Music tuition for 70 disadvantaged London children

GlobalGiving - January 2020 

Happy New Year from us all at World Heart Beat Music Academy and welcome to the roaring '20s' - another exceptional golden age for music! We have already started off the year so positively. 

We have started off the year so positively following a successful Open Day at the end of 2019. We are delighted to report that we have more students than ever coming through the door enquiring about music lessons. Just over half of our students are on bursary assisted places, supporting our aim to realise every young person’s potential and giving them the opportunity to learn an instrument.              

The year sees a whole host of exciting concerts and events lined up for World Heart Beat. We have already had our first concert of the year entitled ‘Songs on the Spectrum’ by piano composer Michael Csanyi-Wills and Professional Opera Singer James Robinson May. It was a truly moving performance for our students and audience to experience, reflecting on James’ recent adult diagnosis of autism and the trials and tribulations it brings. For our next event, we have a jazz concert which we would like to invite you, showcasing our jazz students on Monday 30th March at 7.30pm. For further details, please visit:  www.ticketsource.co.uk/whb 

We are excited to be part of the nationwide Learn to Play Day, an opportunity to encourage all children into the joys of learning music. Young students can visit the academy on Saturday 28th March and trial any instrument of their choice with advice given by our talented students at the academy. Alongside this opportunity for young students, we are also about to launch our Widening Horizons Programme, supported by the Jack Petchey Foundation for young volunteers (aged 15 - 25 years). This provides opportunities to work within our community through active citizenship and will include training in music related events organisation, marketing, design and digital media, video, radio and TV production, sound engineering and front of house roles. Please visit the linkhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yc2QcuswGk  

We wanted to let you know about World Heart Beat’s and supporter Nick Thomlinson’s national win of the 2019 Achates Individual Philanthropy Award, the only annual prize that celebrates first-time supporters of the arts in the UK. Nick was presented with a sculpture by the renowned British artist, Peter Brooke-Ball MRBS and World Heart Beat Music Academy received a £5,000 donation from the Achates Philanthropy Foundation which will be spent on much-needed instruments – including alto and tenor saxophones, trumpets, trombones, drum kits, cymbals, pianos and a double bass – for young people in Wandsworth.  

At the end of last year, World Heart Beat’s 51st State Band put on a fabulous concert with two  performances at the Putney Arts Theatre. We had a full house on both occasions and it provided an evening of exceptional musical talent from our students. A selection of jazz and film scores to the greats of Aretha Franklin and Freddie Mercury were performed by seventy plus young musicians who created an upbeat and inspirational musical extravaganza for all. Please visit the link here: https://youtu.be/XSQPRf_QmrA 

And finally, building developments and investment are coming along nicely for our new music education centre and venue at Embassy Gardens in London’s Nine Elms, a major area of regeneration on London’s southbank. If you would like to contribute to our fundraising target please visit here: https://www.worldheartbeat.org/embassygardens/ 

A huge thank you for all that you do to make World Heart Beat what it is and for adding so much to the happiness and future of our children through music. We look forward to updating you with further exciting news as the year develops!