It comes as no surprise that we love music at OMF, and we’re delighted when the wider community shows their support for our mission to make music education accessible for everyone.
Last month, our friends at The Kettner Society got behind our mission by hosting a fundraising concert as part of their prestigious Kettner Concerts programme. Kettner Concerts regularly host world class musicians giving outstanding performances of classical and contemporary pieces. From well known classics to hidden gems, their programmes draw on the rich links of music with cultural, artistic, historical, and political subjects.
But The Kettner Society are also committed to supporting and nurturing young musicians by offering them a platform to showcase their talents at the stunning and historic National Liberal Club in London. We were over the moon to hear that one of their concerts was being given in aid of OMF, with all the proceeds going to our work providing music education for children and young people experiencing financial barriers to music participation.
Shutian Cheng, Eliza Ruffle, and Ethan Wu are pupils from Westminster School, but also exceptional young pianists. Last month they shared their talents with Kettner Concerts, giving wonderful performances of romantic ballads from Chopin and Liszt.
Not only did the young performers delight the audience, but they also raised an amazing £317.98 for OMF! This is enough to provide an entire term’s worth of music lessons for a child on free school meals, and a music workshop for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Artistic Director of Kettner Concerts Hannah-Elizabeth Teoh told us about the concert and the pupils’ brilliant commitment to sharing their love of music with others:
"All three young pianists gave spectacular performances of very challenging works and their individual musical talent and discipline was abundantly evident. However without access to musical instruments and tuition these qualities could never have had the chance to be applied and developed. It was very moving to witness young people who've had access to these things put the skills they've acquired through taking full advantage of them towards helping bridge the gap for those who don't."
We’d like to say an enormous thank you to Shutian, Eliza, Ethan, and everybody at Kettner Concerts for their incredible support for OMF. We wouldn’t be able to continue our work without the kindness and generosity of our amazing supporters, and we’re all so grateful for their support!
If you’d like to support OMF’s mission to make music participation accessible for everyone, you can donate to the charity via our website. If you’d like to hear more about our work, or get involved in fundraising or volunteering, please just email laura.batey@olympiasmusicfoundation.com.
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