Cambridgeshire Music given funding boost

Cambridgeshire Music, one of Cambridgeshire County Council’s traded services, has received a grant of £61,000 from the Government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to help the organisation recover and reopen.

Cambridgeshire Music is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

This award will enable the council to continue with Cambridgeshire Music’s four-year inclusion strategy and ensembles-based work, enabling more young people to access music-making activities as restrictions due to the pandemic ease.

Cambridgeshire Music is the county hub for music education and arts therapies. They make high quality music happen across Cambridgeshire for young people and families – both in and out of school, and organise thousands of music lessons, bands, and projects in all styles of music, as well as arts therapies for all ages.

Hazel Belchamber, Assistant Director of Education, Cambridgeshire County Council, said: “Throughout the last year, Cambridgeshire Music has continued to support children and young people to access musical studies and arts therapies through their online learning platform and recorded performance projects and supported schools with singing, songwriting and curriculum resources and activities. With this additional funding, the service will be able to sustain its work programme as restrictions ease, provide new hybrid ways of engaging with music-making both in-person and remotely, restart ensemble playing and undertake targeted work to support health and well-being.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England, said: “Investing in a thriving cultural sector at the heart of communities is a vital part of helping the whole country to recover from the pandemic. These grants will help to re-open theatres, concert halls, and museums and will give artists and companies the opportunity to begin making new work.

“We are grateful to the Government for this support and for recognising the paramount importance of culture to our sense of belonging and identity as individuals and as a society.”

Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said: “Our record-breaking Culture Recovery Fund has already helped thousands of culture and heritage organisations across the country survive the biggest crisis they’ve ever faced.

“Now we’re staying by their side as they prepare to welcome the public back through their doors - helping our cultural gems plan for reopening and thrive in the better times ahead.”