The Mayor of London launches new fund for music education in London
Boris Johnson has announced a new music charity, which will raise £2m by March 2012 to boost music education for children in London. The charity, The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians, will provide children who have significant musical talent and commitment, with outstanding opportunities. Four hundred children, aged 7-11, across the 33 London boroughs* will be awarded music scholarships and will be selected on the basis of commitment, talent and financial need.
The four-year scholarships will provide the selected children with an outstanding chance to progress their music education, with small group instrumental tuition, access to instruments and Saturday music school, individual mentoring and regular performances.There will also be the opportunity for around 10,000 children, up to the age of 18, to enhance their music education by working alongside professional musicians. This ‘Partnership’ scheme is an extension of an existing GLA pilot project.
The Mayor, who is the Founder Patron recently ( May 12) hosted a reception attended by top musicians, composers, impressarios and some of London’s leading philanthropists to launch the initiative. He said: ‘ Music can transform the lives of young people from all backgrounds, enriching the mind, teaching valuable skills and discipline and importantly, providing a source of invaluable self expression, personal enjoyment and life enhancing career options. If a young Londoner has a talent for music and the commitment to progress, I want them to be able to do so regardless of their starting point. The Mayor’s Fund for London's Young Musicians will help to make this not just an aspiration but a reality for those who could otherwise be overlooked'.
The charity is born out of the Mayor’s Music Education Strategy, a key strand of The Mayor’s Cultural Strategy 2012 and beyond and is in line with the recommendations in the recently published Henley Review of Music Education. Munira Mirza, Mayoral Advisor on Arts and Culture, added: ‘We know that music education can have a hugely positive impact on a child’s life but sadly there are many families who simply cannot afford it. The Fund is an ambitious initiative that will transform access to music education in London and with it, help improve the lives of many disadvantaged young people’.
Patrons attending the reception included Raymond Gubbay CBE and Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman.
Trustees attending included Sir John Tusa, Lord Black of Brentwood, also trustee of the Royal College of Music, Jonathan Moulds, President (EMEA & Asia) of Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Trustee of the LSO, Peter Millican of Kings Place and Lord Marland. The chairman of the Fund is Sir John Baker, the Vice-Chairman is Richard Morris who spoke at the launch.
With pledges in excess of £150,000, guests included Lady Hamlyn, Lady Forte, Lorraine Spencer, Anthony Bolton, Simon Robey and Lady Rothermere.
Press enquiries:
David Jones
t: 01604 842104 m: 0785 702 4202
GLA: fiona.laurent@london.gov.uk - 0207 983 4635
ben.mcknight@london.gov.uk - 0207 983 4071
Background briefing:
- Parents and educators have long recognised the difference that music can make to the lives of children. They know that music-making develops the mind and the personality in an extraordinary range of ways. For example it improves:
- confidence and sense of achievement
- powers of memory, concentration & self discipline
- intellectual development and attainment across the curriculum, particularly in literacy and numeracy
- motor skills including hand/eye coordination
- listening and sense of pitch and rhythm which underpin our perception and language skills
- creativity, artistic performance and appreciation
- sense of well-being and ability to deal with stress
- additionally group music-making has a capacity to encourage teamwork, striving for excellence in a non-competitive environment and being part of a community in which you play a valued role
- Since 2007, over 85% of Key Stage 2 children in London’s state primary schools have received free ‘first access’ to learning an instrument. But many children who would like to continue learning are unable to as a result of financial constraints. The Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians (MFYM) will focus on these children.
- In independent schools 50% of children receive weekly instrumental lessons; the equivalent proportion of regular instrumental learners in the state sector is 8.4% despite 80% of children saying they would like to learn an instrument.
- * list the 33 London boroughs:
- Full details of the Scholarships and Partnerships programmes are on the website:
BACKGROUND
The Mayor’s Music Education Strategy, ‘Making Music Matter’
The Mayor’s Music Education Strategy, Making Music Matter, launched in March 2010. Achievements to date include:
For the first time the GLA has brought together Local Authorities, the Arts Council and other funders, higher education, orchestras and other top professional music organisations to tackle the problems that exist
- GLA has provided £100k Music Partnership funding to enable over 5,000 young musicians to work with London’s top professional orchestras.
- This funding leveraged a further £140k
- This pilot provided the model for MFYM’s Music Partnerships Programme
- GLA has commissioned a major audit of music education provision across London. This will ensure that funding is directed to areas of greatest need
- The Mayor’s Rhythm of London Festival (16-23 April 2011) and Busking Underground Competition (‘Busk-Off’ final takes place in July) are putting a spotlight on London’s talented young musicians.
- The Mayor’s Music Education Steering Group is made up of leading figures from music industry and education sectors such as Sir Nicholas Kenyon, Managing Director of the Barbican and Karen Brock, head of Tower Hamlets Music Service
PATRONS OF THE MAYOR OF LONDON’S FUND FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS:
Alison Balsom, George Benjamin CBE, Nicola Benedetti, Julian Bliss, Imogen Cooper, Sir Mark Elder, Sir Vernon Ellis, Raymond Gubbay CBE, Darren Henley, Steven Isserlis CBE, Julian Joseph, Miloš Karadaglić, Stephen Kovacevich, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Chi-chi Nwanoku and Rachel Portman OBE
QUOTES:
“The launch of MFYM is something quite wonderful. It shows a trust in the power and value of great music, and a trust in the young people who will benefit from this scheme, joining excellence and the highest standards with the widest possible access. Applause all round!” Stephen Hough, pianist and Patron
“This wonderful initiative has arrived not a day too soon. At last a chance for young people with a curiosity for music to really have an opportunity to try their hand and realise a creativity previously reserved for others more financially fortunate than themselves.” Chi-chi Nwanoku, Double Bass player and MFYM Patron
I fully support the Mayor's Fund for Young Musicians and recognise that implemented responsibly it will improve access to music making at the highest level for all children in all genres. This in my mind is as it should be and will enrich their lives and all of ours, now and in the future. Julian Joseph, Jazz pianist and MFYM Patron
Music can transform a child's life in so many ways. A child singing to him or herself is a happy child. The benefits of studying music - emotional, social and intellectual - are well documented. The Mayor's Fund will encourage as many children as possible to tap into those benefits, and to follow their musical dreams. Steven Isserlis, cellist and MFYM Patron - * list the 33 London boroughs:
Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, City of London, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster
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