On 27th September Mitch and Jane Winehouse were delighted to attend the the Mayor of London’s Fund for Young Musicians Scholarships and Awards Celebration and meet the 8 young people that AWF have sponsored. Each of these young people has demonstrated significant musical ability and a commitment to learning an instrument and has been awarded a 4 year scholarship to further their musical education.
This programme provides children from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds with the infrastructure to maximise their musical potential through weekly tuition, regular performance opportunities and mentoring.
Parents and educators have long recognised the significant difference that music can make to the lives of children. They know that music-making develops the mind and the personality in an extraordinary range of ways. For example it improves:
- confidence and sense of achievement
- powers of memory, concentration & self discipline
- intellectual development and attainment across the curriculum, particularly in literacy and numeracy
- motor skills including hand/eye coordination
- listening and sense of pitch and rhythm which underpin our perception and language skills
- creativity, artistic performance and appreciation
- sense of well-being and ability to deal with stress
- additionally group music-making has a capacity to encourage teamwork, striving for excellence in a non-competitive environment and being part of a community in which you play a valued role[list of benefits adapted from Music Education in the 21st Century in the UK by Susan Hallam & Andrea Creech. Published in 2010 by the Institute of Education www.ioe.johnsmith.co.uk]
The scholars we are sponsoring are currently aged between 8 and 10 years old and are learning a diverse range of instruments including violin, flute, drums, guitar, clarinet and cello. We very much look forward to seeing how the children progress over the coming years.
