Social Responsibility
EMI
The Music Sound Foundation is now the single largest sponsor of Specialist Performing Arts Colleges, and to date has awarded in excess of £3m to 1200 individuals to assist in the purchase of musical instruments.
Terra Firma is proud to be continuing to support the excellent work of the EMI Music Sound Foundation. An independent music charity, it was established in 1997 to celebrate the centenary of EMI Records and to improve young peoples' access to music education in the UK & Ireland.
The Music Sound Foundation is now the single largest sponsor of Specialist Performing Arts Colleges, and to date has awarded in excess of £3m to 1200 individuals to assist in the purchase of musical instruments, to provide 200 bursaries for music students in further education, and to sponsor 34 secondary schools to become specialist schools in either performing arts or music. Now ten years old, the Foundation plans to shift its focus toward supporting music in primary schools for the next decade.
Between 2007-8, the Foundation commissioned the Institute of Education to carry out research into the state of primary school music covering both its delivery and resources available to fund it. The outcomes of this research shows that music is one of the few school activities which genuinely engages children and helps them develop in many positive ways. At primary level there remains a particular weakness in the delivery of music with many teachers only having had access to a few hours of music tuition during their training and some not receiving any at all.
EMI, alongside the Metropolitan Police and MTV, also recently ‘pimped’ a former police van for London-based youth charity XLP. The vehicle was fitted out with state of the art music equipment, including a fully functioning recording studio, a mixing desk, pro-speakers and subs, three wireless laptops and a digital video camera. It also includes a sound-proof booth for vocal recordings, which holds pro-mics, headphones and an electric guitar. The van will also be used as a stage where young people from across London can gain performance experience, and will also provide a base for numerous projects including recording and publishing musical and drama projects; providing a performance platform where they can be mentored and giving basic training in music production.