Money to inspire music makers
An East Kilbride organisation will be hitting the high notes after receiving funding for a creative community project.
Mobilize Music project are among the 52 beneficiaries sharing £1.5 million from the Scottish Government’s youth music initiative (YMI).
The grants are from the programme’s “access to music making”strand and will be used to provide out-of-school musical activities and opportunities for young people over the next 12 months.
East Kilbride-based Mobilize will receive a grant of nearly £24,000 to support its work with young musicians aged 12 to 25.
The group, located at Universal Connections, runs guitar, drum and vocal lessons, performance ensembles, gigs and even album launches featuring its members’performances.
Culture Minister Christina McKelvie – the MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse – welcomed the funding and said:“We’re pleased to see investment in the YMI continuing to make a positive difference to young people’s lives across Scotland.
“Every year it provides hundreds of thousands of young people with musicmaking opportunities, and I’ve seen first-hand how impactful the projects are.”
Awards also went to organisations running nationwide music projects, including the Scottish Book Trust, National Youth Orchestra and Glasgow’s Scottish Music and National Piping centres.
Creative Scotland YMI manager Morag Macdonald said:“The impact the YMI has on children and young people’s lives cannot be understated.
“Not only is it providing high-quality music opportunities focused on those who wouldn’t normally have the chance to participate, but the community spaces created develop social connection, technical skills, confidence and the ability to express themselves in new ways.”