Calls to extend pioneering music service in Wrexham and Denbighshire

North Wales Music Cooperative, which runs two sister organisations in Denbighshire and Wrexham, stepped up to the plate when the pandemic struck in March 2020.

They revamped the service and “pushed the boundaries to technology” to set up a brand new online platform, www.totallymusic.com to hold virtual classes and keep the music lessons alive.

It provides work for 72 self-employed music teachers.

Mark Isherwood visit to North Wales Music Co-operative. Pictured Mark Isherwood with Cooperative chair Cllr Mark Young , Mike Williams Business advisor for social business Wales and Heather Powell ; Music Co-operative founder and head of service .

Their pioneering approach, with backing from the Welsh Government, was honoured at the prestigious Social Business Wales Awards where they won the technology category, Tech for Good.

With the Welsh Government is set to unveil plans for a national music service, Mark Isherwood, North Wales MS, says the successful cooperative model should be used as a template for the rest of the country.

Mr Isherwood said: “I am incredibly impressed with what they have achieved since the cooperative was established seven years ago when council-run music services came to an end..

“I’m a great fan of community enterprise and this shows how it works, not only in terms of expertise but also in terms of passion, commitment and a community voice coming together and creating such success.

“Wrexham and Denbighshire councils are on board and the opportunity is for so many more to take advantage of this service at a time when councils going the other way, either removing a service altogether or considering making their music teachers redundant.

“My message to other local authorities in North Wales is to look at what they’re doing here, look at what they’ve achieved and then compare that with what they’re able to offer or potentially considering reducing the offer in the future.”

Cooperative founder and head of service Heather Powell was grateful to Mr Isherwood for his support.

She said: “There is a discussion at the Senedd about a rollout of a national music service for Wales.

“While it’s great that there’s going to be more funding for music services across Wales, it’s also important to recognise that it can be delivered successfully by a third sector organisation like the North Wales Music Cooperative."

It was a sentiment echoed by cooperative chair Cllr Mark Young who said: “We are grateful to our local authority funders and the Welsh Government who have all invested in us and enabled us to create a successful model that can be rolled-out to other areas.

“What we need is a long term commitment of funding over two or three years, or preferably five years. It would be better for the pupils and better for the teachers we employ.

“Our ambition is to grow so that we can bring music to more and more children and do so even more cost-effectively through economies of scale, delivering even greater value for money.”