Category Archives: Press release
Perth City Operatic Group’s support for young musicians
Perth City Operatic Group will now cease to exist, and their leftover funds have been donated to youth music charities in the area.
The Perth City Operatic Group has raised more than £10,000 for charities during its final farewell party.
The company was forced to wrap up their performances after 55 years due to dwindling attendance numbers.
Money raised from the event at the Tulloch Institute at the weekend will be evenly split to give three charities supporting young musicians £3,500 each.
Holly Cammidge, of the Perth City Operatic Group, said the last performance was bittersweet. “It was a sad occasion but it was one we wanted to celebrate,” she said.
“It was a really nice evening.We made our donations to three charities to distribute the money in our account.
The three charities were chosen by members of the group themselves. They decided to donate the money to Perth Youth Orchestra, the Perth and Kinross Music Foundation and the Young Musicians Parents Association.
On choosing the charities, Ms Cammidge said: “It was decided at that we wanted to support up and coming musicians.
“All of our productions have had a live orchestra and we wouldn’t have managed without one, so we feel that this is giving something back.”
The opera group had to cancel its final show last autumn and was unable to form a committee at its annual general meeting in the spring.
They had previously put on a major show once a year but the pressures of doing this have become too great for the remaining organisers of the group.
Ms Cammidge said: “We had also recently tried to put on a production at Perth Theatre, like our sister organisation Perth Amateur Operatic Society have managed, but it proved too expensive.
“At our meeting in March, we couldn’t get enough people to form a committee so the group had to stop.”
On Friday night past members and their families and friends were invited to join the group to celebrate the 55 years of the opera group’s work. As the Perth City Opera Group said its final farewell, they remained grateful to everyone who supported them. Ms Cammidge said: “We would like to thank our audiences and members over the years for their support.
A spokesperson for the operatic group said: “It is with great sadness that we had to announce the closure of Perth City Operatic Group, a charity which has been a part of Perth’s performing arts scene since 1964 and welcomed many audiences over the years.
“Perth City Operatic Group’s AGM was held earlier this year and the final decision was made by its members to close the society. A decline in membership numbers and a lack of interest in the running of the society meant that this decision was forced to comply with the society’s constitution as it can not exist without a committee in place.
According to Perth City Operatic Group’s constitution, their remain funds were distributed among local youth music charities which have been chosen by the membership – including Perth Youth Orchestra and the Perth and Kinross Music Foundation.
“We’d like to thank our audiences and members over the years for their support.”
Responding on behalf of Perth and Kinross Music Foundation, Chairperson Mhairi MacKinnon said, “We are delighted to receive such a great boost to our funds but obviously saddened by the circumstances which sees the end of a great Perth institution.”
Music Service Celebrates 50 years
https://vimeo.com/146957477
Recently, Perth and Kinross Instrumental Music Service celebrated its 50th anniversary!
To celebrate this achievement they’ve put together a short film to show some of the areas they provide music provision, highlighting what it means to the children, parents and staff.
They’d love to know what you think!
Tell them about any experiences you’ve had with the service, as a pupil, parent or teacher, and why you think music provision is important.
TESCO – Blue Tokens
Perth and Kinross Music Foundation we would like to thank everyone who helped recently by posting their blue tokens into the Tesco “Bags of help” slots. The Foundation have been awarded £2000 and this will help hugely in their quest to “letting our children play”!
Information Leaflet
[pdf height=”700px”]https://pkmf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/PKMF-INFO-web-2.pdf[/pdf]
Download and share this leaflet here.
IMS Tutor Concert for PKMF Funds
Thanks to the staff of Perth and Kinross’ Instrumental Music Service – and Dick Keatings (compere) for a beautiful concert in St John’s Episcopal Church, Perth. Over £800 was raised in support of families who, otherwise, would struggle to send their children to music lessons.
Music trust reports “concerning” decline in children signing up for lessons after council price hike
A trust set up to support families struggling to pay for music lessons revealed a “concerning” decline in fresh starts, amid warnings the price hike could turn Perth into a “musical vacuum”.
The Perth and Kinross Music Foundation (PKMF), which was established 20 years ago, has also experienced a 50% rise in the number of applications from local families for financial support.
At the weekend, staff from the instrumental music service will perform a fundraising concert at St John’s Episcopal Church. It is hoped they can raise enough money for the trust to meet growing demand.
Other groups, including the Gannochy Trust and city Rotarians, have also agreed to help.
Perth and Kinross Council agreed the 60% increase over the next three years. The first 20% rise came into effect in August.
More than 1,000 people have signed a petition calling for the council to rethink its spending strategy.
Andrew Mitchell, spokesman for the music foundation, said: “The music tutors have responded so generously to our appeals for help this year.
“In the light of the recent increases in costs set by Perth and Kinross Council, applications for our support are 50% higher than in any previous year.
“We are confident that, somehow, we will be able to match the demand.”
He said: “We are getting extra help from the Gannochy Trust, Perth Guildry, Rotary and a number of other trusts who recognise the value of our work with young musicians.”
Mr Mitchell said: “Perhaps more concerning for the future is the reduction we are seeing in applications from new families, seeking to get their children started for the first time with instrumental lessons.
“The value of a musical education is undisputed, playing a strong part in overall attainment as well as in a child’s health and wellbeing.”
He added: “For the past 20 years, the PKMF has supported low income families, but now we are seeing that the rising fees – with further rises in the pipeline – are impacting on a wider range of income groups.”
The concert at St John’s will take place at 2pm on Sunday. It will be compered by Dick Keatings, retired head-teacher of Kinross High School.
The price increase was also condemned by Leila Trainer, whose father Louis Barnett was co-founder of the Perth Youth Orchestra in 1962.
She said the hike will “plunge the music scene in Perth, for its budding young musicians, back into the limbo of the late 1940s, when opportunities for young people to learn an instrument were very limited.”
A council spokeswoman said: “Additional funding to support this service was provided in the local authority’s budget on a non-recurring basis.
“This money is being used to help extend the reach of the service further than at present. Any savings or changes to charges for services are considered by elected members as part of the statutory budget setting process.”
She added the local authority has already met with parent representatives to discuss the increased fees for the instrumental music service.
Abseilling for Funds
A massive effort to raise fund for Perth and Kinross Music Foundation led the charity’s chairperson, Mhairi MacKinnon, to form a team of abseilers, to descend from the top of the Forth Rail Bridge raising over £4751.50.
The event was supported by the Rotary Club of South Queensferry and Perth and Kinross music instructors and friends of PKMF, including Lynsey Paterson, Scott Barker, Iona Crosbie, George Annan, Ken Watt, Mark Jenkins, Sandy Warnock and Robert Warnock. Participants were encouraged to raise a minimum of £145 each but all exceeded this amount by a long way!
Music day to help local families
Perth music fans enjoyed an afternoon at the opera, folk and theatre in St Leonard-in-the-Fields church, all in aid of the Perth and Kinross Music Foundation
The generous performance of Liam and his friends raised over £1000 for the charity which assists families with the cost of tuition fees and supports their attendance at the orchestras and ensembles that meet after school throughout term time.
(L-R) Liam Bonthrone, Stephanie Maitland, Peter Norris and Sian Voller with Robin Versteeg (accompanist).
Raising Funds to Let the Children Play
Thanks to Perth and Kinross Central Groups Elementary Strings, conducted by Mrs McKinnon, the Kinross High School Ukulele Group led by Mr Rose, Kinross High School String Group under the direction of Mrs Doyle, the Jambouree Singers accompanied bt Mrs Auld and the Perthshire Youth Brass Band.
Thanks also to our compere, Mr Allan Young, Coordinator of Perth and Kinross’ Instrumental Music Service and also to St John’s Academy Fair Trade Group for friendly catering.
Over £900 was raised enabling families on the lowest incomes to support their children’s instrumental tuition fees and attendance at Central Groups.
