Yamaha Education News

MusicQuest & Yamaha Earn 2008 Music Industry Honours

 

(Pictured above: members of the Philharmonia Orchestra demonstrating a percussion part to a young player shortly before she takes the limelight at an award winning MusicQuest event. Photo: Fraser Bond.)

The award-winning MusicQuest educational programme, produced by the Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts and London's acclaimed Philharmonia Orchestra in partnership with Yamaha and Classic FM Music Makers has been honoured again at the annual Music Industries Association (MIA) Music Awards ceremony held recently in London. The Yamaha music learning programme contributed to a total of 4 coveted awards with MusicQuest being named ‘Best Supplier Initiative’.

The 3-year MusicQuest programme has now introduced over 10,000 children across the UK to the power of a live orchestra followed by musical instrument workshops, and more recently has travelled to Dartford, Warwick, Perth, Llandudno and Blackpool. A wide range of Yamaha orchestral instruments, provided for the school workshops travelled more than 1000 miles to ensure 5000 children aged between 7-11 could gain greater experience and understanding of classical and orchestral music. The 2008-09 project sees the project visit primary schools in Kilmarnock, Middlesbrough, Stoke-on-Trent, Bradford and Great Yarmouth.

The Yamaha workshops for MusicQuest involved the children meeting musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra at their school in the morning prior to an afternoon finale concert. The children were invited to go ‘hands on’ and each try an instrument and learn different percussion rhythms with a professional musician – who they later saw perform on stage.

Yamaha Music UK’s Senior Director Mike Ketley, who is responsible for music education policy, told us, "I’m delighted the MIA Awards recognised MusicQuest. We have already won a clutch of awards for this music-in-schools programme which inspires children to learn to play and be involved in music making."

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(posted 3/11/08)