In this month’s Spotlight, we’re shining a light on some of the organisations announced as part of the Multi-Year Funding programme who are delivering work that provides opportunities for children and young people to engage with music.
The Multi-Year Funding programme offers three years of support for a portfolio of organisations and represents not just the largest ever number of organisations Creative Scotland has ever supported, with the biggest budget, it's also more representative of Scotland’s geography, diversity, people and communities. It also includes a significantly increased proportion of small, community-focused organisations being offered multi-year support for the first time.
Prior to the portfolio announcement, in 2024, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) was written into Scots Law. It recognises children as active citizens, with the right to participate in and influence cultural policy (Article 12) and highlights every child’s right to freely participate in cultural life (Article 31).
As a public body, Creative Scotland respects and promotes children’s rights, ensuring that their voices and opinions are heard, and this can be seen in the roughly three-quarters of funded organisations in the Multi-Year Funding portfolio running activities for children and young people.
27 organisations stated that their work would primarily focus on creating work for and with children and young people, which includes support for a wide range of artforms across Scotland, with a strong commitment to engaging children and young people who are less likely to participate.
The portfolio includes a wide range of music organisations delivering targeted work in communities, with the specific aim of addressing inequity. This includes Paragon Ensemble, Drake Music Scotland, Hear my Music, musicALL and Soundplay Projects who are working with children and young people with disabilities and additional support needs, providing them with fully inclusive music making opportunities.
It also includes organisations such as ArtsPlay Highland, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, Fèis Rois, Scottish Culture and Traditions who provide opportunities for children and young people to learn Scotland’s languages and culture, both in and out of school.
Organisations including Children’s Music Foundation (Children’s Classic Concerts), Fèis Rois, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, Sistema Scotland, Benedetti Foundation, National Youth Choir of Scotland and Tinderbox Collective, alongside development organisations the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland (NYOS) and Reeltime Music, will increase the opportunities for children and young people to access mass music making as audiences and participants.
In the wider music sector, Multi-Year Funding has strengthened the support for festivals who have established a more active year-round presence, creating more opportunities for audiences to experience the joy of hearing live music - the list includes HebCelt, Cumnock Tryst, East Neuk Festival, St Magnus Festival and sound.
In Scotland's thriving jazz sector, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, Glasgow International Jazz Festival, and Jazz Scotland who produce the Aberdeen, Dundee and Islay jazz festivals, are now part of the portfolio. Creative Scotland has also been able to support more organisations to present new and experimental music including Cryptic Glasgow, AC Projects, The Night With... and Sonic Bothy.
While this list of organisations is extensive, many more will offer opportunities for children and young people to engage not only in music making but also in a wide range of art forms in the years to come
The Multi-Year Funding programme is only one way in which Creative Scotland supports children and young people to engage with music, in addition to the organisations and artists supported through the Open Fund and the Scottish Government's YMI funding who do impactful work across Scotland.