Social Objectives
Sound Gallery’s principal object is to carry on activities which benefit the community and, in particular, to enable music-making, music education and volunteering activities for young people aged 11 – 25, who are socially or financially disadvantaged and lacking in creative opportunities. Our Social Objectives include the following:
·Increasing opportunities – organising and managing a range of workshops, creative and technical courses, and enrichment programmes for disadvantaged and / or disenfranchised young people living in and around Exeter.
·Improving Access – helping more local young people to develop skills – personal, social, and vocational – through music-making, especially those whose access to musical opportunities and / or facilities is currently limited due to financial disadvantage or disability.
·Encouraging positive social interaction – encouraging young people to interact positively with others in order to reach collective targets and common goals.
·Fostering a sense of achievement & worth – providing performance and recording opportunities as an integral part of music projects aimed at young people, resulting in a tangible product / collective experience, and a sense of pride at what has been achieved.
·Increasing creativity – providing opportunities for young people to create their own music in a supportive and professional environment; nurturing, developing and promoting the music created by young people.
·Furthering education & career progression – providing a wide range of affordable professional and vocational training courses for young people, in multiple aspects of music creation and production.
·Encouraging breadth of experience – introducing young people tothe widest possible range of musical styles and cultural traditions in music-making.
·Providing high-quality services – providing the highest quality of musical experience for young people, in order to encourage enjoyment and further involvement.
·Developing, celebrating and promoting young people’s achievements – recognising and celebrating young volunteers’ achievements;referring and recommending local musical talent to key industry agencies, promoters, managers, and the local media; providing opportunities for young people to perform at local high-profile venues.
·Informing and educating the local community about their musical heritage – raising public awareness of creative and original musical works produced by talented local musicians, past and present.
In furtherance of these objectives, Sound Gallery aims to:
·Provide a range of inexpensive services and access to resources, technology, equipment and information to a community of musicians and local young people. These will include a recording studio (complete with qualified engineers), rehearsal rooms, computers, and relevant music technology software.
·Foster, develop and promote new and existing talent, via band / musician profile pages on our website, and through live music showcase events at Exeter Phoenix and other venues.
·Empower and sustain struggling artists and help present their work to the music industry and the local community, through a young musicians bursary scheme and live music showcase events.
·Provide networking opportunities as stepping stones to further careers, through music industry seminars and demo panels with key industry figures.
·Recruit young volunteers, who will be involved in planning, decision-making, and the day-to-day running of the Centre.
·Encourage creativity and innovation through collaboration with a skilled team of experts employed to deliver innovative and exciting projects.
·Attract new audiences and increase community involvement in local music through artistically stimulating and challenging performances and events.
·Commission new works by talented young composers and songwriters.
·Organise regular community workshops and projects for local people whereby technical and creative music skills can be learned. Some of these courses will eventually be accredited, resulting in a nationally-recognised vocational qualification.
·Produce compilation audio CDs which showcase the talent of local bands and musicians. These will be produced by local recording engineers/producers, and artwork will be produced and designed by local photographers/graphic designers. The CDs will be promoted via local media reviews and press releases, and they will be distributed for sale both locally, and throughout the South West region.
·Establish a local music industry forum made up of local promoters, funders and arts organisations to discuss issues affecting performance opportunities and audience generation, and carry out ongoing research about the local music industry.
·Liaise with arts and music organisations in the region, with a view to collaboration on specific projects.
·Co-operate with local authorities, educational institutions and cultural societies involved in the presentation, practice and study of music, and present Music Industry seminars in order to promote better knowledge and more widespread interest about the local and national music industry.