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Youth Music Week 2007
Find free music activities during half-term October 24-31
"Music is central to young people’s lives. They define and express themselves through music, and of course, it’s fun."
Pete Tong, Radio 1 and club DJ
Priority Areas
Early Years
Ensuring that every child under 5 has access to music-making opportunities.
Singing
Working with partners to ensure that children and young people in the UK have access to high quality singing opportunities.
Transition from primary to secondary school
Improving opportunities for children to continue with their music making after they move to secondary school.
Children and young people at risk
Establishing music making as a medium for benefiting children and young people deemed to be at risk*
Workforce development
Improving the quality and quantity of music leadership in order to deliver better music-making opportunities for children
and young people.
Song for Peace is an historic project that aims to unite the nation’s children in song on September 21 – Peace Day annually. Get involved in the annual celebration of Peace Day on September 21, 2007.
Singbook is a new singing resource from Youth Music to aid teachers and youth leaders in providing better singing experiences for children and young people. It features a collection of 12 newly commissioned songs by a number of renowned songwriters and lyricists, including Howard Goodall, Eugene Skeef, Steve Martland, Nirmala Shah and the writing team Don Black and Debbie Wiseman.
MusicLeader
MusicLeader is a Youth Music initiative providing access to professional development for music leaders at every stage of
their career. Launched in May 2005, MusicLeader operates through regional networks supported by an online resource: www.musicleader.net
SoundStation
SoundStation is a fun, interactive site created for young people to help them learn more about music, share musical experiences,
get career advice and hear the latest about Youth Music initiatives in their area. It is made up of three sections to appeal
to different age groups.
The Big Gig
Youth Music celebrated five years of achievement with a unique performance at Birmingham Symphony Hall on June 15, 2004.
The showcase event brought together young music makers from across the UK to display their diverse skills.
Endangered Species
In 2004, Youth Music launched a £1m initiative to put specific musical instruments into the hands of over 5,000 children.
The 'Endangered & Protected Species' programme tackled the problem of falling numbers of young people taking up, and continuing
to play, six instruments - namely, the Bassoon, Double Bass, French Horn, Oboe, Trombone and Tuba/Euphonium.
DONATE-A-DATE
DONATE-A-DATE is an opportunity for artists to support the work of Youth Music with the percentage of proceeds from a concert.
The funds will directly benefit young people participating in Youth Music projects. V, Estelle, Placebo, Sum 41, Kelly Rowland
(Destiny's Child), Spooks and Arrested Development are among the artists that have supported the campaign to date.
Cre8
Young people from Youth Music Action Zones across England were brought together to produce Cre8, a CD of highly original
music written and recorded with the support of some of the biggest names in contemporary British music. Cre8 celebrates the
launch of the 20th Youth Music Action Zone in England.
Song for Youth
In March 2002, Youth Music launched the Song for Youth initiative to get more children and young people singing. Composer
Tolga Kashif was commissioned to write the song - 'Drop in the Ocean' - with additional words by lyricist Richard Stilgoe.
Over 10,000 schools and youth groups have received the Song for Youth education pack.
THIS RESOURCE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE
Instrument Amnesty
The Instrument Amnesty programme was devised by Youth Music and presented as a part of BBC Music Live. The scheme appealed
to people to donate working instruments, which were no longer being played – from cellos to recorders and guitars to DJ turntables.
6000 instruments valuing over £1 million in total were donated by celebrities including David Bowie and Robbie Williams as
well as the general public.
Instrument Swap Scheme & Instrument Purchase Programme
Youth Music launched a £2 million funding programme with two innovative schemes. The Instrument Swap Scheme provided grants
to repair broken instruments and the Instrument Purchase Programme subsidised the purchase of new or second-hand instruments
to help more young people gain access to musical instruments.