NEWS: Music Bursary Launched by Festival

An annual bursary worth more than £1,000 has been launched by Raglan Music Festival to fund the teaching of musical instruments to local school children.

The award to be known as the Raglan Music Festival Rhydian Avent Bursary is named in memory of a former pupil of Raglan VC Primary School who was a keen musician but who was tragically killed in a diving accident in 2006.

With an initial term of three years, the bursary will be awarded each year to three different pupils at Raglan Primary School.

Raglan School’s head teacher Mrs Elizabeth Blakemore said: “We are delighted that the organisers of the Raglan Music Festival have so very kindly launched this annual bursary for children at the school.”

“Music plays an important part in the school’s curriculum and the bursary will allow us to offer even more opportunities for the children to experience the joys of learning how to play an instrument.”

The bursary forms part of the festival’s commitment to supporting the local community and in particular children, many of whom have enthusiastically participated in the festival’s workshops and school concerts.

Monmouth MP David Davies said: “The Raglan Music Festival has not only grown into a prestigious and important part of the Welsh arts calendar, but also a genuinely commendable community event, which offers so much for youngsters in Raglan and the surrounding area.

“I know from my previous visits to the festival that the area boasts an abundance of very gifted young musicians. This bursary will allow more of these children to further develop their talents and hopefully one-day take centre stage at the festival itself.”

The bursary has been supported by funding from Raglan Music Festival, CastleOak Foundations and the Avent family.

Festival organiser Charles Fountain said: “As a community run event the festival encourages the uptake of music amongst the young by providing workshops conducted by established musicians.”

”The annual bursary, which will pay for music lessons for local children is an extension of this aim and we are pleased to be able to help the local community in this way.”