Southern Education & Library Board
Title: Beginner to Band/ The Music Zone
Artform: Music
Organisation: General Population
Creative Partners: Youth & Community Groups, Councils/ Government Bodies, Arts Organisations
Participants:110 young people 12 – 25 years

Synopsis: The Music Zone is a 1-year (and beyond) popular music programme providing high quality and diverse music-making opportunities for young people in the SELB area, making opportunities which both enrich their private lives and contribute to their personal, social and professional development.

The Music Zone aims to:

• Enhance the artistic, personal and social development of young people through the process of music making.
• Promote and celebrate the value of music in the lives of young people.
• Contribute to the development of young people's understanding of the cultural wealth of their Action Zone area and beyond.
• Support the professional development of musicians and other deliverers currently working in the community.
• Develop a focus on the music industry by providing pathways and support for people of all ages considering a career in popular music.
• Expand range of provision for young people.
• Make music making more accessible to young people.

In year one of the programme;

• The SELB area has been divided into four Music Zones – Armagh , Dungannon & Cookstown, Banbridge & Craigavon, Newry & Mourne
• Young people have participated in each Music Zone, in music workshops from beginner to band level, cumulating in a celebratory event in April 2006 in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh .
• A mentoring programme has been established across the SELB area, in which 10 musicians have completed an accredited Music Facilitation Course and have worked under the guidance of four Music Co-ordinators.
• Further funding applications have been made to various arts and government bodies.