To have somebody who doesn’t know me at all, judging my talent and deeming me worthy of support, was amazing.
Sometimes it takes affirmation from someone in the know to get us to where we need to be. Now happily studying music at Royal Holloway and experiencing everything from performing in contemporary music groups to writing a dissertation on music therapy, Aletheia Woodhouse was once a secondary school student in a family struggling to pay the bills. A teacher, Mrs Allnutt (we always remember these teacher’s names!) made a crucial intervention. Realising the family’s financial challenges she told them about AYM.
Aletheia credits the charity – as objective assessors of her musical potential – with giving her a huge boost in confidence in her own abilities at a vital moment. “It wasn’t like my mum saying ‘oh you’re the best in the world!’ it was someone else saying ‘I think you have potential and I’d like to give you money so you can continue your musical career.’”
Part of our 20th anniversary project: My Musical Journey
