aaamusic | On 26, Jun 2015

Ronnie Scott’s launches its first Music Instrument Amnesty giving new life to unused or unwanted instruments by donating them to young aspiring musicians both in the UK and abroad.

On Saturday 11^th of July, Ronnie Scott’s will be holding a Music Instrument Amnesty to collect unused music instruments and donating them to school aged children in the UK and overseas. The amnesty is organized in association with Sistema England and Music Fund.

Donated instruments will be given new life in the hands of children and young people participating in ambitious ‘social action through music’ projects, in targeted communities in England and abroad.

Sistema England, founded by Julian Lloyd Webber, seeks to transform the lives of children, young people and their communities through the power of music making. It is part of an international movement inspired by El Sistema, the Venezuelan programme that benefits street kids through the creation of grass roots orchestras. The Ronnie Scott’s Music Instrument Amnesty will go some way to benefit some of the 3,000 children in Sistema programmes in 14 schools in London, Liverpool, Newcastle, Norwich and Telford. Overseas, the collected instruments will be given a second life through Music Fund who distributes to projects in international conflict zones from their base in Brussels. Music Fund is a humanitarian project that supports musicians and music schools in conflict areas and developing countries operating in Africa, the Middle East and Central America.

It’s an initiative that is especially dear to Ronnie Scott’s Managing Director Simon Cooke who said,

“We at Ronnie’s are really pleased to lead this drive helping schools and education projects at home and around the World. Our standing in the jazz world puts us in a great position to ask musicians, our members and the public at large to help us help underprivileged kids by donating their unloved or used music instruments on July 11. This is the first of a few new charitable initiatives that the club will be embarking upon”.

Donors are invited to book an advance appointment and then pop in to the legendary Frith Street club anytime between 10am and 3.30pm on Saturday 11^thJuly with the instrument they wish to donate. And while they wait for their instrument to be inspected and a tracking number issued – the donor is able to track their instrument to its final destination whether Newcastle, Liverpool or the war torn Middle East – they are invited to experience the iconic venue, perhaps rubbing shoulders with musicians who have graced the Ronnie’s stage who will be dropping their instruments off too!

Ronnie Scott’s isn’t just offering a drop-off point for instruments though, as well as helping to collect and repair instruments, they will be working alongside the organisations both at home and abroad to inspire a young generation of aspiring jazz musicians.   The club will arrange jazz workshops based on its hugely successful Big Band in a Day initiative that invites school kids into Ronnie’s to work with world class musicians in forming their very own big band!

Instruments can be booked in for donation via: http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/performances/view/2862-the-ronnie-scotts-music-intrument-amnesty