Beatroute Arts is a community-led charity based in Balornock in the North East of Glasgow. Offering creative activities for young people and community groups, they work to address inequalities in the area, which is within the ten per cent most disadvantaged regions in Scotland.
Their Take A Bow project, funded by the Trust, provides weekly string tuition for young members, aged between four and 25, as well as musical theory and musicianship workshops.
The project aims to address identified gaps in local provision and to bring learning opportunities to the community, supporting young people to build skills, confidence, and positive connections.
Jenny Reeve, Director of Beatroute Arts, said: “Music is a great way to bring people together and the sessions have proved really popular.
“The musicianship workshops are a great way for young people to learn and develop music alongside other key skills. Quite often, they learn the fundamentals including numeracy, literacy, listening skills and working as a team before they even pick up an instrument.
“We have some parents coming along with English as a second language, and the grant has enabled us to employ a translator. This has been especially helpful in assisting us to engage with members of our community who may otherwise feel side-lined.
“The greatest unexpected outcome has been just how the adult/parent group are socialising with one another, and how clearly important this is for them.”
One parent said: “It’s not just a music project, there is a sense of community and it’s great to meet different people. It’s really helpful and accessible for people.”
Given the current challenges with the coronavirus pandemic, Jenny says staying connected has never been more important. She explained: “All our services have now moved online. For those who are more socially disconnected, it has been a lifeline. As an organisation, we are supporting everyone the best we can. For those who don’t go online, we are checking in on the phone and have helped people set up deliveries to buy groceries.
“Take a Bow has been the last project to transition online because we have a lot of young people and families whose English is their second language. We didn’t want to resume the project online until everyone could join in, which we have finally done.
“The reaction has been great – parents have been especially positive. The online sessions give everyone something to look forward to and those that need it have instruments at home so they can keep practicing.”
As an organisation, Jenny says there have been some lessons along the way. “We’ve learnt a lot too. The ultimate goal is to be back in the centre but there might be times where we have to move back online and now we can”, she explained.
Take A Bow is funded by People’s Health Trust with money raised through Health Lottery Scotland.
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To read more news from the Trust, click here.
Support us, play The Health Lottery!
