Footballer donates pianos to Manchester schools

Football player Nathan Aké has joined forces with music charity Restore The Music and instrument manufacturer Casio Music to donate pianos to Manchester schools as part of a new Playing for Change initiative. Aké visited East Manchester Academy last week to launch the new project which will see six schools in the city receive new pianos.

Manchester City Council has the third highest rate of child poverty among local authorities in England. The Playing for Change project will donate 10 digital pianos to schools in the city which lack funding for music education. On his visit to East Manchester Academy Aké delivered two Casio CDP-S110 digital pianos to its music department, did a Q&A, met the students and played a piece for them. Other schools receiving piano donations will be: Marlborough Road Primary Academy, Dukesgate Academy, Abraham Moss Community School, Our Lady RC High School and Salford City Academy.

(Image courtesy of Restore The Music)

Aké said: ‘I am so excited to partner with Casio to create the Playing For Change initiative. Learning to play piano has offered me so many positives – from supporting my mental health, to helping me wind down from football. With the support of Restore The Music, some of Manchester’s most deprived children will have the chance to enjoy the same benefits of music education that they may not have had before. I believe all children deserve these opportunities and I am grateful to Casio for sharing this vision.’

Having learnt piano during the first Covid lockdown, Aké is an enthusiastic advocate for the benefits of learning an instrument, testifying to improvements in his own mental health and wellbeing, physical health and ability to focus. His collaboration with Casio, supported by Restore The Music, aims to provide opportunities for disadvantaged young people to ‘unlock potential that only music can offer’.

Polly Moore, who founded Restore The Music in 2013 and continues to lead the grant-giving charity, said: ‘We were delighted to identify and engage the schools to enable the donation, the impact of which will be enriching to young lives, helping to unlock music potential in Manchester’s most deprived schools. Restore The Music works to get vital grant funding into the hands of the most underserved state schools across the country, enabling children to access the music education and instruments they so deserve. We firmly believe music isn’t a nice to have, it’s a must have.’