We were very excited to be approached by a representative of an anonymous donor, asking us for a ‘wish list’ to the value of £5,000 which was well-received and the donation was made. So we’re spending it on the following:

· An Ableton Push 3 controller which will be use firstly on our Dewsbury Moor project and in Wetherby YOI

· A Microkorg synthesiser for Safe Space Studio

· An Alesis SamplePad pro, also for Safe Space Studio

· 4 visits to Mother and Baby Units at HMP Askham Grange and New Hall

· Extra days in Secure Children’s Homes for Festival or Band Battle celebrations

· With some funds left over to provide free Safe Space Studio time to vulnerable young people

Our funders Youth Music have been working on a few research projects recently:

Their SONG report (Sound of the Next Generation) is a survey of 2,100 young people about their interests in listening to and making music. In essence, they want more of it. The full report is here: The Sound of the Next Generation | Youth Music

Their Industry Connect: Pathways for Young Creatives report – about the ways in which young people can be helped to find their way into a music career – will be published in the next couple of weeks. We had a sneak preview and can report that it will be worth a read when it is published.

Photo by Katt Yukawa - https://unsplash.com/@kattyukawa