At NYJO, we are committed to ensuring that every young person, regardless of their background or location, has access to high-quality music education. Through the national projects in our Widening Access programme, we work alongside local music hubs, educators, and young musicians to help remove some of these barriers to access, foster creativity, and develop the next generation of jazz artists.
At the start of 2025, we worked with Lancashire Music Service’s Schools Jazz Orchestra as part of our Widening Access programme. Over the course of 6 sessions, NYJO Lead Educator Fergus Quill and Assistant Educators Sophie Speed and Isabella Zufolo helped the young musicians build their confidence in improvising, as well as preparing for a final concert, where they played alongside NYJO Emerging Professionals.
“Through this project, I was hoping to inspire the young people to express themselves and not to be ashamed or embarrassed by who they are! I wanted them to discover how to use music as a tool to aid that self expression, principally through improvisation.”
Fergus Quill, NYJO Educator
The main aim of this project was to help the young musicians gain confidence improvising, as this can be an amazing creative outlet for many young people:
“I felt as if I made progress in demystifying improvisation for these young people and increasing their confidence as performers, as well as trying to represent music as a fun thing that is fulfilling and fundamentally about self expression, rather than playing everything correctly or being an anonymous part in an ensemble.”
Fergus Quill, NYJO Educator
For us as an organisation, it is so important to remind young people of the joy of music-making as a tool for self-expression and as a means for having fun! There can be so much pressure within young people’s lives to strive constantly, to get better grades or to achieve at a higher level, and this sense that you should always be striving or pushing can absolutely spread into music for many young people. Whilst we obviously want the musicians that we work with to achieve their best, this can look different for every young person, and sometimes doing your best in music should be about experimenting, making mistakes, and taking creative risks without fear. It was a joy to see the young people on this project engage with music-making in this way.
“I have been more confident in making mistakes!”
Keavy, Project Participant
“I’ve loved seeing a new way to do things!”
Edgar, Project Participant
The (ongoing) impact of projects such as this extends far beyond the music itself. Access to creative opportunities has been shown to improve young people’s confidence, teamwork, and overall well-being. For many, taking part in a NYJO project is their first experience of music-making in this way. By building their confidence in improvisation and ensemble collaboration, we are not only expanding their musical horizons but also giving them the tools to think creatively and express themselves in new ways.
“I’ve really enjoyed the freedom in playing, and the skill of learning pieces by ear.”
Keavy, Project Participant
As we continue to expand our work across the UK, our goal remains the same: to widen access to high-quality jazz education and to ensure that every young musician, no matter their background, has the opportunity to discover their musical potential.
Achieving your potential looks different for every young person, and projects like this give young people the opportunity to define this for themselves, outside of the pressures that more formal learning environments can place on music-making. Here, young people could embrace the joy and creativity that should sit at the heart of music; taking risks, trying new things, and growing in confidence as a result.
If you would like to find out more about any of our National Widening Access offer, please get in touch today at [email protected]!