In Celebration of International Music Day 2023
Taking a Look Back at the Successes of our Music Initiatives in the Past Year
One of the Hamish Ogston Foundation’s prime goals is to support and build the UK’s choral tradition including organs, our country’s oldest living cultural heritage, through engaging with children, young people and teachers from state schools in areas of socio-economic and cultural disadvantage, offering pathways to further training and diversification of the workforce.
In order to create and develop the next generation of music lovers, the Foundation has pledged over of £4.5million in crucial funding to the Keyboard Studies Programme (KSP) and The National School Singing Programme (NSSP), two UK-based initiatives dedicated to improving access to music education for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
Throughout the last year, our music initiatives have celebrated several big milestones. Here, we take a look back at the highlights.
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November 2022
Leeds Cathedral Choir broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Choral Evensong
Leeds Cathedral Choir, led by conductor, Thomas Leech, also Director of the Schools Singing Programme [Credit: Diocese of Leeds Music]
In November of last year, the Leeds Cathedral Choir, many of whose member singers began their musical journey as students in the NSSP, performed Choral Vespers in a live broadcast for BBC Radio 3’s Choral Evensong.
Running for 96 years, Choral Evensong is the BBC’s longest established outside broadcast programme. The programme is a weekly live broadcast of the Anglican service of Choral Evensong, from cathedrals, chapels and churches throughout the United Kingdom. On occasion [including this one], Choral Vespers from Catholic cathedrals are broadcast on the programme.
On this occasion, the programme was broadcast from Leeds Cathedral, where the Leeds Cathedral Choir had the privilege to perform Choral Vespers from the Office of the Dead for millions of listeners in the UK and around the world.
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December 2022
Bradford Catholic Youth Choir performs for BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship
Bradford Catholic Youth Choir, led by Choral Director and former student of the Diocese of Leeds Music, Caius Lee [Credit: Diocese of Leeds Music]
A great achievement for the Bradford Catholic Youth Choir, part of the Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme, performed the Sunday morning service in a live broadcast for BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Worship, in December. One of BBC Radio 4’s most listened to programmes, Sunday Worship is a weekly broadcast exploring and celebrating religiosity in the UK. On each Sunday during the period of advent, the programme broadcasts a Sunday service from a church in the UK.
On the second Sunday of advent, members of the Bradford Catholic Youth Choir were chosen to give a live performance from St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Bradford, Leeds. The Choir was conducted by choral director, Caius Lee, and accompanied by organist, David Grealy. They were also joined by a choir and congregation of young people from the Blessed Christopher Wharton Catholic Academy Trust’s schools across Bradford and Keighley.
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February 2023
Expansion of The National Schools Singing Programme to Anglican Cathedrals
Students taking part in a whole class singing lesson at Christ the King Catholic Primary School in Leeds [Credit: Diocese of Leeds]
One of the biggest achievements for our music initiatives this year was the expansion of The National Schools Singing Programme (NSSP) to six Anglican Cathedrals.
Previously only accessible to Catholic dioceses in the UK, funding for the National Schools Singing Programme to operate out of 6 Anglican Cathedrals – Sheffield, Derby, Leicester, Liverpool and Newcastle, plus York Minster – was announced in February 2023, marking a significant step forward for the programme, which has the ambitious aim of making choral education available to as many children across the UK as possible.
This latest expansion – made possible by the funding from the Foundation – means that a total of more than 20,000 children at over 200 schools are now set to benefit from the scheme.
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March 2023
The Times Meets the National Schools Singing Programme
The Leeds Cathedral Girls Choir [Steve Morgan for The Times]
Following the NSSP’s expansion to the six Anglican cathedrals, Richard Morrison, Chief Culture Writer for The Times newspaper, was invited up to Leeds Cathedral in March, to meet with some of the consultants, choral directors and singers involved in the scheme at NSSP HQ.
During his visit, Richard met with students of the scheme, Kirsten Zoleta and Michelle Ocheme, who described the wide range of benefits they’d experienced from their deep engagement with music, with Kirsten highlighting the deep passion she has developed for singing since joining the scheme and Michelle referring to the resilience she feels she has gained from practicing choral music.
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May 2023
NSSP Pilot Scheme Completes in Northern Ireland with Celebration at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh
Children singing during the service at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh
Last month, in May, the completion of the NSSP’s pilot programme in Northern Ireland was marked with a special children’s liturgy and service at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh.
With nearly 600 pupils, staff, relatives and friends in attendance, the event brought together the selected participant schools in the Archdiocese of Armagh and Diocese of Dromore in the cathedral to celebrate their participation in an eight-week singing pilot delivered by NSSP consultants, Orla Nugent and Sara-Jane Kelly.
‘Sing a New Song’ was a resounding success, with a range of ambitious and prayerful music of diverse genres and moods sung by all those in attendance. The service also featured a song taught and performed by Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, who had a major hand in the successful delivery of the pilot scheme.
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The Hamish Ogston Foundation recognises that the wider rewards of a music education are abundant – ranging from the beneficial effects on mental health to celebrating inclusivity and furthering academic attainment – and is committed to ensuring as many children as possible have access to these rewards. We also recognise the value in supporting and building the UK’s choral tradition, including organs, as this country’s oldest living cultural heritage – a unique part of our shared history.
Looking forward, the Foundation is excited to celebrate many such similar positive milestones for the music education initiatives we support and to helping more children and young people benefit from the widening provision of access to deep engagement with music.
For more on our Music initiatives, visit: https://www.hamishogstonfoundation.org/music