* Llyr Gruffydd MS at North Wales Music Co-operative with Head of Service Heather Powell and Chair, Cllr Mark Young.
A pioneering music service
that teaches children in Wrexham and Denbighshire has bounced back after a
devasting flood.
The award-winning North
Wales Music Co-operative – which has branches in both counties – was up and
running again just 28 days after a frozen pipe burst, inundating the building
and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to instruments and equipment.
According to Head of
Service Heather Powell, the disaster was heartbreaking because it happened not
long after they had completed a major makeover to upgrade the building.
She said: “The water from
the burst pipe cascaded through the ceiling and on to all the technology which
was a shattering blow.
“There was a good few
inches of water and it was pretty much the whole of the main room of the
building as well as the new offices because it had been leaking over the
weekend when nobody was here.
“The damage was all the
more awful because we’d just got the office how we wanted it and the whole team
were incredibly upset.
“It was hard to know where
to start but everybody pulled together and the support we’ve had from our
tutors, from Cllr Mark Young, our Chairman, the two local authorities that we
work with, Denbighshire and Wrexham, and from neighbouring businesses has been
just fantastic.”
Thanks to a “superhuman
effort” the organisation is now back on track with plans to expand the service
so that even more children can benefit from the “magic of music”.
Among the co-operative’s
fans is Plaid Cymru’s Llyr Gruffydd, the North Wales Senedd member, who paid a
visit to their premises in Denbigh.
He said: “Music is in our
DNA in Wales and it is extremely important for children because it opens
up the imagination, it’s a door to all sorts of feelings and emotions and
aspirations.
“My visit has been a real
eye opener and I think this is so much more than I thought it would be because
it’s not just a music service for schools but also a service which offers
benefits in terms of wellbeing.
“There are thousands of
children who benefit from this service and there would be a substantial void if
it wasn’t available.
“As a governor who
remembers when budgets were cut and suddenly schools themselves had to find
people to come in and so on, that gap was filled by this group.
“The new Curriculum for
Wales offers the use of different methods in order to teach, so this could be a
key opportunity for music to reach audiences of children in a way that it
hasn’t in the past.
“The co-operative is also
making a very important contribution in the fact that it is providing a
livelihood for the musicians.
“I have heard how the
offering of this service and getting a fee for teaching in schools gives a
basis for musicians to have the flexibility to be able to perform and to do
other things, rather than having to find another day job.”
Heather Powell also paid
tribute to the Welsh Government for developing a “fantastic” National Music
Plan.
She added: “The support of
the Welsh Government has enabled us to upskill the tutors, to have better
equipment and to deliver more to the children.
“We’re going from strength
to strength, with lots of new tutors and an ever expanding service.
“We’ve got a music
therapist who does fantastic work in Denbighshire and we’ve got lots of new
ensembles happening in both authorities and lots of extra-curricular courses to
look forward to.
“There’s been lots of
studies done about how music impacts children’s literacy and numeracy skills
but I think, since the pandemic we’ve seen a massive rise in discussion about
how music improves mental health and wellbeing which is more important with
more people suffering than ever.
“Our plan is to continue to
expand the service with more concerts, more events for the pupils, more
opportunities to perform.
“As well as Denbighshire
and Wrexham, we’re supporting other authorities across Wales with our virtual
’Make Some Noise’ tour because it’ doesn’t matter where the school is, whether it’s
in the south, in the middle or in the north, they can access our tour which is
helping other authorities to deliver the live music element of the National
Music Plan.
At a time when education
budgets are tight, the co-operative’s chair, Cllr Mark Young believes the
not-for-profit co-operative model is the way forward to ensure that the
children of Wales benefit from the “multi-layered benefits” of music.
He said: “The music
co-operative has been a big success in Denbighshire and Wrexham.
“The amount of pupils
accessing music because of the high quality lessons, is going up. And
every level of talent gets looked after. We don’t leave anyone behind –
it’s totally inclusive.
“We’re reaching more and
more pupils and I’m pretty sure more and more local authorities will take up
the model and we’re here, willing and able to help with that and I’m very proud
to be the Chair.”
