Dear Gigs4kids supporters We wanted to take a moment to fill you in on the next steps for the gigs4kids programme. While we were able to undertake 26 concerts to 1582 pupils as of 20th March, COVID 19 got in the way of delivering the full amount of concerts planned. We have 29 concerts to complete and of course the 30 bursaries for lessons (plus 9 extension terms), and master classes from The Philharmonia Orchestra to undertake. All gigs4kids partners are fully committed to delivering all of these things for Bedford children, just later than planned. While schools are due to open in September we know it may be some time before things are back to normal so we have committed to reviewing our delivery options in Spring 2021 with a goal to deliver the remaining concerts in September 2021. We are really excited to deliver them as soon as it is safe to do so. Indeed, after the disruption of summer term 2020, these musical experiences and bursaries will be needed more than ever. We will keep you up to date with our progress over time. Thank you once again for your support with all the very best, The gigs4kids team

Hello all, Just to let you know we had two gigs4kids shows take place last week at two schools in Bedford. The Brass Funkeys entertained a group of students at Castle Newnham and at Harrold Primary, which went down a storm! It feels particularly poignant right now, as this week all schools are closing in the UK and as such, there won't be any gigs4kids events for the time being. But to reassure you, they will go ahead in the future - gigs4kids is not cancelled, merely on hold! Take care. Keep rocking.

Dear Pledgers We wanted to give you a little update on our progress since you helped us hit our fundraising target. Artistes from The Philharmonia, our partners Music Live, and ensembles from the Bedford Music Co-Operative have all been identified and confirmed and the concerts will take place in March and April this year. The ‘Learning to play’ pack for parents has been signed off and is with the designers. This pack will go home with every Bedford Year 3 child after they have had their concert and supports the key goal of the campaign to encourage children to take up lessons. We were delighted to attend the Bedford Borough Learning Exhange this week to announce the success of the campaign and to let the Headteachers know that the booking forms will be going out via the Music for Bedford Borough office next week. We also sent a very special thank you to the children of Shortstown Primary School who, last year, took part in a ‘dress like a rock star’ fundraising day for the campaign. A rather heavy box was delivered to the school hall yesterday addressed to the students. Whilst rumours flew around the school that Justin Bieber was in the box it was in fact much better than that - Music Co-operative teacher Chris Hepworth emerged from the box this morning to give a pop-up rock concert! The enthusiasm and response from the children gave us a taste of how magical these concerts will be for the children of Bedford. Details of the lesson bursaries will be released to schools once they have booked their concerts, enabling the take up of music lessons for children in need of some financial support to do so. We will keep you posted once the concerts are rolled out to all primary and lower schools in Bedford in March, but until then, thank you, and keep rocking! The Gigs4kids team.

You have currently pledged 104% of the target and we cant be more grateful for the support we have had through this public campaign. We will be shouting your names (unless you're anonymous) from the rooftops in 🏁5 DAYS🏁 That is when #gigs4kids officially finishes. Any extra pledges or overfunding will provide music lesson bursaries for young Bedfordian families ❤ THANK YOU ❤