Building Leaders Using Music Education (BLUME) Haiti uses music as a tool for social change. The organisation works in partnership with more than 50 music schools across Haiti to uplift thousands of Haitian youth through the creative power of music. ABRSM’s

Play On funding will support their Haitian Orchestral Institute programme, including helping young musicians from dangerous and inaccessible parts of Haiti travel to a safer part of the country to attend workshops and concerts.

In partnership with Compass Children’s Charity, which funds projects in Latin America that have a meaningful and positive impact on at-risk, migrant and street children globally, we are pleased to be supporting Casa Alianza Mexico with Play On funding in 2023.

ABRSM’s grant will support their music therapy project, which proactively engages children in music workshops designed to support their emotional development and the development of new skills. It also works to repair damage caused to motor skills through prolonged solvent abuse on the streets and supports a detoxification process to prevent relapses.

ABRSM is supporting the Cayman Youth Choir through Play On this year, specifically their involvement in the "Stronger Together Choral Festival", which proudly aims to bring together a wide range of young people from the Cayman Islands, in a celebration of music and song. The festival will feature workshops led by Mark De-Lisser and will culminate in a gala concert to showcase the unifying power of music.

The Harmony Kenya Foundation works to establish or support music departments in Government schools in Kenya. ABRSM’s Play On grant will support the Foundation’s programme at Westlands School, a primary school in Nairobi, including the purchase of new instruments and expansion of their tuition programme.

Harmony Project Phoenix is a non-profit organisation devoted to expanding educational opportunities for marginalised students by leveraging the transformative influence of music. Since its establishment in 2015, the organisation has made a profound impact on the lives of more than 600 young individuals, with a specific focus on those from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds.

ABRSM’s Play On funding will support the American Sign Language (ASL) Choir, an innovative music initiative that serves as a bridge between the world of music and children with hearing impairments. Through an interactive and engaging approach rooted in play-based learning, the ASL Choir strives to build students' confidence and increase representation of musicians with hearing impairments in the performing arts.

JSM Academy is a non-profit music academy that provides quality music education to disadvantaged communities within the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The Academy offers learners both instrumental and music theory tuition and provides young musicians with opportunities to develop their performance skills. ABRSM’s Play On funding will support their programme through the purchase of instruments, accessories and exam support materials.

Kunbi’s Music Company is a hybrid music school, located in Lagos, Nigeria, that provides music lessons to students of all ages and abilities, both within Nigeria and around the world. The organisation aims to deliver music learning experiences that are fun, accessible and rewarding for all learners, and ABRSM’s Play On funding will support their work in two of their Lagos centres.

ABRSM’s Play On funding will support String Heads Music and their ‘Jingle Bells’ programme in schools across India’s Kerala region. The programme helps Indian schools develop music departments through the provision of a music curriculum, teacher training, instruments and resources.

Thrive Music Academy Africa is a non-profit and community-based music organisation based in Kampala, Uganda. The organisation provides quality music education to young people from lower income backgrounds and ABRSM’s Play On grant will help with the purchase of both African musical instruments such as drums and thumb pianos, and Western instruments to support the creation of a junior orchestra and brass band.

The Academy’s Founder & Executive Director, Elijah Kiwalabye, says the programme will “restore the hope of many young people in Uganda, especially those who had lost it to Covid 19’s effects. It will also enable us to discover, ignite and nurture many more music talents as never before, especially among those who had lost hope of learning music due to lack of music tuition and music instruments”.