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A Lisburn group has received a welcome boost to bring music to the local community

A local community group has received a welcome boost from the Arts Council and the National Lottery.
By Julie-Ann Spence
Published 25th Oct 2022, 10:38 BST
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Poundbridge & District Community Association will use their funding towards their project, Making Music Together, a series of weekly music classes, for people aged 11 and older, in two rural locations.

Instruments on offer will include the tin whistle, fifes, Bb flutes, and drums and classes will be delivered by professional tutors in the Ballylesson Old Boys Hall and in Drumbo Orange Hall. The project will culminate in a celebratory concert.

The local project is one of 73 Community groups, arts organisations and local authorities in rurally-based communities across Northern Ireland are set to benefit from the Arts Council’s new Rural Engagement Arts Programme (REAP).

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Pictured (L-R) are REAP funding recipients Dafydd Hall Williams, Ulster Touring Opera, David Robertson, Fermanagh Choral Society and Bryony May, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, who will use the funding to deliver a collaborative music project that uses the power of opera and choral singing to enhance the wellbeing of younger and older people in rural Fermanagh.Pictured (L-R) are REAP funding recipients Dafydd Hall Williams, Ulster Touring Opera, David Robertson, Fermanagh Choral Society and Bryony May, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, who will use the funding to deliver a collaborative music project that uses the power of opera and choral singing to enhance the wellbeing of younger and older people in rural Fermanagh.
Pictured (L-R) are REAP funding recipients Dafydd Hall Williams, Ulster Touring Opera, David Robertson, Fermanagh Choral Society and Bryony May, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, who will use the funding to deliver a collaborative music project that uses the power of opera and choral singing to enhance the wellbeing of younger and older people in rural Fermanagh.

The Rural Engagement Arts Programme, worth £500,000, aims to provide an integrated, cohesive approach to the needs of rural communities as they emerge from the global Covid-19 pandemic. The overarching theme of the programme is to tackle isolation and loneliness, and promote social inclusion and wellbeing through participation in the arts.

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Liam Hannaway, Chair, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, commented: "We know that taking part in arts activities can raise self-esteem, boost confidence and motivation, as well as alleviate isolation and loneliness. The pandemic and the resulting lockdowns across the UK have taken a toll on individual lives, with mental health and well-being adversely effected as families and friends were separated for sustained periods of time, especially intergenerational. This has been particularly compounded in rural communities which are characterised by smaller and more dispersed populations.”

Related topics:National LotteryLisburnArts CouncilCommunity groupsNorthern Ireland