#HereForCulture supporting Musica Kirklees

Musica Kirklees to receive grant funding from the second round of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund.

 

• Musica Kirklees is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund 

 

• This generous award will enable Musica Kirklees to create and promote activities that will bring a sense of musical purpose to young people who have been denied so much over the last 12 months. It will support us to actively recruit, encourage and inspire new students to engage with music and will allow us to function safely in a COVID-19 world.

 

The Government's £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund is designed to help organisations to recover and re-open. 

 

More than £300 million has been awarded to thousands of cultural organisations across the country, including Musica Kirklees in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced on Friday 1^st April.

 

Musica Kirklees, the lead organisation for Kirklees Music Education Hub, has developed an excellent reputation for achieving outstanding results for thousands of young people and, indeed, learners of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Our workforce of 70 members of staff offers a range of activities from providing regular, whole-class musical opportunities for thousands of pupils in Kirklees, to teaching individual students who wish to make a career as a performing musician.

 

Involvement with music, whether it be through lessons, singing in choirs or playing in bands, ensembles and orchestras brings a wealth of social, emotional, and educational benefits to people of all ages.  Musica Kirklees provides instrumental and vocal lessons to learners of all ages and abilities, both in and out of school.  We offer over 70 exciting groups at our centres and central ensembles, and we also support music-making in schools across Kirklees.

 

Musica Kirklees is valued highly by schools and other local educational establishments.  We support the excellent range of festival opportunities in the area as well as having a significant presence both nationally and internationally; taking groups of young performers on music tours to destinations such as Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Belgium, and Austria.

Over £800 million in grants and loans has already been awarded to support almost 3,800 cinemas, performance venues, museums, heritage sites and other cultural organisations dealing with the immediate challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The second round of awards made today will help organisations to look ahead to the spring and summer and plan for re-opening and recovery. After months of closures and cancellations to contain the virus and save lives, this funding will be a much-needed helping hand for organisations transitioning back to normal in the months ahead. 

 

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said:

 

"Our record breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they've ever faced.

 

Now we're staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors - helping our cultural gems plan for re-opening and thrive in the better times ahead."

 

Thom Meredith, Principal of Musica Kirklees said:

 

“In a time when the country is reeling from the after-effects of the pandemic and when so many have been denied so much for so long, activities such as music provide people with the hope, drive and a sense of community that can help to rebuild our strength and our positivity. 

 

We are incredibly grateful for the opportunity that this grant has given us to emerge from the pandemic as a strong and optimistic organisation, dedicated to improving people’s opportunities.”

 

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said:

 

"Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work. 

 

We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society."

The funding awarded today is from a £400 million pot which was held back last year to ensure the Culture Recovery Fund could continue to help organisations in need as the public health picture changed. The funding has been awarded by Arts Council England, as well as Historic England and National Lottery Heritage Fund and the British Film Institute.