Hamish is a believer in the social, personal and educational advantages offered to those engaging with music. He is committed to ensuring significantly more children, initially across the UK, have access to these benefits.
Hamish was instrumental in launching the The National Schools Singing Programme with a £4.75m donation, which will help participating organisations to raise an estimated £11.5m from the Church and Government over the lifetime of the project. Currently running across 437 state schools in the UK and engaging more than 38,000 children, the programme has also brought employment opportunities to over 75 people across the UK.
This programme enables weekly, professional, free-at-the-point-of-use tuition schemes, giving every child the opportunity to reap the lifelong rewards of engaging with music, while simultaneously securing the next generations of Choristers and Choral Directors.
Children from primary and secondary schools are each taught for an hour a week by full-time Choral Directors who travel from school to school, incorporating the national curriculum where they can. The lessons are led in an interactive, fun and inspiring way.
Hamish has also funded the associate Keyboard Studies Programme which provides whole-class melodica lessons to 1,200 children every week, with opportunities to progress to related keyboard instruments such as the organ, piano and classical accordion.
For more information regarding funding opportunities, click here.
£70 million*
30 Countries
Heritage Skills Training
