Forest of Dean Music Makers is an educational charity set up to help children and young people create their own music. We aim to support them through the whole process: learning to play instruments, sing or DJ, forming bands, writing songs, developing technical skills, recording, performing and promoting what they have created.  We currently have regular weekly sessions at Whitecross, Heywood and Heart of the Forest Schools as well as the Forest Road Centre. We run song writing and DJ projects and holiday activities. In January we opened a new rehearsal and recording space on the Heywood school site in Cinderford, and are developing new programmes with all ages to make full use of this space. 

• Give young people control over the kinds of music they make and the ways they work, promoting independent and self-directed learning as they form and sustain bands.
• Enable young people to achieve things which they value and which are valued by their peers - such as forming bands, writing their own songs, recording and performing.
• Enable young people to develop enterprise skills through putting on their own performances, or promoting and selling their own recordings.
• Enable them to volunteer, become peer tutors, paid tutors and local creative entrepreneurs.
• Promote participation in decision making, for example by involvement in the appointment of tutors.

History

Forest of Dean Music Makers was started by Mark Bick in 2001 with a “Music Makers” grant from Youth Music secured in collaboration with the local Youth Service. Graham Spearman, Youth Service Team Leader for the Forest played a major part in helping get the organisation started. In the first year or so the work was mostly in Newent.  It then developed in Cinderford, with activities at different stages in Sedbury, Coleford and Lydney. This has been sustained with a wide range of funding including SRB6, the Local Network Fund and Out of Hours Learning.

 In August 2004 Music Makers was registered as a Charity and as a Company Limited by Guarantee with a board of Directors ** LINK **.

The main recent development has been the new builidng on the site of Heywood school, Cinderford **LINK **. Substantial funding from Creative Partnerships has enabled us to develop a closer colaboration with Cinderford Artspace, *LINK* Found in the Forest Youth Theatre *LINK* and other local arts organisations. We have just finished a major project at Heart of the Forest Community Special School with Drake Music *LINK*and Eddie Parker of Impro *LINK*