Live Music Now links with LFW
Item Posted: Wednesday 28th March , 2007
Live Music Now!
This news item appeared in the Dunoon Observer
MENUHIN CHARITY LINKS WITH COWAL.
Yehudi Menuhin set up a charitable scheme in 1977, which has had a profound effect on thousands of lives.
Set up to promote the enjoyment and experience of all sorts of live music, the scheme -called "Live Music Now!"- particularly aims to encourage access to live music to those who might otherwise miss out on the experience. Each year, hundreds of concerts are put on in Schools, and Homes for the Elderly - but also in Community Halls, especially in villages and towns which may not regularly have live music concerts. Often this access has been denied because of the extra costs involved of travel and accommodation for the musicians in rural areas, but this is something that Live Music Now! can help with.
The scheme also assists young, and gifted, musicians, at the beginning of their professional career. More than 300 musicians have benefited from the scheme since inception, giving more than 6000 performances, putting them at the cutting edge of outreach programmes.
Carol Main, Live Music Now's Scottish Director, has made a connection with the comparatively newly formed Lochgoilhead Fiddle Workshop. "The philosophy of our two organizations blend brilliantly," she commented, "The workshop is keen both to encourage people to play, and listen, to music. They have already established an outreach programme beyond their immediate location, so we are working together to plan a traditional music tour of Argyll in 2004, which will encompass playing in homes for the elderly, schools, and community halls.
A spokesperson for the workshop said they were thrilled to get the support of the Menuhin organization: " Inevitably the costs incurred of accessing musicians for concerts and come and try events in rural areas are greater than in the central belt. This puts off a lot of local organizations and village halls from staging concerts. We are now in a position to arrange more events ourselves, and hopefully, in time, to co-ordinate more music- both traditional and classical- for other communities in Cowal and Argyll"