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Music project strikes a chord with youngsters

Some of Warwickshire’s young people in care had the opportunity to make and record their own music this week thanks to a government grant for positive activities.

Warwickshire County Council’s Rugby Leaving Care Team arranged for a group of young people in care to work with a local recording studio to create their own music and lyrics and record their performance.  The two day workshop was a chance for the youngsters, many of whom have had no musical experience, to develop new skills.

Six young people participated in the sessions at the Hybrid:arts Band Factory in Leamington Spa.  The young people got the chance to try out different instruments and recording equipment before splitting into small groups to work on different aspects of the music production process.  Their work will be recorded onto a CD for each young person to take home as a memento.

The music making project in collaboration with Hybrid:arts has been made possible following a successful bid for a grant from Warwickshire’s Youth Opportunity Fund.  The bid made by two young care leavers, and Leaving Care Social Worker John Richardson secured funding for the workshop.  Transport and refreshment costs have been supported through a Co-op Heart of England grant as part of a Helping Hearts application.

Hybrid:arts works with young and socially excluded people to motivate them through creative activities.  The not for profit organisation’s innovative training sessions in music technology, video production, digital imaging and graphics, and 3D animation provide young people with the confidence to enter into further education or employment in the creative industries.

The Youth Opportunity Fund is a DCSF initiative operated through Warwickshire County Council’s Children, Young People and Families Directorate.  Central to fund applications is the involvement of young people, especially disadvantaged young people.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Children, Young People and Families said: “The workshop is a great venture for the young people who will be able to explore different aspects of creating and recording music in a fully equipped studio.

“This is a highly commendable example of how the county councils’s excellent Leaving Care Team support the development of creativity and build confidence in young people looked after by the county.”