Welcome to Youth Music’s West Midlands regional homepage.  This is a new site section dedicated to information specific to regions.

I am Christina Timms, the Youth Music Regional Executive Officer for the West Midlands. I have worked for Youth Music since May 2005, and previously worked in arts marketing, management and research, specialising in youth music training and project management for the last 4 years. I managed education projects for Early Music West Midlands, and ran the two year Generation training programme for musicians working with young people, based at Sound It Out Community Music in Birmingham.  I was involved in the research and development phase of MusicLeader West Midlands. I enjoy listening to all kinds of music, as well as singing, playing the piano and seeing the fun that children get from music.

The West Midlands includes the large conurbation of Birmingham, the Black Country (Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton), Solihull and Coventry, still technically making up the ‘West Midlands’ metropolitan county, very confusing! Around this are the rural counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire. These have thriving market towns and cathedral cities, and there are other large urban areas such as Stoke on Trent and Telford.

Birmingham is a very young city with 26% of the population under 18 at the 2001 Census. Around 34% of the city’s population are from BME groups, including Pakistani, Indian and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds, and about 14% are Muslim. Other towns and cities in the region such as Wolverhampton, Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent also have diverse populations.

The West Midlands has a thriving musical life, with many well known bands and musicians of different genres living, working and learning here. We have the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Nizlopi, the Editors, lots more classical,  rock, pop, urban, banghra, reggae, garage, grime and hip hop.  There’s also Birmingham Conservatoire with courses in classical and jazz performance, composition, and universities with lots of musical specialisms.

Young people in the West Midlands have many musical opportunities via schools, music services, youth services, community music agencies, and three Youth Music Action Zones. However there are still many missing out.
As Regional Co-ordinator, I work to support organisations which offer music making for young people, making links to funding and training, and encouraging them to work with those who have least opportunity to make music via school and home. I represent Youth Music’s priorities and funding programmes to the West Midlands, and the region to Youth Music nationally.

Youth Music’s policy from 2005-10 focuses upon 5 priorities: early years; singing; transition between primary and secondary school; young people at risk; workforce development.

Visit the Regional Policy page for the West Midlands