MERTON MUSIC FOUNDATION

The International Wimbledon Music Festival is delighted to be working in partnership with Merton Music Foundation, a charitable trust based in the London Borough of Merton (SW London). It aims to provide a variety of musical tuition, ensemble opportunities and creative projects to Merton's Primary, Secondary and Special schools and young people across the borough. The Foundation is the borough's approved schools music service provider and works in close partnership with teachers and other professionals to help strengthen and develop the delivery of music both within the school curriculum and through its external Music Centre activities.
The benefits of music making for young people are well documented. Having the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, to sing, compose and perform with others has been shown to improve general learning, particularly literacy and numeracy, analytical skills, coordination, self-esteem, self-confidence and social skills, leading to positive attitudes to schooling and improved standards in music and the wider curriculum.

Our operational objectives are based on those of the National Music Manifesto:
• To provide every young person with 'first access' to a range of quality music experiences and learning
• To provide more opportunities for young people to deepen and broaden their musical interests and skills
• To identify and nurture our most talented young musicians
• To develop a world class workforce in music education
• To improve the support structures for young people making music

Each week during the term, tutors deliver over 1,600 individual and small group instrumental lessons covering a wide range of instruments from bassoon to bass guitar. Most of this teaching takes place in Merton Primary and Secondary schools. Around 650 KS2 children currently receive weekly whole class instrumental tuition under MMF's 'In2Music' Wider Opportunities initiative. This 25 week programme is provided for KS2 pupils and their teachers, who learn together in a large group (noisy but it works!). This year 'In2Music' includes tuition on trumpet, trombone, violin, flute, clarinet, samba, djembe and steel pan. During 2009/10, school staff members from
14 Primary schools delivered a new 'In2Recorder' programme with great success – 22 schools are now on board for 10/11.

Around 400 students attend Music Centre's 26 bands, choirs and ensembles covering a variety of musical genres from Merton Youth Jazz Orchestra's big band jazz to the Piping Hot recorder ensemble. Every year MMF delivers a mass choral project to between 500 – 1,000 Primary pupils, culminating in a flagship performance at a major concert venue. Our most recent Music for Life event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on 29 March 2011 with a mass choir of nearly 1,300.