Music tuition for 70 disadvantaged London children

The energy and joy at World Heart Beat Music Academy continues to grow as it becomes an environment that attracts young people who would never have had the opportunity to learn music. The support of all of you involved is invaluable, from buying a treat for the children, to donating an instrument and your wonderful donations through GlobalGiving.

Our show on Wandsworth Radio, World Heart Beat Music Hour, is going well with lots of World Heart Beat students taking part as guests, co-presenters and even live performers! Julia started doing work experience with us in the Summer, and we are now supporting her towards producing her own radio shows, enabling her to gain studio and technical experience. Recently, we were featured as the second most listened to show of the month. Our students were also able to have a Masterclass with producer of BBC 3’s Jazz Line-up, Sushil Dade. Your funding is helping us to run this radio show and continue providing support and opportunities for young people who are interested in careers in the creative industries.

Next month the 51st State Band will perform at Putney Arts Theatre where we will be featuring the exclusive premier of ‘Spirit of Brazil,’ an original commission written especially for the 51st State Band by virtuoso pianist and composer, Julian Joseph. Many of these young musicians are fully supported by your donations, and without the band, they would not have been able to play an instrument. We have seen how giving these children an instrument changes their whole outlook on life - and how quickly they learn is incredible. We do hope you might be able to come along to this event and see in action the immense difference your donations are making to the lives of these young musicians.

We are hugely grateful for all your support, and we would like to thank you all for being a part of making this work possible. We have recently cut a new video for you to enjoy (link below), which shows how learning music has transformed the lives of our young musicians.

Links:

• World Heart Beat Music Academy Video

We have been enjoying the Brazilian vibe here at World Heart Beat Music Academy as we were delighted to welcome back Almir Pessoa and Pepe Barcellos, two of the Brazilian musicians we formed a strong bond with through the Brazilian Music and Culture programme we were involved in last year. This project has forged a cultural link between London and Rio, and we are delighted to announce that since his return last week, Almir has been invited to perform at the Olympic games.

In the last few weeks, the music of Brazil has been captivating our students and the wider community with its infectious rhythm and beautiful melodies bathed in harmonic warmth. As well as teaching our talented young musicians, Pepe and Almir performed alongside them at 606 Club and Chelsea Theatre and took Brazilian music into seven local schools for a Young Children’s Music Festival.

“We really do look forward to working alongside professional musicians, especially the Brazilian Team, they have so much energy to give and the children respond attentively and musically. Some of the children had arrived to school confused and upset following the Brexit news, and to have an assembly where we could all share, the good feeling music brings, was perfect.” – Sarah Lufflum, Swaffield Primary School

The Brazilian musicians were also able to share their music as part of our Music Bambinos project where we are working with children aged 0-4, using a framework developed by Roehampton University to teach music from other cultures to disadvantaged children in Patmore Estate and Eastwood Children’s Centre. We are now coming to the end of the research part of this project, and it is wonderful to see how far these children have come in such a short time, both in terms of musical and social confidence.

The 4 and 5 year old class involved in this project have been learning how to play the Celtic Fiddle and were recently able to play in their first concert alongside special guest Irish musicians Ben Gunnery, Willie Barr and Colman Connolly. The concert had a lively, cheerful atmosphere and the 23 young musician’s confidence and involvement in the music was evident in their playing. We look forward to seeing how they continue to develop thanks to your support and inspiration. We send our heartfelt thanks to you all for enabling us to purchase a range of instruments to support this project.

We have also recently cut a new video about World Heart Beat Music Academy for you to enjoy. If you are in a position to be able to support us further, with either mentoring, sponsoring one of our projects or providing a bursary for one of our talented young musicians, we would be very grateful.

Links:

• World Heart Beat Music Academy Video