Music project secures fourth successive year of funding
A PARENT-LED music project on Mull has just been awarded funding for a fourth year running.
The Mull Music Makers project was set up in 2013 to increase musical opportunities for the island’s youngsters as music provision is limited and finding teachers can be difficult.
The project brings specialist music educators to the island one weekend a month to teach children core musicianship skills through group singing games, rhythm skills, music theory and violin tuition.
The workshops have been hugely popular across the island since the project began and every workshop has been fully booked with waiting lists.
The project has really boosted the number of children playing music – now there are more than 40 children coming each month to learn the violin.
Laura Mandleberg, who leads the initiative, said: ‘The project has evolved from an annual strings summer school which has taken place for more than 20 years as part of the Mendelssohn on Mull festival.
‘The problem was that the number of children attending the summer school was rising each year but the number able to play instruments was falling. The demand was there but the resources weren’t.
‘Running the project is very rewarding as it brings children together from across the island and supports children who want to learn music but can’t access a music teacher. Some children living in more remote parts of the island travel over 100 miles round trip to attend each workshop.’
The project’s main funding comes from Creative Scotland’s Youth Music Initiative, which aims to create access to music-making opportunities for young people across the country.
The project would also like to acknowledge Argyll and Bute’s third sector grant for its support for the past two years and also the Robertson Trust.