Music Success with Arts Council Yorkshire

A year since the launch of Arts Council England’s Take it away loan scheme £180,000 worth of instruments have been bought in Yorkshire, boosting music retailers and helping produce the next generation of musicians.

Over eight thousand people have used Take it away to buy £5million worth of instruments nationally - that's the equivalent of 2000 string quartets, 300 brass bands or 83 symphony orchestras! Three per cent of national sales were in Yorkshire alone.

Craig Monk, Music Officer, Arts Council England, Yorkshire, said: "We're helping to put musical instruments into the hands of people who would not otherwise have had the opportunity, and our research shows that the scheme is reaching beginners young and old, as well as adults returning to music making."

The success of the scheme has also given a boost to the high-street instrument retailers, the majority of which are small independent stores. Almost two-thirds of retailers reported increased sales with some businesses seeing turnover increase by as much as £100,000.

Orchestrand supply musicians and bands to live events such as Weddings, Functions and Private Parties in Leeds, Sheffield, York and indeed across Yorkshire and the UK.