Sunderland BID secures a share of £200,000 to support city's future music stars

Young people from across the city will now have more opportunities to make their musical mark after Sunderland Business Improvement District (BID) secured over £200,000 worth of funding.

Some of the money will be going to the We Make Culture’s Young Musicians Project (YMP) which has been running for five years.

The project helps 13-19-year-olds work with professional musicians to write songs and music, grow their skills, and showcase their talents.

After Sunderland BID secured £202,253 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), from June 3, some of this money will be used to expand the project to include an additional group which will run every Monday.

The project runs from Field Music Studio at Villiers Street and 15 youngsters are already signed up for the new sessions.

Laura Brewis, Project Director of We Make Culture CIC, said: "We are grateful to Sunderland BID for their sponsorship of Young Musicians project, which will enable us to open up a third group supporting young people to start playing, writing and performing music together.

“Our current YMP groups have been oversubscribed for some time, so we are very excited to be able to extend the opportunity to more young people in the city.

“It is really important to YMP that we work with professional music venues and studios in the city to link young people into all of the creative activities going on here, so we are looking forward to working with our neighbours in Sunniside, such as Pop Recs, Port Independent and Sun Loft Studios too."

Along with the support from Sunderland BID, the scheme is receiving funding from SCOPS Arts Trust and partners with music venue Pop Recs, which hosts 3 YMP events each year.

Sharon Appleby, Chief Executive of Sunderland BID, said: “We hope that by supporting the programme, we will help get more young people involved in activities that increase pride in the area and reduce antisocial behaviour in the Sunniside.

“The scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for young people with a passion for music to work with professional musicians and boost both their skills and their confidence.”

The money will also be used to support a number of other initiatives in Sunniside, including events such as Chinese New Year, the regular Sunniside Food Markets and the installation of festoon lighting and wrapping the trees in lights to improve the look of the area.