Connect’s Spring Round-Up 2026

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It’s been an exciting Spring term for Connect, with lots of great opportunities for young musicians taking place across England, new mentors joining the programme, and partnerships going from strength to strength!

Our Connect programme offers regional support to help musicians from the earliest stage in their musical journey. Connect is specifically designed to help young people from low-income families sustain their musical learning after initial state-funded whole-class lessons end, so they can keep on progressing and playing music well into their teens and beyond. 

Our national team of Connectors have been connecting hundreds of young people to musical experiences, funding opportunities and other information across the country.  

In our Ambassador Hubs, our programmes continue to grow and thrive. Here are some highlights from the Spring term…

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Inspiring Get Togethers

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Every term, Connect students have the opportunity to meet with others on the programme to share a musical experience, whether that’s a workshop, playing together or going to see a live performance. We’ve had lots of great Get Togethers across our Music Hubs for 2026 so far, spanning a range of genres and music styles. 

Several Get Togethers this term have explored contemporary music and production – from an Ableton Move workshop in West Yorkshire, to a DJing and songwriting workshop led by Steve Oates in Liverpool, and most recently a beatboxing workshop with Danny Ladwa in Lewisham.

We also had a large-scale Get Together with 75 pupils across schools in Greater Manchester at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in March. Here, the Connect musicians rehearsed and performed four pieces together as an orchestra, and were treated to an exclusive performance and Q&A with Osian Ensemble. Check out what young musicians Bella and Noah had to say about the day!

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Our Mentors

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Mentoring continues to be a core pillar of the Connect programme, from our mentors in each Music Hub to the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) musicians who have been offering their expertise at Get Togethers thanks to our ongoing partnership. We’re delighted to welcome two new mentors to the team: Ella-May Thornley is joining the programme in Sheffield and Helena Urbaniek has come on board in Manchester. We are also pleased that more one-to-one mentoring sessions have been taking place across the country, which has been invaluable in encouraging and guiding young musicians on the programme. 

Lastly, we bid a fond farewell to our Connect mentor in Sheffield, Rory Evans, who will sadly be leaving us at the end of this term. Thank you for all the support you have given Connect musicians in Sheffield!

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Teachers’ Forums

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Each term, we are proud to support the local community of music leaders through termly Teachers’ Forums where teachers can discuss students’ progress, share good practice and welcome external speakers and practitioners. 27 Teachers’ Forums have taken place this term, providing CPD training and allowing music teachers to share their experiences in an open environment.

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Our Partners

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Our partnerships have continued to prosper this academic year. Since launching our NYO mentorship scheme last Summer, NYO musicians have appeared regularly at Get Togethers across the country, working as effective role models to the Connect pupils by sharing their musical knowledge and offering peer support.

We are also partnering with NYO to deliver some ground-breaking training which sees music leaders and young people working together.  This is hosted via our Connect partner Hubs in Waltham Forest, Worcestershire, West Yorkshire, Liverpool and Sheffield – watch this space!

Across our other partnerships, we are pleased to see many of our Connect pupils have been making use of free graded exams and music medals provided by ABRSM this term, and 99 young people took part in the programme via Open Orchestras across 10 schools during the Autumn term, thanks to our partnership with Open Up Music.

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We wish all of our Connect musicians, mentors and our fabulous Connectors across the UK a brilliant Easter break, and look forward to all the activities taking place in the Summer term! 

Unsure about the musical opportunities available for young musicians in your area? Contact your local Connector today for information and guidance!