A new weekend ‘Academi for Young Musicians’ has been launched by the music service for Cardiff & Vale, CF Music Education.
Developed by, and run in partnership with, tutors with experience of delivering youth music activities at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, the new weekly sessions form part of Cardiff Council’s Music Strategy, which aims to put music at the heart of the city’s development and provide a pipeline of new talent for the sector.
Council Leader, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: “Access to high quality music education from an early age can provide so many opportunities for Cardiff’s young people, fostering a lifelong love of music and helping them grow and develop. Beyond that, it’s also vital if we are to continue producing the talented musicians that underpin Cardiff’s dynamic music economy, which is worth around £100 million annually to the city.”
The Music Service, which will celebrate its 50th year next year, already engages with approximately 12,000 local children annually, and is the lead organisation in the region for the delivery of the National Plan for Music Education. It runs 20 high quality ensembles – all offered free of charge to children from low-income families – including bands, orchestras, choirs, percussion and guitar groups made up of 600 pupils aged between 4 and 22 years old, and offers tuition in schools, as well as large scale music experiences and workshops.
The new ‘academi’ sessions, added to this programme will run on Saturdays, at Stanwell School in Penarth and Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, but with scope to expand to other venues across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
The sessions include:
- Mini Music – for those aged 4 years up;
- Musicianship / workshop sessions (theory, aural, composition and songwriting);
- Tuition Extra, a programme of extra individual music lessons;
- Chamber music coaching; and an
- Improvisation/jazz development programme.
Cllr Thomas continued: “Across the UK, the music sector continues to face challenges, but it is clear that here in Cardiff, our Music Strategy is making a positive difference. In the last few months alone, it has seen young musicians given the opportunity to perform at Clwb Ifor Bach through our Little Gigs programme with the support of the National Music Service, a string of exciting pioneering and emerging new artists announced to play the new Cardiff Music City Festival in just a few weeks time, and now the introduction of these additional new weekend ‘academi’ sessions, which will play an important role in helping produce the city’s next generation of musicians.”
Alongside the new sessions, musicianship and aural skills classes catering for those working between Grades 1 – 8 will ensure a rounded musical development. Students will also be able to explore an exciting and varied repertoire as part of the ensembles offered through CF Music Education. A vocal programme, which will include vocal coaching, language coaching, and performance classes will run alongside the orchestral offer.
The activities can all be enhanced by signing up for tuition, delivered alongside the morning’s activities by an experienced team and catering for all levels.
Other new initiatives for 2024-25 will include the establishment of ‘satellite’ music centres in Pentwyn Leisure Centre and the Memo Arts Centre in Barry. These centres will be offering taster lessons, free of charge to children from low-income families. Adding to this wide range of accessible music experiences, will be a new series of Indian music well-being sessions at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff.
