Young Sounds UK

Funding applications are open!

Our Thrive programme offers grants to intermediate and advanced young musicians facing financial barriers and other obstacles.

When you join the programme, you join a community of talented young musicians from across the UK and get free musical opportunities and advice too!

You can apply to Thrive all year round, but if you're thinking about applying and would like to join the programme in October, we recommend getting your application in by September.

Head to youngsounds.org.uk/thrive to find all the information you need, including our eligibility criteria. Good luck! 🤞

Charanga

Only one week left to apply! ⌛

We're hiring a Lead Facilitator for a new strand of our Discover teacher training programme, Discover Secondary.

Driven by a passion for Black-British electronic music and a desire to make music education fairer, the Lead Facilitator will work closely with our Discover Programme Manager to design, test and refine the Discover Secondary training model before it enters wider delivery.

Application deadline: 12pm (noon) on Monday 10 August.

For a full job description and details on how to apply, visit:
www.youngsounds.org.uk/discover-secondary-lead-facilitator/

Young Sounds UK's first Family Orchestra Day! 🧡

Earlier this month, families supported by our Thrive programme were invited to play, learn, and make music together at William Ellis School in London. Young musicians created an original piece of music together with professional musicians, whilst parents and carers made music side by side with their children and developed a deeper understanding of their musical world! Here's what one parent had to say about the day:

"As parents, we often drop them off, pick them up, and only get to hear about what happened afterwards. Being invited to take part alongside my children was something completely different Because of that experience, I feel even more committed to supporting my children wherever their musical journey may lead."

Thank you to everyone who made this workshop so inspiring - we can't wait to do more events like this in the future! You can read all about it here: www.youngsounds.org.uk/family-orchestra-day/

Happy Birthday to our Patron, The Rt Hon. the Baroness Harman KC!

Baroness Harman champions universal access to arts, arguing that all children should have the benefit of music and arts education. She says:

"Every single individual should have the opportunity to explore creativity, starting as a child: arts and culture need to be accessible to all children, not just a privileged few”.

Thank you for your continued support, Baroness Harman. Have a great day 🎂

Could you be the newest member of our team? 👋

Our new training model Discover Secondary will help educators identify musical talent and potential in secondary-aged young people working with music technology in electronic and Black-British music.

It's been shaped by EQUALIZE, an AHRC-funded research project led by Young Sounds UK in partnership with The Black Music Research Unit /University of Westminster.

We're looking for someone to play a central role in establishing, piloting and growing the Young Sounds Discover Secondary training offer as Lead Facilitator. They'll work closely with our Discover Programme Manager to design, test and refine the training model before it enters wider delivery. Could it be you?

🗓️ 28 hours per month for programme development, and a minimum of six days per year dedicated to programme delivery
💷 £44 per hour for programme development, £400 a day for programme delivery
📄 Initially 12 months, to be extended by mutual agreement
📍 Home working with regular UK-wide travel required
⏱️ Application deadline is 12 noon on Monday 10 August 2026
🗣️ Interviews to take place in person between 24 August and 4 September 2026 (TBC)

For details on how to apply and a full job description, visit youngsounds.org.uk/discover-secondary-lead-facilitator/

Earlier this month we were delighted to return to Yorkshire for a special fundraising concert at the Crossley Gallery in Dean Clough, Halifax!

The evening featured performances from some of the talented young musicians on our Thrive programme - Aurora, Noah and Una - plus a speech from Connector Helen Borg about the impact of our Connect programme in West Yorkshire. Helen even performed a surprise duet with Noah, a previous trumpet student of hers!

Head to our website to find out more about the event, and how you can join our community of supporters: www.youngsounds.org.uk/crossley-gallery/

Happy Birthday to Young Sounds Patron, Dame Evelyn Glennie CH DBE 🎂

Here's a throwback to 2019 when Evelyn met Thrive alumnus Isaac Harari and the two recorded a podcast for Classical Music magazine in her home studio.

As the first musician to create a full-time career as a solo percussionist, Evelyn paved the way for future generations of percussionists and composers and we are so lucky to have her as one of our founding Patrons. She said:

"It's crucial to allow any individual, whatever their circumstance is, to have that opportunity to explore music. We know all of the positive things that music brings. So music must be open to all of our young people.”

Thank you for all your support over the years, Evelyn. Have a wonderful day!

It’s been another great summer term for our Connect programme!

As the academic year draws to a close, let's have a look back at all the exciting activity in Connect this summer, including...

🎶 A steelpan drumming workshop in Central Bedfordshire (CBC Inspiring Music)
🎤 Musical sharings in Liverpool (Resonate Music Education Hub, Liverpool), Southampton and Isle of Wight
🎺 West Yorkshire Music Hubs playing together at University of Huddersfield (Bradford Music & Arts Service, Musica Kirklees)
👩‍🏫 A Teacher Forum in Devon with Connector Hannah Stephenson (Devon Music Education Hub)
🪘 a taiko drumming workshop in Sheffield (Sheffield Music Hub)

..and much more here: www.youngsounds.org.uk/connect-summer-2026

To all of our Connectors, Mentors, Hubs, music teachers, young musicians – we hope you have a great summer break 🌞

Connect is delivered as part of the Department for Education's Music Opportunities Pilot, supported by Arts Council England.

Could you be our newest Musical Mentor? 👋

Young Sounds UK is looking for a Musical Mentor to support our Connect programme at CBC Inspiring Music (Central Bedfordshire).

🗓️ Freelance, for 2 hours per week x 35 weeks per year and an
additional 60 hours across the year for mentoring sessions
💷 £20 per hour
📍 Home based, and other locations as required - all reasonable travel costs will be covered by us
⏱️ Application deadline is 5pm on Friday 17 July 2026

For details on how to apply and a full job description, visit www.youngsounds.org.uk/mentor-central-bedfordshire