Join Spitalfields Music in the Big Give Christmas Challenge

Join Spitalfields Music in the Big Give Christmas Challenge on 5 Dec 2011 at 10am onwards and help us make a difference to our most disadvantaged participants’ lives through music!

Through The Big Give, we are raising money for one of the most important parts of our programme – our work for young people with Special Educational Needs in Tower Hamlets.

Our programme uses music to build skills, increase confidence and raise aspirations amongst participants aged between 10 and 22. For young people with special needs, music has an extraordinary capacity to help positively shape their identity and contribute to their overall education as well as encouraging in them an understanding and appreciation of an art-form.

In total there will be 150 participants in this programme of our work, all of whom will benefit from over 60 hours of workshops.

We hope you will consider helping us make this project happen. To find out more, you can watch a clip or see pictures of last year’s work in progress. To learn about the programme and donate, click here.

With your help, we will be able to run three projects for young people with Special Needs in 2012:

*A primary school *- Cherry Trees School. Boys with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties will have a full time two weeks of music for the whole school and leading to a performance of music learnt and created together;

*A secondary school *- Phoenix School. Teenage participants will take part in music workshops through the Spring and Summer terms with professional musicians and the project will culminate in two performances, one within school and another in our Summer Festival;

A Further Education College – Tower Hamlets College (Aspirations programme). Young adults with learning disabilities will have weekly music workshops through the Spring and Summer terms building their skills in composing, performing and producing music and culminating in a performance in our Summer Festival.

In particular the opportunity to devise and perform a show for the general public has a huge impact on the self esteem of our more able young people and has certainly enhanced their life experience.
*Paula Manning – Creative Arts Co-ordinator at Phoenix Schoo*l