Arts Council grants funding to Awards for Young Musicians

Arts Council England has awarded funding to UK charity Awards for Young Musicians (AYM) to expand the reach of its Identifying Musical Talent and Potential programme which trains teachers to spot students’ musical talent.

As part of AYM’s expanded Identifying Musical Talent and Potential programme, over 1000 teachers across the UK will receive training and online resources to help them use creative activities to spot musical potential at an early age. The funding will also facilitate the recruitment of 10 Associate Facilitators to help with the programme’s expansion.

AYM also provides help and funding for young musicians from low income backgrounds. AYM chief executive Hester Cockcroft said: ‘Musical talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Young people shouldn’t be denied the chance to explore their musical potential because they’ve never had the chance to play an instrument, or because their class teacher isn’t musically trained.’

Arts Council England invest funds provided by the UK Government and The National Lottery into cultural institutions and programmes across the country.

Hannah Fouracre, Arts Council England’s director of Music Education, commented: ‘Progression, excellence and fairness are central to achieving our shared vision for music as set out in the National Plan for Music Education. Identifying Musical Talent and Potential will have a significant impact on helping teachers give talented young people the guidance and support they need.’

You can find out more about AYM here.

You can find out more about Arts Council England here.