Unemployed are helped to build a future in music

A six-day personal development programme targeted at unemployed young people who want to make a future in music has taken place at Queen’s University, Belfast.

Organised by The Prince’s Trust, the musical extravaganza, entitled ‘Soundlive’ involved ten participants from the Training and Employment Agency’s New Deal for Musicians initiative, and focused on personal development and unlocking creativity. It included tuition in each individual’s chosen instrument, inputs on the music business, song writing and future music education options.

During the week the participants had the opportunity to work with professional musicians, and by the end of the six days, each person had developed a personal action plan, mapping out their next steps in pursuit of their personal development and musical goals.

The week culminated with the New Deal participants performing live on stage amongst a group of 30 musicians in front of a distinguished audience.

Mr Roy Gamble, Director with responsibility for the programme, said: "New Deal for Musicians has been running for almost two years now and in this time we have had over 150 participants from across Northern Ireland taking part in it. We are delighted to support the Prince’s Trust’s ‘soundlive’ initiative, which complements the Agency’s efforts to help unemployed young musicians progress into careers in all types of music." (CL)