Young people are at the heart of Young Sounds UK and we believe that they should be involved in influencing and informing our work. It’s important that our programmes meet the needs of the young musicians we support, and that they’re representative of and relevant to them.
Since 2019, we’ve welcomed applications from Alumni to join our Board of Trustees. Recruiting Alumni Trustees is the next step to ensuring that young people are directly involved in decision making whilst giving them the knowledge, understanding and experience of how a charity is governed.
We received a high volume of applications and after some careful consideration we’re delighted to appoint Morro Barry as our fifth Alumni Trustee! Supported by Young Sounds for 3 years, Morro joins fellow Alumnus Max Brown on the board and follows in the footsteps of previous Alumni Trustees Mahaliah Edwards, Caius Lee and Ella McCoshan.
Morro Barry started playing the tuba at the age of eight in a local brass band. At 14, he began studying at the Junior Royal Academy of Music. Unable to purchase his own instrument, Morro relied heavily on rentals during his studies. With his time at the Junior Royal Academy of Music coming to an end, so to would his access to the instrument he loved. Without it his progression would be greatly impacted. That’s when he applied for financial support from Young Sounds through our Thrive programme. With support from the Monica & Quintin Des Clayes Awards, Morro could afford his first tuba. He would go on to became the principal tuba of the National Youth Brass Band, later joining the National Youth Orchestra in 2022. He also performed the Vaughan Williams tuba concerto at the Royal Festival Hall with the Chineke! Junior Orchestra. Currently, he is studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Ben Thompson and he holds the Skinners’ Lawrence Atwell Scholarship. Now he can add Alumni Trustee to his list of accomplishments!
“I’m extremely excited to be joining the board as their Alumni Trustee this year, having been supported by Young Sounds UK and experienced their amazing work first hand. In a world where everything is getting harder, it’s important to support people from all background and show that arts are for everyone. It’s privilege to have the opportunity to give back in a time where the arts aren’t being pushed nearly enough!”
Morro Barry, Young Sounds UK Alumnus Trustee
A really important – and really enjoyable – part of being a trustee for Young Sounds is to represent the charity at our fundraising concerts and Awards Days. Morro recently joined us for the first of our insight days as part of the Exchange mentoring programme, run in partnership with the BBC. Morro says:
“The Exchange day at the Royal Albert Hall was a fantastic opportunity, not only to see a great prom but to gain an insight into how it’s run and to hear the young people come together and create some amazing music.”
Our Alumni are a unique community of musicians and we’d like to find ways to continue to involve you with our current Award winners and in our programmes. We have some exciting paid and voluntary opportunities coming up which we’ll offer to our Alumni. They might include taking part in webinars for our Award winners, professional development opportunities to expand your skills, an musical experiences. Whether you were supported by Young Sounds two years ago or two decades ago, we’d love to hear from you. Please use this short form to opt in or out of hearing from us. You can also tell us more about what you’re up to now in your studies or career.
