Amplify, Lancashire Music Hub’s Youth Voice programme, are running their very first event, Revolution: Changing the Tune of Music Education, on Monday 1st November at Burnley Youth Theatre. It will also be streamed live online.
The event will bring together young people with representatives from schools and the music education sector to look to the future of musical opportunities, both in and out of school, in Lancashire. They will be debating issues, asking questions, and collectively developing innovative ways to shape how music education could look in the future. Inspiration for the event has come from new online content which has been created by young people exploring key themes in music education. The content, which includes podcasts and a music video, will be launched at the event alongside live music from Lancashire based young artists.
Musician, filmmaker and producer, Aaron, from Burnley has been involved with Amplify over the last 9 months. He is launching his music video and original song and has also been involved in the production of the event:
“This is a pivotal moment for music education in Lancashire – being a musician myself, and having been in these students’ shoes, I know the importance of everyone having an equal share of music education and know from experience how much some schools struggle to give students that, especially after the way practical lessons have been affected by the pandemic. This is an event that is vital to bring people up to date with the state and opinions of music education but to also inspire young musicians to bring forward their own ideas”
In their 2019 survey of over 400 young people, Amplify identified four key themes affecting music education:
- The “averageness” of music education
- What there is verses what there should be
- In person and online opportunities
- Career paths in music
These themes will be central to Revolution: Changing the Tune of Music Education. We’ll be hosting an interactive panel debate on each of the issues with the aim of finding new ways of working.
Lancashire Music Education Hub set up the Amplify programme in 2018 to ensure young people have a voice and can influence change at a strategic level. They have been working with partners More Music and Blaze Arts and this event is the culmination of 3 years work which has engaged young people across the county, including those who are not taking part in any formal music making activities. Cath Sewell, who has been working on the project for the Hub said:
“Now is the time for action and, while it’s important to know from young people what are we already doing well in Lancashire, we want to know who we are not currently reaching. We want to know what we can do differently to make music more accessible for more young people and how the Music Education Hub can lead this change.”
We invite pupils, young musicians, teachers, music educators and anyone with a stake in the future of Music Education in Lancashire to join us either in person or online.
To book visit https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/burnleyyouththeatre/t-rmzlxd
