Plymouth Music Zone

About the charity

Plymouth Music Zone is a dynamic community music organisation working with some of the most vulnerable children and young people in the city of Plymouth and beyond. Its mission is to make a real difference to people’s lives by providing high quality music-making opportunities for young people and training for adults. PMZ passionately believes in the power of music and the skills of its Music Leaders to be a powerful agent for personal, social and educational development. The charity has won a number of awards and recently won a Social Enterprise of the Year Award in recognition of the innovative way it uses ‘music to make a difference’ to those who need it most.

In the last 10 years, Plymouth Music Zone has introduced workshops and live performance to nearly 50,000 people throughout the city of Plymouth and beyond. It engages up to 1200 children, young people and adults every week with a diverse programme of up to 80 regular music-making activities and training delivered by 8 full time staff and up to 30 sessional and freelance workers. It is one of the biggest music education providers in the South West and the fastest growing employer and trainer of community musicians in the region offering the only Foundation Degree in Community Music in the UK. Its distinctive programme of high quality music activities and training is making it an increasingly respected leader in the field of community music.

Plymouth Music Zone is also fast becoming a Centre of Excellence for disabled music making through its successful development of the Sensation Music Station. This is the only multi-sensory music studio of its kind in the country employing groundbreaking interactive technology. Through sound and image the studio is transforming the way disabled children and others experience music.

Plymouth Music Zone is also one of a network of 22 “Youth Music Action Zones” set up in areas of social and economic need by national charity Youth Music. Youth Music is the charity’s main funder but a planned reduction in funding means having to look for other exciting ways to raise money for PMZ's future - so it can continue using music to make a difference where it counts.