World Heart Beat to present Wigmore Hall gala

Music education charity World Heart Beat will next month present a fundraising gala at London’s Wigmore Hall. The event, set to take place on 6 July, will feature performances from classical and jazz musicians alongside students of the World Heart Beat Music Academy.

The Academy provides extracurricular music tuition and performance opportunities for 380 students each year with a mission is to provide opportunities for every child with an interest in learning music. The charity provides free instruments and bursaries to more than half of the students and all proceeds from next month’s concert will be used to fund vital financial support for disadvantaged children and young people to learn music at World Heart Beat.

World Heart Beat founder and artistic director Sahana Gero MBE said: ‘One of the big realities of today is the need for consistent financial support as the last thing we want is for money to be a barrier and prevent access to learning, so our fundraiser is fundamental to the programmes we offer at World Heart Beat. Learning a musical instrument is a skill and relationship that impacts children positively to their very core which nobody can take away and a gift that they will be enjoying for the rest of their lives.’

The concert will feature performances from violinist Viktoria Mullova, flamenco guitarist Paco Peña, folk duo Çiğdem Aslan and Zivorad Nikolic, plus jazz musician Julian Joseph. They will be joined by World Heart Beat piano department student Josiah Wade; French horn player Luca Wills, a member of the charity’s 51st State Band, and student jazz vocalists Isola MacPherson, Ava Joseph, Sian Kelly and Anjelo Disons.

Launched in Wandsworth in 2009, World Heart Beat launched its second site – a digital music education and concert venue – in Nine Elms last year.