Portsmouth Guildhall management, the Portsmouth Cultural Trust (PCT), today announced a new partnership with The Southern Co-operative that will see £50,000 of funding support provided to their new programme ‘Get Into Music, Portsmouth’. The announcement was made at a breakfast gathering ahead of the programme’s first Music Industry Day at Portsmouth Guildhall which was attended by 250 students from local schools and colleges.
Talks at the event included ‘How to build a career in Music, without playing a note’ with Iain Marin, former promoter for Mumford & Sons, Dan Smith (Bastille), festival curator and sound engineer, as well as key notes by Andy Ellis from PRS for Music and Stuart Ongley from the SGO Music Group.
Led by PCT and developed in conjunction with the Portsmouth Cultural Partnership, ‘Get into Music, Portsmouth’ is a grass roots programme which has the support and involvement of local venues, radio, promoters and arts organisations. The network will create a mixture of activity targeting 14-24 year olds, some of whom are not engaged in employment, education or training, with the express aim of advising and helping young people gain knowledge of the music industry.
Andy Grays, CEO of PCT says: “We recognise that as employers it is increasingly important for us to invest our time in developing, mentoring and nurturing young people, so that their interest can be sustained, and are very grateful to The Southern Co-operative for enabling us to do so.”
The Southern Co-operative’s Director of Sustainability & Communications, Gemma Lacey, said: “The Southern Co-operative has its roots in Portsmouth, with our first store opening here over 140 years ago. We are committed to the City’s ambitions and aspirations for growth and regeneration and are keen to support grass roots projects that benefit the local community. The Portsmouth Cultural Trust’s ‘Get into Music’ programme provides a perfect way to attract and engage young people in the arts, as well as providing a range of education and employment opportunities.”
Portsmouth Cultural Partnership members include The Wedgewood Rooms, The Cellars, Express FM, The King’s Theatre, New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth Festivities and many more. Other organisations involved in the programme include Creative & Cultural Skills, UK Music, PRS for Music, Highbury and Southdowns College.
For more information on these opportunities or the ‘Get Into Music, Portsmouth’ programme please visit portsmouthguildhall.org.uk or call 02393 870 200.
