Bath Festivals, the charitable organisation responsible for the Bath International Music Festival, has been awarded a grant of £29,800 to run a local music project for vulnerable young people.
The grant has been provided by The National Foundation for Youth Music.
Many of the young people supported by the national charity Youth Music face significant challenges in their lives.
These may arise from economic issues, from disability or lifelong health conditions, mental health or behavioural issues and from other life circumstances such as being a young carer or refugee.
‘Building Bridges’ is a music project run by Bath Festivals working with vulnerable young people through workshops, one to one sessions and performance to develop confidence and self-esteem as well as vital speaking and listening skills.
The grant will enable a Music Leader, based at Southside and Peasedown St John Youth Hubs in Bath and North East Somerset, to build long-term meaningful relationships with the young participants and work with local youth workers.
Matt Griffiths, Chief Executive Officer, Youth Music said: “We’re really delighted to be working with Bath Festivals to deliver this valuable programme of music-making opportunities for these young participants.
“This grant will bring our total investment in the region up to £671,000 in this funding round, which we hope will really help to develop and sustain music-making locally.”
Hazel Plowman, Learning & Participation Coordinator at Bath Festivals said: “We are delighted that the Building Bridges project has been funded by Youth Music.
“The fund will give us the opportunity to sustain music-making provision in our local communities, give vulnerable young people access to the cultural life of their city and enable them to develop their own creative voices.
“We have already seen the benefit of this work with our pilot project and the chance to extend and deepen the impact of music-making opportunities will be incredibly positive for the young people and the community as a whole.”
Youth Music is supported by Arts Council England, People’s Postcode Lottery and by charitable donations, including money raised through its Give a Gig fundraising initiative.