Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced a significant funding injection for musicians and musical groups across Northern Ireland with the launch of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland's 2025/26 Musical Instruments Programme.

A substantial fund of £750,000 is now available for professional and non-professional performing musicians and ensembles to acquire new instruments or replace existing ones.

Minister Lyons emphasised his commitment to enhancing music-making within the region. "I am pleased to announce the launch of this year's Arts Council of Northern Ireland's Musical Instruments Programme," he stated. "Through the financial support provided by my Department, I am committed to increasing the quality of music-making in Northern Ireland and would encourage musicians, bands and groups to make an application."

He further added: "We can all appreciate the importance of music and how it contributes to, and enriches, our cultural experiences."

The Musical Instruments Programme is specifically designed to enable musicians across Northern Ireland to upgrade their equipment, replacing old or worn-out instruments with new ones. This vital scheme plays a key role in fostering musical talent and activity throughout the community.

Last year's programme saw a total of 119 grants awarded, benefiting a diverse range of recipients. This included 75 bands, 13 professional and non-professional performing groups, and 31 individual professional musicians. Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, expressed delight at the programme's opening. "With much appreciated capital investment from the Department for Communities, the Arts Council is delighted to announce the opening of the Musical Instruments Programme 2025/26," she commented.

Ms McDonough highlighted the scheme's broad impact: "This valuable scheme offers bands, musical groups, schools and professional musicians the opportunity to buy new instruments, helping to increase skills for all players, from young musicians just starting out, right through to highly trained performers."

Applications are now open via the Arts Council of Northern Ireland website, with grants accessible across three distinct programmes tailored to different needs.

The Musical Instruments Programme includes three strands:

The Bands strand of the programme was created to support bands based in Northern Ireland, which are formally constituted, including accordion, brass, flute, pipe, wind and concert bands.

The Professional and Non-Professional Performing Groups category was open to choirs and orchestras, community music groups, musical societies, primary and post primary schools and youth groups.

The third strand is for Individual Professional Musicians.

Further information about Musical Instruments Programme – Musical Instruments for Individuals is available from Arts Council NI.

Further information about Musical Instruments Programme – Musical Instruments for Bands and Musical Instruments for Professional and Non-Professional Performing Groups is available from Arts Council NI.