Danny

Personal Reflection from Danny

I’ve just lived out a huge dream of mine—standing on a platform and sharing my story.

I truly believe we all have a powerful, unique story to tell. Mine is one of resilience, of confronting my own fears, doubts, and anxieties, and of building something that empowers children to discover who they are at their core—so they, too, can overcome life’s challenges.

A few weeks ago, while in the USA, I found myself standing on that podium, in that moment I had envisioned for so long. And I want to encourage you, whoever is reading this, to always believe in possibilities—no matter how tough life feels or how far away your dream seems.

I’ll never forget the first time I met Simon Cowell off-camera, years ago. His first words to me were:

“So you’re Danny… you’re the choirmaster, right?”

Something in me froze. That label felt too small, too limiting. I knew I was more than that. Just like you, I am many things—but at my core, I am simply me. In that moment, I stuttered, self-doubt got the best of me, and I felt like I’d blown it.

But life is about bouncing back.

I took time to ground myself, to remember who I really am and how far I’ve come. And when we finally took the stage that weekend, something shifted. After our audition, Simon hugged me—and he wouldn’t let go. That moment taught me a powerful lesson: when we choose to stand in our confidence, in our true identity, everything changes.

So today, I say it boldly: I am a speaker.

We define who we are. We create meaning from our experiences. And we all have a story to share. As I move forward, I choose the path of curiosity and possibility. I hope this post encourages you to do the same.

Danny

Last week saw a first for us – on our recent US tour we were invited to do presentations for Tomorrow River Charter Schools in the central area of Wisconsin.

On Monday we delivered an awesome live masterclass for their public school students at the Jenson Center in Amherst – Danny even played his trumpet, as well as uniting a mass choir to perform our “I Am” song from Britain’s Got Talent.

But on Tuesday, we also delivered to their Virtual School Community online. This was a lot of fun and great to inspire the students with one of our stories.

We reminded the students as they sat alone at home on their screens, that the Anti-Bullying anthem now heard around the world thanks to Simon Cowell – was written in a very similar environment – Danny was alone in his bedroom writing a song wondering – “Will anyone ever hear this?”.

The key message was simply this – do not underestimate the power of your creativity and that  your creative work can take flight and embark on a journey of adventure – even from your bedroom!

We really enjoyed ourselves and loved exploring a new part of the US state that we love the most!

We are still pinching ourselves about this incredible opportunity. Since 2022 we have built wonderful connections in Wisconsin and collaborated on multiple projects with the Edgerton School District. We’ve done Anti-Bullying presentations, composed 2 school anthems, filmed music videos and even a live event for the whole K12 students.

We recently received some unbelievable news where we were invited to present our work at the huge Wisconsin State Convention in Milwaukee. It was amazing to be recognised like this and to share these transformations and what we do at such a large scale event.

Class Dynamix began as a humble after-school club in 2014 in Leeds. To be stood there, 5000 miles away from home on such a big stage is a powerful story of resilience, faith and perseverance. We want to say a huge thank you to the WASB organisers, the Edgerton School District and also to the incredible students who sang solos live in the presentation – Avalon and Ella.

Mount Pleasant Primary in Huddersfield gave us the exciting mission of creating a second anthem for their awesome community! This time it was all about their aspirations for the future and helping their pupils embody their school motto of “Think Big, Aim High and Achieve” on a whole new level..

Starting from a blank page, this uplifting power anthem, bubbling with joy and energy was born – encapsulating the same very message in the process… that we can create anything we imagine!

4 years ago we created their original anthem together Think Big, Aim High, ACHIEVE! – Mount Pleasant Anthem OUT NOW! – and 2024 allowed us the opportunity to create an elevated piece unlike anything we’ve ever worked on before.

Enjoy this amazing film and song. We are so proud of this one.

We have had the most incredible time out in Edgerton, WI recently.

We created a bespoke version of our live event – called Edgerton Empowered – which featured 4 of our original songs and a special message from Class Dynamix creator himself, Danny Gough.

The week culminated in a series of live shows for the various schools within the District and the impacts and success stories were off the charts!

150 students took to the stage and brought the house down, and we were so honoured to serve this incredible community once again.

A huge thank you to all the students, the School District and to the WEPAC for an amazing collaboration.

Enjoy our new infomercial outlining what we do and how we got here!

The power and passion of these young people takes my breath away.

To describe how magical this performance was – live on July 5th – is simply impossible.

This song is called Unbreakable and it’s about that deep part inside us that allows us to thrive no matter what life throws at us.

Let’s rewind to 6 months earlier where these 70 children from 5 different schools met for the first time.

In partnership with Music Federation – we wanted to create a choir that brought together talented singers from across Leeds to form a single, unified collection of voices.

From those nervous first steps and first hellos they became the most awesome team and we saw seismic shifts in confidence and self-belief along the way. 

Young people connecting with themselves – both as individuals and each other, elevating their souls and voices in the way that only music knows how in the process was truly epic.

The lead soloist here is a very special individual indeed.

We watched her gradually find her power, and the self-confidence to unleash her voice with freedom.

It was one of those experiences where the whole Class Dynamix journey was captured in a single moment.

This quiet, softly spoken individual coming alive, and through her fears and self-doubts, she rose up – inspiring the whole choir to do the same.

What a story – and hers is one of many that I’ve had the privilege to be a part of, and create these songs and opportunities where young people can soar.

We have fulfilled a dream of bringing multiple schools together for our first ever live “Empowered YOU” event!

7 schools from across Leeds and Bradford gathered together to sing as one and what an amazing time we had!

It was truly epic and transformational for everyone involved.

Our Excel choir led the way from the stage, and our wonderful team, including Rap Game winner Graft, and Rugby League legend Stevie Ward brought their own inspirational magic to the stage.

We are sooo proud of all the children who came and gave their hearts and voices to the event.

A huge thank you to the National Lottery Community Fund for making our dream become a reality by giving us the funding to make it happen!

It was unforgettable.

Edgerton is a beautiful city in Midwest America that we had the incredible privilege of composing a school anthem for.

This song is about the power of connection, about re-igniting and rediscovering our spark that may have been dimmed and living our best lives in our community.

What an amazing honour to serve these wonderful people.

Here is one of two school anthems we created for a beautiful school in rural Wisconsin.

This is a community that is built upon the generations that went went before it. Children stand on the shoulders of what was laid by their ancestors and become part of a rich legacy that is simply magical.

We will forever be grateful for this wonderful opportunity to become a part of their community.

Yahara – forever we are.

We’ve just returned from our American adventure over in Wisconsin – in a beautiful pocket of the mid-west collaborating with Edgerton Community Elementary and Yahara Valley Elementary schools. We will be processing the powerful impacts of this unique project for a long time to come – but Tristan McGough’s article is a beautifully eloquent summation of the world premiere performances of their songs that were unleashed last Saturday at the EPAC!

Well this is all rather exciting.

We’ve spent the past 2 months composing 2 exciting school song anthems for 2 AMAZING organisations in in the Edgerton School District, WI – America.

We revealed their new, bespoke compositions to the district school board and all the children last week via a virtual “unveiling” showcase!

But wait there’s more…we have been invited as special guests to the world premiere live performance in April – where we will fly out to enjoy the schools performances of the songs!

We are so excited to come and enjoy the magic of their live performance!

Remembering the day we got surprised by Simon Cowell and received not only a surprise audition on BGT, but a standing ovation too!

To celebrate the wonderful people and community of Music Federation – and to unite the 2 school sites of Windmill and Low Road primary’s – we helped them create this epic anthem and film.

Our gold partnership schools are incredible and they have truly embraced our work for many years – we’ve enjoyed some epic adventures along the way…

Executive headteacher, Andy Gamble said;

“With Class Dynamix we have experienced huge TV adverts, arena and stadium performances, as well as the global stage of Britain’s Got Talent in front of millions of people around the world. More importantly, Class Dynamix have helped nurture wonderful character, self-esteem and growth mindsets in our kids. We love our anthem – they have perfectly captured our essence as an organisation”

WOW! We were so honoured to be invited by Middleton Primary in Leeds to help them create a special leavers song and video to celebrate their Year 6 classes.

This was such a special project for us and we are thrilled with the end result. To bring everyone together at the end of such a difficult period of their lives was a real joy and privilege.

A big well done to all the kids, and a huge thank you to all the Year 6 staff who worked so brilliantly to make this possible. We wish you all the very best for High School – and that you continue to believe in yourselves. Your legacies certainly do live on!

We hope all you parents enjoy watching this for many years to come!

We had the immense pleasure recently to interview one of our “Hall of Fame” superstars Naima, who has grown to become an incredible young woman.

We feel so proud to have been a part of her journey and to see her flourishing in life.

Naima, you rock!

Morning everybody!

Right, I need YOUR help! Can you help spread the word on something super special?

Every Monday I will be releasing a bitesized 5 minute video of positivity and good vibes for kids to watch either before school, or in their classroom to help boost their mood, grow their mindset and bring a little bit of wisdom into their lives!

Here’s the very first one, it’s on GRATITUDE!

Gratitude is a great way to lift our mood, change our internal state and well…just help us feel good!

Hey everybody! We just wanted to reach out and send everyone our best vibes and wishes – especially all you teachers and kids out there. You are truly unique. You are so powerful and full of amazing potential. Keep growing yourself through this whole global situation, and shining your light wherever you are! Danny

To all the schools, kids and staff we know and love – and to EVERYONE reading this. Stay strong during this time of uncertainty. You are all uniquely powerful and together we will navigate through these current challenges. Look after yourself, stay aware, be kind and helpful to others. This will all pass. I hope we can all look back once this is all over and see it as a time where our gratitude for life deepened and our compassion for each other expanded. We are ALL connected. Act with wisdom and love to support the most vulnerable around us. Danny

We wrote this song way back at the beginning of our journey in 2014. We knew instantly that this song had a special power to it. We also knew that we would release it when the time was right. Well the time is now. Featuring a wonderful member of our group this year called Sophie, this song is all about rising up when haters hate and life gets tough. It celebrates courage, resilience and shining your unique light into the world with power and abandon. We all have a unique magic inside us that the world needs and will leave it a better place. Enjoy

We are so excited to share this incredible piece of work that the children at Windmill C of E created with us. Their own school anthem called The Windmill Way truly captures their special spirit, their kind heart as a community and their total awesomeness as a school. We are very proud of you all and well done on an amazing project. Thank you for having us!

We had the privilege of surprising one of our superstar performers today at her birthday party! Nicia was one of our featured soloists at Leeds Arena in the summer…she received a special framed photo and some merch! Thank you Nicia’s family for inviting us and giving us an unforgettable time!

On our recent video shoot in Leeds we couldn’t resist having some fun at this piano in the Corn Exchange. Here are 2 clips of our song I Go… Enjoy!

Last year saw our group from Shakespeare Primary crowned winners of Leeds Got Talent. This year, however Danny has been asked to be one of the guest judges on the panel! We’re really excited to see all the amazing acts that will be performing at next months event at The Royal Armouries.

Here’s a few pics and the One Leeds song from last year to enjoy!

Our internet-safety song is becoming a Youtube hit! As we approach 50,000 views worldwide we are so happy to receive all the e-mails, comments and positive words about our song. We’ve no idea how many people have been impacted by this track alone – but it thrills us to know that it is having positive vibrations in so many schools and countries across the globe.

If you’d like to perform or use this song in your school, you can apply for a songpack and licence by e-mailing danny@classdynamix.com. In purchasing the pack you are really helping us make more songs and sowing into our mission of inspiring and empowering as many kids as possible!

You can also download the single here https://classdynamix.bandcamp.com/track/safe-online-2019

We are super excited to announce that Low Road & Windmill Music Federation have become the first ever Class Dynamix Gold Partnership School! This is a hugely significant moment for us and our future as a venture. We have been developing our relationship with this awesome school for the past few years. They were part of our “Turn on the Lights” project at Leeds Rhino’s and they also starred in our “Safe Online” music video project which has amassed 16k Youtube views and rising! Pictured below is Executive Headteacher Andrew Gamble receiving their beautiful wall plaque which has taken pride of place in their entrance hall.

Mr Gamble stated ” We have seen first-hand how his passion and positive messages have affected our children and complimented what we are pursuing as a school in developing the whole individual. We are so excited and proud to become the first Class Dynamix Gold Partnership school for 2018/19″

We are very excited to present our new promo video showcasing some of our work in schools. It includes interviews with Danny Gough and exclusive “behind-the-scenes” footage from our latest video shoot at Shakespeare Primary, Leeds.

Ok, so if you’re not aware already – we’ve released our latest song – “I Go” – into the Youtube world this week. Many of you have returned to school and I wanted to give you a boost of positivity before you venture into the new term. It features kids from an awesome school in the heart of Leeds – Shakespeare Primary. If you’ve already downloaded the free songpack – I hope you and your kids are enjoying singing it. I sang this song with many groups last year and there was always a tangible electricity in the air when it was performed.

There are so many themes and messages in this song and I know we will each interpret it our own way and take different meanings from it. That’s the beauty of music.

For me, I Go is a song about listening to my inner voice – my intuition – and to trust those whispers I hear moment to moment. They guide me and remind me who I am and that I can overcome the challenges that each day presents. I try to start each day with a quiet moment to myself, to calm my mind and observe whatever fears and worries may be there. Without wanting to get too deep here 😉 – for me the song is about being awakened to the innate awesomeness we carry as a human being rather than worrying about our flaws and failings.

Starting each day from this place is a great place to launch from. It can be done on our way to school, after our breakfast or wherever we choose really. I like to lie on my living room floor before anyone wakes up – especially my 6 year old Netflix-loving daughter – and I enjoy the quiet before any technology gets switched on and the busyness sets in. Also, as a creative, when my mind is still and uncluttered, I always get my best ideas!

I truly believe that each one of us has something unique that the world the needs. We can all make a positive contribution to make our world better bringing both purpose and meaning to our life and to those around us. In my life I’ve often realised that the key to this is found in my own mind and the thoughts I’m choosing to believe about myself and the situations I’m in. For me this is what “mindset” is.

When we grasp that we are unique – a special blend of character, personality, talents, ideas and passions – we don’t need to feel threatened by other people (which we often do, right?!). We can sometimes think that others lives are better than ours, especially with the glossy filtering of social media. But nobody can do what we do like we can and I’d like to think that there are contributions to be made that only we can make. This applies to everyone of us. We’ve all got something special and there is enough room in life for everybody to shine, “do their thing”, succeed and be happy. Wouldn’t it be great if we all sincerely wanted this for everybody? – after all we are all connected and sharing this journey together.

So as we go forward into this new term, let’s be happy for one another, support each other and embrace the uniqueness and diversity that each of us has to offer. May we be our best selves and make a difference wherever we are! We got this 😉

Here’s the song in case you haven’t seen it yet…

Danny 🙂

Our 2016-17 adventure is in full swing. Today saw our first visit to Rothwell Primary, where 90 kids from across Year 5 and 6 totally smashed our Bullying Stop! song. The group raised the roof with their final performance in an electric assembly to close the day.

Well done to all you guys – we were amazed at your transformation throughout the day, and as the song says, you will have left a legacy today that they won’t forget!!

So great to meet you all and looking forward to some more exciting performances in the future!! Danny.

As we prepare for our summer break, we wanted to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to our stellar school of the year – Middleton Primary. The departing Year 6 class have been “front and centre” at every live event, bringing their A-game to every performance. The following montage captures many of our unforgettable moments this year and these wonderful young people we have had the privilege of working with.

This week marks the premiere of our first musical production for Yr 6+ – Give It All You Got. Hosted and featuring the incredible young people from Middleton Primary, Leeds, The play celebrates courage over adversity, believing in yourself and rising when you fall. Here’s the trailer to give you a taste…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1KXzxGzqTs

Class Dynamix have humbly received a certificate from Leeds City Council Inner-East Committee in recognition of our work in the community.

We are very thankful to be have been recognised at their “Community Heroes” event and we will cherish this certificate a lot more than the postman has!

Shakespeare Primary gave an electric performance tonight of our new domestic violence awareness song – Turn On The Lights – at the magnificent Royal Armouries, New Dock venue. The school were special guest stars of the “Leeds Got Talent” event, and we were very honoured to support them as one of our core schools we work with. The night featured teenagers from high schools from across Leeds, the level of talent was unbelievable! A big well done to all involved and it was another unforgettable moment for Class Dynamix.

So here we are. Last Friday night – April 1st 2016 – saw 120 children from across 6 Leeds Primary Schools make a defiant stance against domestic violence by performing this song together in front of 17,000 fans at Leeds Rhinos vs Hull KR at Headingley stadium.

The 6 schools taking part were: Windmill and Low Road Music Federation, Sharp Lane, Middleton, Middleton St Mary’s and Shakespeare Primary. Their performance was not only electric and passionate – but they went about their whole business inside the stadium with great maturity and professionalism. We are so proud of all these young people who showed the courage to deliver this important message. Everybody needs and deserves a home which is safe and nourishing. Let’s work together to make that happen. Let’s “turn on the lights”.

http://www.therhinos.co.uk/news/rhinos-stars-feature-on-new-song-with-local-school-children-25080#.VwgD3HAoxl8

Meet Em Gregory of Middleton Primary, Leeds. She is our Class Dynamix Superstar of the Month! Em is not only an awesome singer, performer and dancer but her character and attitude are FIRST CLASS! She is holding our brand new certificate, designed and printed by the excellent Abbey Printers of Bradford. She really deserves this award and has set the bar extremely high. Well done Em – you ROCK!!

We are proud to announce we will be commencing a brand new anti-bullying extended project courtesy of Leeds City Council Inner East Community. Well-being funding has been awarded by your local Ward Members through the Inner East Community Committee – Burmantofts & Richmond Hill, Gipton & Harehills, Killingbeck & Seacroft.

The young people will be working with Danny Gough over 4 Friday evenings, concluding in a live performance at The Denis Healy Centre in Seacroft. The groups will be learning our Bullying Stop! song which targets bullying at school, in our homes, neighbourhoods and on the internet. It’s hard-hitting stance, full of positive messages has been a massive hit with young people ever since it was first launched in Nov 2014. We expect no different in Seacroft.

We are so excited by this opportunity to get involved with the fantastic organisations and youth workers operating in some of the most challenging areas of our city. We will keep you posted at our progress! Let’s do this!!!

Meet Leandro and Joanna – Stars of the Month for February 2015 from Shakespeare Primary, Leeds. The group have just been filmed for a new music video promoting healthy lifestyle with our upcoming song “Dynamite”. The song will be released very soon and the Class Dynamix club will be performing it live on Thursday March 26th!

This was one powerful and amazing project. Harehills Primary contacted us in December 2014 to deliver a project for their “Safe as Houses” week 2015. The project deals with safety at home and the school wanted a song that empowered their young people to make positive stances.

The song we wrote for them is all about the power that one person brings when they choose to stand with courage. It’s also about leaving the right legacies that they will be remembered for. The kids came up with their own “value’s” for the holler section in the middle – and should be very proud of their project. Our heartfelt thanks to all the the school and the staff for inviting us to be a part of their “Safe as Houses” 2015.

Power of One – Class Dynamix feat’ Harehills Primary School from Danny Gough on Vimeo.

Boom! Class Dynamix have launched another after-school club….introducing Middleton Primary School from south Leeds. These are the chosen children – there is even a waiting list to get on!! Fantastic first session today, these guys were awesome. We did some teamwork and worked on keeping to the beat using our Body Got Rhythm song. (If any of the new club are reading this, here is the Youtube vid so that you can practice for next week! If you’re a teacher and fancy taking this song on you can buy the songpack here

Easy now! Making a Double is a catchy little track to help younger children make double’s up to 10. It’s a bit of a giggle and feature’s the comedy hypes of “Reggae Leroy”. It’s perfect for 3-6 year olds. It also includes number bonds of 10, and a little alphabet fun also at the end. That’s what you call killing 3 birds with one stone!! (NB the lyric sheet can be viewed below)

Making a Doublepdf or download the whole pack to your computer HERE