Free Music Lessons Charity is a movement started by three friends living in Oswaldtwistle.
Our initial conversations centred around the inability for schools, parents, community hubs and the general public to gain access to the ever growing cost of music tuition and performing arts activities. After school clubs had lost funding, community centres had closed and performance space was dwindling.
This was pre-pandemic and also before the cost of living crisis.
Our initial events combined with those additional barriers brought many other volunteers and supporters to our cause.
Our initial idea for bridging the gap caused by the aforementioned issues, was to simply raise money through music and performing arts events. This was something that our initial team had experience of.
Joe Bamford, the chair of our CIO charity, is a music teacher with many years of experience in both the classroom and performance.
Joanna Hunt, the treasurer, is also a musician and performer, with a passion for organising artistic cultural experiences to a professional standard.
Matt Yates, the secretary, has lots of connections and experience within the performing arts network of east lancashire, as well as a flair for design and other necessary skills essential for our fundraising ideas.
Since we started this project, our team of trustees and volunteers has grown into double figures.
This is a result of the cause resonating with our community, a group effort to support people by replacing something that had less barriers in a previous era. Music lessons before 2010 where altogether more accessible for all. Performance space was readily available.
Free Music Lessons Charity has so far raised over £10,000 for music and performing arts activities in Oswaldtwistle since 2022.
This money has been spent on the needs of the schools, and when talking to our community, especially leaders in education institutions, our choice to use their expertise and reasoning for deciding where they need the additional funding helps maximise the difference it makes. Our funding has reached well over 1000 learners already.
