From Andrew, our CEO:
As many of you know, there will be major works carried out at Leiston Abbey to coincide with the commencement of the Sizewell C project. Pro Corda are using this as an exciting opportunity to remodel our programmes and strengthen our reach as the national provider of chamber music education.
Pro Corda will move the majority of its courses and programmes away from Leiston Abbey for the next few years.
With this, we are massively increasing our schools delivery. Our existing National Chamber Music Festival for Schools will be grown to take in a year-round Pro Corda workshop and masterclass series. This expansion will allow us to work with schools and areas where there is little or no chamber music, and widen the geographical reach of chamber music at a time when its pivotal educational benefits are needed in national music curriculum and beyond as never before.
So what will change?
- The Pro Corda Festival itself will remain in the Spring.
- Our existing “Create Together” programme for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools will be delivered as courses and sustained workshop series at our partner schools – allowing us to work with five times more students.
- Our founding residential chamber music courses serving each age tier will remain and be held at new stunning offsite venues in Devon and Cambridge as flagship summer series.
- We will continue to run programmes for the local community at Leiston Abbey during the works – including our provision for children and young adults with additional needs from Suffolk.
- Our Piano Sanctuary series for adult learners will also continue at the Abbey for now.
These changes represent the biggest remodelling of Pro Corda in its history. I’m delighted that the chamber courses which were our foundation stone will continue to be at the heart of the programme (at new stunning facilities for the forthcoming seasons) and that, alongside this, Pro Corda’s mission will reach the heart of classrooms and schools halls up and down the country, widening our access as never before at a particularly crucial time nationally.
Got any questions?
We will be releasing loads more information over the coming weeks and months as soon as we are able.
But we also understand that this is a big change for lots of you, and you will inevitably have questions.
Please do get in touch by clicking the button here and we will answer your questions as best as we can.
You can also call us during office hours on 01728 831354.
