A NEW report published reveals the positive and wide reaching impact on young people on the Isle of Mull, of the Youth Music Initiative (YMI).
Funded by the Scottish Government and administered by Creative Scotland, the YMI was established in 2003 in response to the What’s Going On? report – a national audit of youth music in Scotland – to ‘put music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning’.
The Mull Music Makers programme is open to all young people of school age living in Mull, where young people can learn musicianship skills, play the violin, take part in group music making and perform for an audience.
Mull Music Makers is helping young people develop important core musicianship skills which can be used with any type of music making. The children are showing real progression and, having listened to their tutors and peers play their instrument too, they’re now able to perform confidently on their own.
Marilyn Jeffcoat, CEO, Sound Waves SCIO who deliver the Mull Music Makers programme, said: “For 26 years, we have been running a summer school, Mull Music Makers, giving violin tuition to the children of Mull during the annual Mendelssohn on Mull festival, but five years ago the number of children playing the instrument was down to single figures. This decline was dramatically reversed as a result of funding received from YMI.
“Since 2014, we have been able to offer monthly workshops to 60 children aged from five to 15, and in the 2015 concert, 35 of them performed on the instrument to a capacity audience in the Aros Hall. Some are now at the stage of needing individual tuition in order to take grade exams, but the main achievement has been to introduce a new generation to the joys of making music together.
“Parents, local organisations, and individual donors have contributed over £10,000 and have given us a total of 20 child-size violins, but none of this would have been possible without the encouragement and financial support provided by Creative Scotland and the Youth Music Initiative programme.”
A parent of the one of the young participants commented: “My daughter was quite self-conscious and shy. She didn’t like doing things in front of people but this has given her a lot of confidence.”
The Report, A Retrospective and 2014/15 Evaluation of the Youth Music Initiative, commissioned by Creative Scotland to explore the impact of the nationwide YMI programme to date, was undertaken by ODS Consulting.
The evaluation explored outcomes of the YMI through 12 project case studies across Scotland including Mull Music Makers, and discussions with young people and practitioners; survey responses from over 700 teachers and over 200 funded organisations; in-depth interviews with over 30 funded organisations, and a review of reported outcomes through end of project forms submitted by funded projects.
Key findings from the evaluation show that since then, the programme has:
- enabled young people across every local authority to take part in 300 projects each year covering all musical genres and teaching methods
- engaged an estimated 150,000 young people in school based music making, and 76,000 in activity out of school (2014/15)
- created over 1,000 jobs and more than 1,000 trainee opportunities (2014/15)
- supported 2,200 people through training or career long personal development (2014/15)
Leonie Bell, director, Arts and Engagement at Creative Scotland, said: “Creative Scotland is committed to creative learning and ensuring everyone can access and enjoy artistic creative experiences. This evaluation provides positive confirmation of the special contribution the YMI programme is making by putting music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning.
“YMI provides valuable opportunities for Scotland’s young people to express themselves and achieve their potential in or through music making. Particular thanks and credit should be given to the committed, expert and passionate teachers and practitioners who skillfully and energetically support young people in their music making every day across the country.
“Our continuing strong partnership with all thirty two of Scotland’s local authorities enables the YMI to have a truly national reach. We look forward to working with YMIs many partners to share learning from this evaluation, build upon the success and to continually improve the programme for the benefit of Scotland’s young people.”
With an annual budget of £10 million, by the end of 2015/16, Scottish Government funding support for the programme will be £117.5 million.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “The Scottish Government is committed to widening access and participation in the arts to everyone in Scotland. This evaluation shows that YMI is doing that, bringing music to a wider audience and helping to create a Fairer Scotland.
“This evaluation shows that YMI has an incredible reach, engaging with over 225,000 young people in and out of school over the last year, and engaging with groups which might otherwise only have limited opportunities to get involved in music making.
“It’s already supported a number of work opportunities and potential career pathways, with over 1,000 jobs and 1,000 trainee and volunteering opportunities supported over the last year, and over 2,200 people benefiting from training or career development.”
The full evaluation can be viewed here: http://www.creativescotland.com/funding/funding-programmes/targeted-funding/youth-music-initiative
ENDS
For media enquiries please contact:
Helen Sim
Media Relations & PR Assistant
Creative Scotland
E: helen.sim@creativescotland.com
T: 0131 523 0019
M: 07801 226605
Notes to editors:
- Youth Music Initiative YMI was established in 2003 to put music at the heart of young people’s lives and learning, in response to the ‘What’s Going On?’ evaluation, a national audit of youth music in Scotland. Creative Scotland administers the Scottish Government’s Youth Music Initiative (YMI) programme which works to: Create access to high quality music making opportunities for young people aged 0 – 25, particularly for those that would not normally have the chance to participate; enable young people to achieve their potential in or through music making; support the development of the youth music sector for the benefit of young people. http://www.creativescotland.com/funding/funding-programmes/targeted-funding/youth-music-initiative
- Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here. We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life. We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery. For further information about Creative Scotland please visit www.creativescotland.com. Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
- ODS Consulting ODS provides consultancy and support to improve policy and strengthen communities. To find out more contact Katy MacMillan on 0141 424 3765/katy.macmillan@odsconsulting.co.uk. W: http://www.odsconsulting.co.uk/
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