Wider music and dance opportunities for talented young people are to be made available to leading youth arts organisations following an announcement by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) that it is to make a contribution of £400,000 a year for the next three years towards the development of national youth music organisations.
A further £100,000 will support national youth dance organisations, including money earmarked specifically to develop a national youth dance agency in partnership with Arts Council England (ACE).
In addition to the DfES funding, a further £255,000 is being given by ACE to support national youth music organisations. Youth Music, the campaigning charity funded by ACE with National Lottery money, is to administer both sources of capital for music. It will be adding £1.2m of its own to create a total fund of nearly £3m for grants to national music organisations that meet application criteria. Successful applicants will receive three-year funding to help sustain core activities, develop artistic programmes and increase access to the opportunities they provide. This includes extending and opening auditions, widening membership and broadening repertoire. Ten organisations covering a wide range of musical genres are currently eligible to apply for funding. They include the National Youth Jazz Association, the National Youth Music Theatre and the South Asian Music Youth Orchestra.