Gloucestershire Music Bus helps children 'express themselves'
The Music Bus is funded by a number of organisations including the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) which identifies areas of the county experiencing higher levels of deprivation.It is also funded by the GSW Music Hub, a music education partnership for Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire."The Music Bus started about three years ago with a little bit of funding to refurbish this bus, kit it out with basically a studio on wheels," said Mikel Medley, youth support manager for Music Works."It's been hugely successful, it's almost a bit of a pilot to go round all over Gloucestershire to offer opportunities for kids to get into music and also reach rural areas."
It travels to different settings including children's summer programmes where in Podsmead, Gloucester, 10-year-old Malik has written his own rap."I really appreciate what they've been doing to me, they've been helping me even though I've struggled a bit in my lyrics," he said."My song is about what my hobbies are, where I'm from and how old I am."
"For me, seeing young people on the bus, it's like reaching people who wouldn't have the opportunity to do music or even know their full potential in life," said Mr Medley."For us it's really important that things like this happen."If the community invests in young people, then young people invest in the community."
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The Guardian
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