The TES is to provide Pounds 30,000 sponsorship for the charity which organises the National Festival of Music for Youth and the much acclaimed Schools Prom. Part of the Pounds 30,000 for Music for Youth, double the sponsorship the paper has provided in the past, will be used to revive the Scottish Prom, to be held in Edinburgh in mid June.
As Highland Council became the latest to introduce charges for music tuition, Pounds 3 a lesson but exempting SCE students and families on benefit, the TES sponsorship comes at a timely moment. Brian Wilson, the Education Minister, has already said he would like to see a national event to celebrate the range of instrumental music in Scottish schools.
Despite these pressures, however, around 40,000 young performers were involved in dozens of events this year culminating in the 25th annual prom in London’s Royal Albert Hall a fortnight ago. The only Scottish group to make the journey was Dryzabone, the acclaimed Inverness youth jazz group.
Larry Westland, director of Music for Youth, said: “The TES has been one of the biggest influences on the progress of the national festival and the prom since 1972. We are delighted that the paper has become a major sponsor for our programme.”
