MusicShare

MusicShare is an award-winning singing outreach programme (winner of the Times Educational Supplement Independent-State School Partnership Award 2019) that works with local primary, secondary and special schools to encourage children to sing. MusicShare is a partnership between Lichfield Cathedral School, Lichfield Cathedral and The Music Partnership. Since it began in 2003, more than 20,000 pupils across the Lichfield diocese have benefitted from this unique programme.

Through a mixture of core projects and one-off workshops, MusicShare staff teach children healthy, quality singing through learning repertoire (popular songs, classical and choral works) in preparation for a performance in front of an audience of family, friends and the local community. These performances are often in the Cathedral, but we also perform in many other venues, such as in secondary schools collaborating with their feeder primary schools. We often take Young Singing Leaders (many of whom are choristers and former-choristers) out to schools to demonstrate what can be achieved by children their own age who work hard, rehearse regularly and focus themselves on becoming highly proficient musicians.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we have transferred much of our working online, creating a huge bank of new resources for EYFS to KS5 including teaching videos, new songs, CPD videos for teachers and also delivering lots of live online sessions directly to schools.

MusicShare also leads a range of weekly music groups and choirs including:

• Mini Voices (ages 0-5)
• Toddler Rhyme Time (ages 0-5)
• Young Voices (ages 6-11)
• Youth Voices (ages 12-18)
•  Ladies Who Lark (ages 18+)

Impact

Since our inception in 2003 MusicShare has reached over 20,000 pupils and worked with more than 500 schools (primary, secondary and special schools and Pupil Referral Units).

“It was with pleasure that I accepted an invitation for my school to be one of the first to take part in MusicShare back in 2005. The children loved it and, as Head teacher, I saw the educational value this gave the children. Concentration, listening skills, team spirit, a love of singing – in which everyone could participate but above all the feeling of achievement when more than one school combined to create a large chorus able to perform in such a grand setting.”

Philip Such, former Head Teacher, Greenways Primary

“The effect on those involved in MusicShare, pupils, teachers and parents has been profound. Levels of achievement have risen due to the quality of the provision and the commitment of the deliverers. Every school should have the opportunity to be involved in projects such as MusicShare”.

Jennifer Mason, Senior Music Consultant, Entrust Music Service Staffordshire

Your support

By supporting MusicShare, you will enable us to expand our work to reach more schools and more pupils. In difficult financial times, a school’s music budget is often one of the first things to be cut, so the work we do with schools may be the only time pupils are involved in music making. Donating to MusicShare is a fantastic way to support young people in their musical journeys.