Among these was Bridge to Music, a two year funded project in Great Yarmouth. This setting was one of a pair of projects which were the subject of research by the University of North Tyneside, commissioned by Youth Music to look at the role of music in child development from birth to five- the results were published under the title Turning Their Ears On- Keeping Their Ears Open.
Elsewhere in the region there are more beacons of good practice-PRESMA the Pre school Music Association are based in Norwich and offer training and support to new leaders.

Linda Bance, who is well known as a pre school music educator, works extensively in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire (where we a hoping to have a Cluster Programme).

The region already has a good record for involving orchestral players in early years work-the Suffolk wide project Flights of Fancy which was brought together by Orchestras Live also offered opportunities for little children to see, hear and get involved with classical musicians playing wide range of instruments.

Parents can also be a surprising source of unusual instruments as one Bedfordshire setting discovered-when their family music day enticed both a drummer and a bagpiper to strut their stuff, much to the delight of the children!

The picture for singing in the East of England is uneven, there are some areas bursting with activity and others where singing hasn’t yet caught on. Often the difference is just one or two inspirational individuals. A good number of these leaders are volunteers who do the work because they love singing themselves for little or no pay.

Many small singing groups in the East of England are not constituted as organisations and find it hard to apply for funding. This is where groups of schools, local authorities and other organisations can help by getting together to put in a joint bid to boost singing and train more leaders to run singing activities.

In Bury St Edmunds a township choir is taking shape. The Bury Festival, with the help of Youth Music brought in Mbawula-experts in African jazz to work with singing groups, teachers and music leaders, training them not only for a performance at the Festival 2007 but also to carry on the work with the new choir into the future.

There are two bids from this region for funding under Youth Music’s new ‘Super Singing Communities’ fund. If they are successful they will head up significant projects which require working with many partners, offering training to prospective singing leaders and promoting singing as a tool for engagement and wellbeing.

Many of Youth Music’s funded projects contain an element which focuses on transition, whether they are singing projects or rock schools.

The regions’ music services are doing some very good work to enhance the social side of playing an instrument and to offer young music makers a choice. Some carry on with formal grade exams into their teens, whilst others prefer the less formal approach of a rock school. In some areas young people transfer twice, once to middle school and then again to senior school which complicates the picture even more. Although many schools have an exceptional record for nurturing music there is still much to be done. Music Wise, the Norfolk Youth Music Action  Zone has been working in rural areas where travel to activities or rehearsals may be difficult if not impossible for young people even if they are taking place in a nearby town.

Musical Futures, a pioneering scheme funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, part of which is based within Hertfordshire Music Services, is looking at music making within school time. Its approach is student lead, with young people making the decisions about the type of music they wish to learn about. It promotes an enabling culture for both staff and students which works with their enthusiasm for their favourite music.

Music Wise, the Norfolk Youth Music Action Zone has worked consistently with children and young people on the edge. It has done a great deal of work with those opting out of the main school system or being excluded and more recently has pioneered work with those facing mental health problems in Norfolk. Creative Arts East, one of Music Wise’s two partner organisation also ran a programme of work with Norfolk Youth Service called Hitting the Right Note which offered music making opportunities to those at risk of offending.

In Bedfordshire a singing project called ‘Fusion’ which began with funding from Youth Music aims to provide a bridge between different ethnic communities in Bedford through singing. We know that young people in general fear for their own safety-any project that reduces tension and promotes understanding helps to make young people in every community safer on the streets.

Young people may also be ‘at risk’ of not fulfilling their potential. In the East of England there is a great deal of work going on to raise young people’s aspirations particularly in areas of multiple deprivation. Youth Music works in many of the regions regeneration areas with other services to offer activities that will engage and inspire.

The rapid development of the informal sector in music education has meant that good music leaders who can inspire young people in a group setting are very much in demand. There is also a need for beginners and those coming into music education from all kinds of backgrounds, from DJing to the conservatoire, to access good quality training and CPD as they develop their own professional practice.

Youth Music already operates a website www.musicleader.net designed to help leaders at all levels to develop their careers. Many leaders from the East of England already make use of the site and some travel to London or beyond to find the kind of training they want.

Over the next year Youth Music intends to develop Music Leader East of England-an organisation working in this region to identify training opportunities and to sign post musicians to local sources of training. It will also look at gaps in provision and work locally to provide solutions.

This region is also home to Sound Sense, the organisation dedicated to representing community musicians. Based in Stowmarket, Sound Sense is a national organisation but it holds many excellent training and networking days in this region, check out www.soundsense.org.

All Youth Music funded projects must include a placement for a trainee and CPD for its main music leader.