Every term, Some Voices choir members nominate a charity, and the choir fundraises for the chosen charity throughout the term, including through social events and at choir performances.
In Spring 2023, our Founders and Musical Directors Laura and Curtis selected the National Youth Arts Trust in memory of much-loved, long-standing choir member, Martin Meadows-Evans, who sadly passed away in December 2022. This was a charity that meant a lot to Martin and their mission to make performing arts more inclusive and accessible to all really aligns with what we do here at Some Voices. Laura and Curtis decided to continue fundraising for NYAT during our Summer 2023 too.
The NYAT is a performing arts charity that widens access to the arts for young people from low-income backgrounds – through giving bursaries for music, dance, and drama lessons, running youth theatre projects, and taking children to the theatre, often for the first time.
Martin started his life in performing arts through similar funding, and shared the NYAT’s belief that the performing arts should represent their audience and be created by all of society. Participating in the arts can give someone a voice in a way that no other subject can. In the words of one NYAT bursary recipient:
“Playing music means everything to me. It has made me confident and helps me forget about all my worries. I feel safe when I am playing by myself or with others. It has helped me make friends which is something that I can find hard to do. I cannot imagine a life without music inside it.”
Participating in the arts can give someone a voice in a way that no other subject can. At Some Voices, we see just how meaningful it is to have the opportunity to bring people together to sing. It’s about so much more than learning and performing; our members often find comfort, friendship, and an incredible community support along the way, creating memorable moments that are made even stronger when experienced together.
Through the efforts of our wonderful members including organising a quiz and raffle, as well as our lovely audiences who donated at our Electric Dreams and Good Vibes Only performances, we raised £3,181.
Here is a message from Ruth O’Brien, Director of Operations at NYAT:
We are so honoured to be part of Martin’s legacy - we are a really small charity, and it makes such a difference to our student’s education to keep our bursary scheme and projects running, especially after the past few years.
Thanks to your support we can provide much-needed creative activities, teach new skills, give the opportunity to learn from industry professionals, nurture new talent, create memorial experiences, and help our young people develop a life-long passion for the performing arts.
We are just so grateful to you for supporting our young music makers and artists in Martin’s memory, thank you so so much!
You can find out more about the NYAT here: https://nationalyouthartstrust.org.uk/
