We have some excellent examples of good practise in the Yorkshire. Organisations such as Music Leader, NOEL, Cape UK, Opera North’s and West Yorkshire Playhouses’ Educational and Outreach programmes, Leeds College of Music, Huddersfield Contemporary Festival, Bradford Youth Players, amongst others.  The National Centre for Early Music in York, for example,  delivers music-making activity of the highest quality, with many visiting artists, musicians and ensembles visiting the region through Humber YMAZ coordinated by Delma Tomlin and co-funded by Youth Music.

The National Centre, situated in St Margaret’s Church York, is the home of the internationally renowned York Early Music Festival and the Beverley and East Riding Early Music Festival. The Centre also attracts some of the world’s finest artists in the fields of jazz, folk and world music. The Centre for is celebrating its fifth anniversary and to mark the occasion has produced a colourful report entitled Celebrating Success. This is available to download here as an Adobe Acrobat file [1.2MB]. The NCEM also commissioned a jazz composition by Jamil Sheriff entitled Maggie's Tune.

Additionally, and delivered by the North Yorkshire YMAZ, Musical Mums & Baby Beats brings teenage mums and their babies together in fun, relaxed music sessions, using song, puppets, actions and pictures. Sessions are completely free and open to babies up to 5 years old. This project is currently being delivered in Harrogate.  Their early years programmes provide parents and children with playful, music experiences – be it listening, singing, dancing or playing instruments.

For parents, seeing your children enjoying play, knowing that they are actually learning and developing at the same time, is a very rewarding experience – not to mention it being your chance to let go, meet other parents and relieve your stress by making a lot of noise!

Early Years news
Early Years case studies

Bongo Club
Bongo Club is the new online resource for early years music making. Hosted by Youth Music, Bongo Club is full of ideas and inspiration for both parents and early years practitioners.
For more information visit www.bongoclub.org.uk

In addition to our YMAZ Early Years programmes, we have invested £142,432 in 11 projects specifically for children 0-5.  The figures for Early Years investment are relatively low and as a result I have been meeting with a variety of Sure Start organisations and early years centres to forge links to encourage music-making for children under the Early Years YM priority. There is also a consultation process, funded by Arts Council England, Yorkshire, to investigate orchestras within the region, with a view to making direct links with Sure Start & Early Years Centres.  (link to EY research).

Early Years research

Keep an eye out for news on Super Singing Communities in Yorkshire, a follow-up to the highly successful Singing Communities programme that we ran from 2003-2005. 

Singing news
Singing case studies

Youth Music is targeting the transition period between primary and secondary school as this is the key time when young people give up on their music-making. Youth Music has observed that many children give up because the practices, infrastructures and strategy needed to support music-making at this crucial stage is not always in place.  Music can also be used as a tool to ease the transfer from primary to much larger secondary schools.

Transition news
Transition case studies
Transition policy and priorities page

As in other regions, in Yorkshire, young people can be deemed at risk for a variety of geographical and social reasons, from issues of rural living to inner city deprivation. Youth Music is currently funding Make it Sound programmes working to the ‘At Risk’ agenda in Yorkshire. Additionally, and as part of the Government’s RESPECT agenda, three of the areas within the region have been highlighted as key areas, these are Leeds, Bradford & Hull. The RESPECT agenda, as regards Youth Music, means that the DCMS (Department of Culture, Media & Sport) has allocated 14 areas in which YM will work linking mentoring with music-making activities for young people at risk. Whilst Humber YMAZ will manage the programme for Hull, there doesn’t exist a West Yorkshire YMAZ and therefore organisations established in working with mentoring and young people at risk will be identified to deliver.  Each organisation is hoped to reach different client groups and uses music to re-engage young people.

Artworks Bradford has been commissioned by Youth Music, following in-depth research, to deliver on the RESPECT agenda throughout the Bradford district. Artworks deliver art-based projects for everyone across the Bradford District. They have involved more than 4000 Bradford people during the last two years and have  plans to increase this figure in the coming years, alongside their delivery of RESPECT. Our community projects include commissioned projects, large scale celebratory events and training programmes such as:
• Lord Mayors Parade
• Bradford Mela
• Rise
• Ignite
• Recognise
• Individual Commissions
• See www.artworksbradford.co.uk for further details of Artworks Bradford’s activities within the region.

At Risk news items
At Risk case studies
More information about the Respect agenda

Any Youth Music funded programme has to employ a paid trainee and offer professional development opportunities to strengthen and develop the workforce. There are examples in our region where a trainee on a previous project is now leading workshops as musicleaders.

Through Youth Music’s Musicleader.net initiative, all music leaders across the UK have access to online information, advice and guidance. In addition to the online resource, the Yorkshire Music Leader hosts a regional musicleader project manager’s forum, which allows for communication, best practice and networking amongst representatives from many regional organisations.

Workforce development news
Workforce development case studies