Springboard project hits the right note with young care leavers

A York music project which has helped give a voice to young people with experience of being in care will this week celebrate the premiere of its music track and video at a screening on 1st April at York St John University Fountains Learning centre, in front of 180 people.

The Music4Care project – which is as part of the Big Lottery Funded Springboard Project - has seen 18 young people aged between 17-20 work together with project partners to build a picture of being in care through a song they wrote based on their real life experiences.  They then had the opportunity to be involved in the video production, which was directed and produced by Inspired Youth.

Music4Care is a partnership project between the Springboard Project, Foundation, Inspired Youth, York St John University, Digital Sun Media, Access to Music and City of York Council. The project has enabled the participants to express their powerful experiences of care through music.

Kev Curran from Inspired Youth, a not for profit enterprise based at York St John University’s hub for creative start-up businesses, the Phoenix Centre, says, “It’s been an inspirational project which has seen the young participants get involved at every stage. Through a series of creative workshops they’ve written the ‘How to Fly’ lyrics; sung alongside rapper, Kritikal and vocalist Isi Dawson; had a direct influence on the production of the track; and been directly involved in shooting and performing in the video. It has been such a collaborative approach and, thanks to the University’s recording facilities and equipment, they’ve created a really professional track and video.”

David Young at Digital Sun Media and visiting lecturer at York St John University brought together the university and Access to Music as partners in the project. The project gave the university’s music production students the opportunity to gain real life industry work experience, producing the track and also bringing Access to Music students in to help with song writing.

The ‘How to fly’ song and video produced through the Music4Care project will be aired for the first time at the premiere event on 1st April. The music video will launch virally on the same evening.

Izzy (17), a Springboard Project Customer involved in the project says, “I really hope that after watching this amazing piece of music the audience will feel truly inspired and that it will change their view on what it is like to be a child in the care system.”
 
Carolyn Downes, Project Manager, Springboard Project says, “The Springboard Project team has been overwhelmed by the success of this music project and the way in which it has inspired all those involved. It has offered the young people we work with a fantastic opportunity to learn about the music and video production process whilst also giving them a voice and highlighting the challenges they face as care leavers. We have forged really strong partnerships with the organisations that have been involved in producing the track and music video and are really looking forward to continuing to work with them in the future.”