SOS! Save Nomad Beat ... Save the Music!

Hi, my name is Ian, and I'm fundraising for Nomad Beat Community Music School in Peebles, a registered charity of which I am a trustee.

Nomad Beat Community Music School is a unique and much-loved music charity in the Scottish Borders that has provided accessible, high-quality music tuition to learners of all ages and levels for the past 13 years. We also run a variety of therapeutic music outreach services for vulnerable and disadvantaged people within our local community and beyond, enabling those with disabilities to experience the sheer joy of playing or singing music with others and its benefits for health and wellbeing.

“Music can change the world because it can change people.”

Bono

Nomad Beat nurtures musical talent from the first stages of learning an instrument to aspiring professional level, and our team of dedicated tutors is committed to making the musical learning journey an enjoyable, stimulating, and fulfilling one. Several of our students go on to study music at conservatoire level.

Michael Gemmell playing The Sunken Cathedral (Debussy) at the Final of the Scottish Young Musicians Competition 2023 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he has been offered a place to study next year.

Our Breaking Sound Barriers project includes a music group for local school students with complex needs and the use of specialised technology to enable the musical experience for those with disabilities. We also run Mind The Music!, a group for adults experiencing mental health problems, Memory Lane Music, a musical reminiscence therapy project for people living with dementia, and Recollective, a dementia-inclusive choir. It is vital that we are able to continue this work, which is of immeasurable benefit to our community, but we urgently need your help to do this.

Anthony Swift, our Breaking Sound Barriers ambassador, explains what the project means to those taking part in the programme.

For Scottish Borders Council to set up a group for people living with dementia, it costs them £30,000. Nomad Beat delivers these groups for a tiny fraction of that cost, but we need your help to continue doing this work.

“Music is the art of all the things we can't see or touch. It is feelings and thoughts, offerings of generosity, vulnerability, and openness."

Nicola Benedetti

Roderick Kennedy singing The Jones Boys (Canadian Folk Song arr. J. Althouse) at the Rotary Young Musician Competition 2023, where he won First Prize in the vocal category.

We have fought hard to continue delivering all our services, but due to the scarcity of available grant funding since the pandemic, together with greatly increased running costs, Nomad Beat has now reached a critical point, and we urgently need to raise at least £10,000 to ensure we survive.

Please help us to save Nomad Beat for our students and for the greater good of our community, by making a donation. We are grateful for any support you are able to give.

To hear more about what Nomad Beat means to the communities of the Scottish Borders see our website.

Ian McCallum

Nomad Beat Trustee

The Nomad Beat team would like to thank everyone who has donated so far. Your generous donations will help us save Nomad Beat!!