Harrogate Brigantes Rotary is pleased to announce that Youth Music, the national charity, funded from the National Lottery via Arts Council England, that supports music making by young people, has awarded a grant of almost £6000 to the next Kids Aloud project. Local primary school children will be helped to write the words and music to songs telling a newly-written story, The Last Dragon. These will be performed in a series of concerts in Harrogate just before Easter 2023. The grant will cover all the direct musical costs and ensures that this much-needed project will go ahead.
This is a feather in Brigantes’ cap and is a clear public endorsement by a national body of the importance of their Kids Aloud initiative and gives national recognition to Kids Aloud and the opportunity it affords local children to create and perform music.
Project Director and author of The Last Dragon Guy Wilson comments: “News of the grant award is a great fillip. It helps secure the project in these difficult times, ensures that many children in the Harrogate district will have the opportunity to create and perform music as part of Kids Aloud 2023, and gives us a firm base from which to launch a sponsorship campaign. We hope this will provide the remaining funding that we require to deliver top quality support that will enhance the children’s experience. Roland and I are now preparing to go into the schools next year and are both looking forward to working with the children and their teachers. We already have a good number of schools signed up but it’s not too late for others to join in – just contact us via our website” Harrogate Brigantes Rotary - welcome. (rotary-ribi.org)
Carmel Wake, the project’s musical lead and schools’ coordinator warmly welcomed the news: “The last months have been tough for all of us in schools. As teachers we know how much the children have missed because of the lockdowns and other restrictions. Kids Aloud 2023 has been a bright beacon of hope in a sometimes bleak landscape. The news that Youth Music will be supporting us and helping us give many local children a wonderful experience of creation and performance is the best possible tonic for us all. We intend to make The Last Dragon our best show to date and can’t wait to get started.”