of the proposed cuts, and the impact it will have on the island’s youth. This may impact us in the long run as we will struggle to find younger members with the musicanship and skill that we’ve been fortunate to have in the past.

The council is meeting at 17:00 on Wednesday 14th (THIS WEDNESDAY) to discuss the plans. The option currently recommended by the council is for full closure of the service and to make all perapatetic staff redundant. If you are interested in keeping this a musical island please do attend County Hall and show your support.

It appears that this festival is increasing in not only popularity but also notoriety. The BBC World Service have been in contact with the festival organisers and are hoping to do a TV documentary on the festival this year, to be broadcast around the world on the BBC World Service TV channel (also available on line).

From little acorns do big Rhythm trees grow!!! See you there from 22nd – 24th July.

Rhythm Tree Festival - 2011

Unidos are pleased to announce that the Rhythm Tree Festival will be returning in 2011!

The date is now confirmed for 22nd ,23rd, and 24th of July.

This small alternative music festival on the Isle of Wight is now in its third year and still growing.

Specialising in bringing together an eclectic mix of music and performance featuring a whole array of world instruments the festival still retains its dedication to showcasing the playing of the didgeridoo.

Unidos were privileged to play at the 2010 Festival and we can’t think of a better way to spend a summers weekend than chilling out listening to this unique and special event.

Ticket prices, acts and further details will be announced in the near future, but keep an eye on www.rhythmtree.info in January for updates.

Gig Info:

• Group: Unidos
• Date: Friday, July 22nd 2011 - Sunday, July 24th 2011
• City: Unidos in Calbourne
• Venue: Rhythm Tree 2011
• Country: United Kingdom
• Admission: £25 – £65
• Age restrictions: All Ages/Licensed
• Notes: We are playing in the 2011 Rhythm Tree festival. For more information please see www.rhythmtree.info.
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2 videos from our appearance at the St Helens carnival.

Unidos at St Helens Carnival 2010

Unidos at St Helens Carnival 2010

You can view more videos in our Gallery.

Two videos from some of our sets at the Nijmegen Samba Festival 2010.

Festival Finale 2010

Saturday night set at Nijmegen 2010

Sunday afternoon set at Nijmegen 2010

Photos:

Nijmegen 2010

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Unidos 2010/11 Season

Rehearsals for the 2010/11 Season will start again on Thursday the 23rd of September at Sandown High School.

We welcome new members, and if you’re thinking of joining us then this is the best time! For more information please view our Joining Information.

The Nijmegen Samba Festival returns this year in Holland on the 4th and 5th of September. Unidos will be travelling out once again to join in the fun and to take part in one of Europe’s premier samba festivals.

Watch Unidos perform at the 2009 Festival.

Festival Features:

Samba performance at the 2008 Nijmegen Festival

Saturday the 4th of September:

In the daytime:
- Samba groups at various locations
- Latin DJ’s

In the evening:
- Salsa stage with live music and DJ
- Samba stage with live music and DJ

Outra Vez and Unidos at the 2006 Nijmegen Samba Festival

Sunday the 5th of September:
In the daytime:
- Samba groups at various locations
- Parade trough the city-centre with music and dance
- Salsa stage with live music and DJ
- Salsa dance workshops
- Samba percussion workshops
- Activities for children
- Tropical market with various nice and delicious things to buy

As well as all of the live acts featured above there are also stalls and shops selling a wide range of percussion and samba instruments / accessories.

Info:

Unidos at Nijmegen 2009

• Festival Timetable (PDF)

Gig Info:

• Group: Unidos
• Date: Friday, September 3rd 2010 - Monday, September 6th 2010
• Time: 17:00
• City: Unidos in Nijmegen
• Venue: Nijmegen International Samba Festival
• Country: Netherlands
• Notes: Unidos are returning to Nijmegen for 2010 for the International Samba Festival. View photos.
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

We’ve just rolled out a minor update to the structure of the Unidos website. If you have bookmarked any of the pages on this site it might be a good idea to refresh them in order to keep your browser up to date.

Chale Show

The 7th/8th of August sees the return of the annual Chale Show. Unidos will be playing on the sunflower stage on Saturday the 7th from 13:50 until 14:50.

Chale show has been a consistently popular attraction for islanders and tourists and appeals to all age groups. Originally conceived as a horticultural show the event has grown larger and larger and now features 20,000 square feet of attractions, markets, exhibits, craftware and and antiques.

The main arena and sunflower stage will feature performances from the Flying Gunners, Tumblairs Comdey Trampoline Act, Medina and Wight Diamond Marching Bands, Island vintage tractors and military vehicles, David Randini Magician, Street entertainers, Green business and sustainable energy tent, as well as a fairground with inflatables and a Bucking Bronco!

For more details visit the Chale Show website or see our gig details below:

Gig Info:

• Group: Unidos
• Date: Saturday, August 7th 2010
• Time: 1:50
• City: Unidos in Chale
• Venue: Chale Show
• Country: United Kingdom
• Admission: Adult £7, Conc £5, Child Free
• Age restrictions: All Ages
• Notes: We’re playing at Chale Show at 1.50pm on the Sunflower Stage.
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