Youth Music, The National Gallery, photographer Rankin and the best names in British music have teamed up to support the launch of Youth Music Week 2007. 

On October 24, a day of workshops, masterclasses and showcases in the National Gallery will kick start the largest series of music events ever put on for young people in England and Wales.

This groundbreaking cross arts event has been made possible as a result of the collaboration between Youth Music and the National Gallery.

Young musicians and the public will be able to see, hear, and take part in the best of Youth Music’s work. Workshops in six categories – Jazz, Urban, Early Years, Drumming, Singing and Rock – will take inspiration from the richness and diversity of the National Gallery’s permanent collection and the ‘Scratch the Surface’ exhibition to create unique workshops and performances.

The workshop will take place in rooms throughout the Gallery and will focus on works from 1250–1900. Six spaces in the National Gallery will be transformed into aural environments for the day, each reflecting and interacting with the art around them. The sessions will be led by Youth Music’s experienced music leaders in collaboration with arts professionals from The National Gallery, with contributions from famous artists including All Angels and Lil’ Chris. The workshops will be for 30 children and young people, operating on a first come first served basis. Look out for further announcements regarding masterclass leaders.

Rankin has supported the launch by shooting a series of portraits of the best established and new acts in British music, including Faithless, Goldie, Hailey Westenra, Beverly Knight, Pull Tiger Tail, Lil Chris and Courtney Pine – all wearing the signature Youth Music headphones!

In the week between October 24-31, Youth Music Action Zones, whose work is delivered primarily in areas of social and economic need across England and Wales, will roll out a series of taster sessions and workshops showcasing their work – from beat boxing to playing the oboe, there’s something to try at each and every Action Zone. To find out what's going on visit www.youthmusic.org.uk/ymweek07

YOUTH MUSIC WEEK LAUNCH EVENT - OCT 24, 2007
NATIONAL GALLERY SCHEDULE
A day of free musical workshops, masterclasses and showcases for anyone under 18. Workshops last for one hour and will be run twice. Workshops start at 12.30pm and will be operated on a first come first serve basis – so turn up early to make sure you get a place!

The Origin8 Songwriting Workshop with Lil’Chris
A songwriting masterclass in, exploring themes including mood and character. The workshop will also look at writing techniques, developing titles and telling stories along with comedy, seriouss and abstract elements.

Industrial Angels Singing Workshop with All Angels and the National Youth Choir
Join in with performances by All Angels and the National Youth Choir, then investigate sounds in small groups to produce a unique final performance.

The Sound Connections Urban Music Workshop
An introduction to music technology, composition, arrangement and recording, including rhythm programming and sequencing, and mixing and mastering CDs. You will get to work with industry standard, user friendly equipment including Logic Express.

The Boom Dang! Sideways Drumming Workshop
An introduction to sideways drumming, based on Trinidadian Calypso rhythms. Working in small groups, you will learn basic technique and how to get the best sound, followed by a short final performance.

Improvise That! The Jazz Summer School Workshop

See the full programme on the National Gallery website

_{Editor's Notes:}

<sub>Quotes

National Gallery
‘The National Gallery is delighted to be working in partnership with Youth Music to support the launch of Youth Music Week 2007 because this event builds on and develops our innovative educational programme for families and young people. The event will provide a diverse range of opportunities for families and young people to be hands-on and experience the collection interactively through music. The National Gallery’s collection and exhibitions represent universal themes relevant to all cultures and generations. The workshops and performances relate directly to the collection and have been developed in response to selected paintings in the permanent collection and the Scratch the Surface exhibition.’

Youth Music
‘The aim of Youth Music week is to attract and inspire young people to take advantage of our resources nationally. As the UK’s leading supporter of extra curricular music making, we’re delighted to be working with one of the UK’s most prestigious venues to showcase our work and develop it’s relationship with the wider arts community.’

About Youth Music
Youth Music is one of the National Lottery’s great success stories. Set up in 1999, with a remit to support music-making activities for some of the UK’s most disadvantaged young people, Youth Music has gone on to reach over 1.75 million children and young people, encouraging their talents, building their confidence and transforming the landscape of musical opportunity throughout the UK. The music-making supported is of the widest variety, from hip-hop and dj-ing to classical and jazz. Youth Music occupies a unique position – distributing £10m per year of Lottery funding on behalf of Arts Council England. Despite its success, Youth Music aspires to reach out to ever increasing numbers of young people across the country. The vision is to create a sustainable environment to channel young peoples’ creativity, enabling them to express themselves and develop their skills through music. The aim is to reach 3 million young people by 2010.</sub>

_{About the National Gallery
The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square was founded in 1824 and houses a collection of over 2,300 Western European paintings from 1250 to 1900. Open 7 days a week, the collection belongs to the British public and entry to the permanent collection is free. More information at www.nationalgallery.org.uk}  

_{For more information contact Dvora Lewis Public Relations
T. 0207 435 9257
E: dlpr@dvoralewis.com}

_or

_{For more information contact Liam Fay-Fright
T. 0207 902 1086
E: Liam.fay-fright@youthmusic.org.uk
www.youthmusic.org.uk}