Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation Awards Over £630,000 in Grants to Young Creatives

The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation today announced it is awarding new grants worth over £630,000 to 21 organisations, with many focusing on encouraging young talent.

Andrew Lloyd Webber commented:

'The creative industry in the UK is thriving, but to retain this vibrancy we need to support the talented young people of all backgrounds who are looking to take their first steps towards a career in the arts. I have been lucky enough to enjoy a successful career doing something that I love and am delighted that my Foundation can support young creatives of the future.'

Andrew Lloyd Webber established the Foundation in 1992 to promote the arts, culture and heritage for the public benefit. Since 2010, the active grant giving programme has awarded grants of almost £11m to more than 250 recipients, all for projects which make a positive impact on the quality of life of both individuals and local communities.

Mentoring, training and hands on experience at world class organisations is on offer to those on the brink of their careers, with projects supported including the Bush Theatre's Emerging Artists Programme, the Young Company at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and the Hackney Empire Young Artists Company.

The grants also focus on enhancing arts education, widening participation and engagement for those with challenging backgrounds or limited access to the arts, including programmes for secondary pupils from English Schools Orchestra and Donmar Warehouse.

Alongside a focus on encouraging young talent, the Trustees have also benefitted the heritage sector with a significant grant towards the continuation of the Historic England Angel Awards. Formerly known as the English Heritage Angel Awards, the new grant of £150,000 will support the awards for a further three years, celebrating the incredible work done by volunteers to rescue and restore local heritage. The 2015 winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Palace Theatre on Monday 7 September.

The Foundation has also recently welcomed Simon Thurley, historian and former CEO of English Heritage and Director of the Museum of London, to the board of Trustees.

The 21 organisations to receive funding are:

£150,000 to support the continuation of the Historic England Angel Awards, 2016-18, (previously English Heritage Angel Awards) for a further 3 years, to celebrate and highlight the work done by volunteers to rescue and restore local heritage for generations to come. New categories for 2016 are: Best Community Action, Best Heritage Research, Survey or Education project, Best Rescue of a Heritage Site at Risk, Best Heritage Professional, People's Favourite Historic England Angel Award, Lifetime Achievement

£60,000 over 3 years to the Bush Theatre towards their Emerging Artists programme, for writers and associate artists. Participants will be mentored, given space and development facilities to complete the first draft of a full length play which will be considered for programming. They will become an integral part of the theatre and be involved in planning, producing and leadership

£50,000 to Little Kids Rock to further their Music Tuition programme across state schools in the US. Little Kids Rock, established as a charity in 2001, provides musical instruments, free tuition and performance opportunities to disadvantaged school children across the US. It reaches approximately 200,000 students, aged 5-18, in state run schools in 30 cities including NYC, LA, Chicago and San Francisco. The Foundation's funding will support schools in the New York district, in Nashville, Tennessee and in Tampa, Florida.

£45,000 over 3 years to Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, to fund the Young Company supporting professional training and mentoring opportunities for young people in performance, writing, technical design, public speaking, marketing and radio production. The Young Company attracts creative, inspiring artists as mentors with recent workshops being led by actor Maxine Peake, writer Jackie Kay, and choreographer Benji Reid

£45,000 over 3 years to St George's Bristol to fund their Young Composer's Academy, involving 90 music students, aged 15-18, from secondary schools across the South West in a three year immersive, practical programme of workshops and masterclasses. The Academy will focus on music composition of all genres, with opportunities to work with professional composers and musicians. There will be an opportunity for compositions to be performed at St George's and ultimately to gain a professional, paid commission in year three as 'St George's Composer in Residence'

£45,000 over 3 years towards the Chickenshed Young Creator's Programme, enabling 165 young people, aged 14-25, to gain creative skills and practical work experience in ten different disciplines related to the behind the scenes areas of the performing arts, including stage lighting, choreography, directing, writing and devising, costume and wardrobe, youth theatre direction

£40,000 over 2 years to Tricycle Theatre Youth Takeover Programme, an annual programme for over 300 young people, aged 11-25, from Brent, to train and gain experience in all aspects of working in a theatre, including directing, acting, stage management, lighting, set and sound design. The programme includes masterclasses, hands-on experience and culminates in a week long takeover of the theatre each Spring

£30,000 over 3 years to Future Talent's career advice, performance and mentoring programme for 36 talented musicians from low income backgrounds from Yorkshire, North West, North East, East and West Midlands. Future Talent has strong partnerships with mentors, performers and organisations such as Hallé Orchestra, Lesley Garrett, Sting, Rambert Orchestra

£25,000 to English Schools Orchestra's composing, improvising and performance project led by the ESO and music students at Goldsmiths, University of London, for 30 A Level, GCSE and vocational course music students from Lewisham borough, aiming to bridge the gap between school, college and the life of a professional musician, giving professional music guidance and experience to those who would not otherwise have the opportunity for specialist teaching

£24,300 over 3 years to RADA Youth Company Saturday School, which aims to nurture talented young people from all backgrounds, widening participation in drama and higher education by giving 16 young people, aged 16-20, the opportunity to experience high quality ensemble drama training on a weekly basis over the course of a year

£16,800 to fund ten bursaries over two years at National Youth Jazz Collective intensive Summer School for talented young jazz musicians from low income families. The week-long intensive residential course is for 45 musicians, aged 8-18, working with renowned professional musicians and composers

£16,485 to fund the Hackney Empire Young Artists Company to learn all aspects of producing their own piece of musical theatre and gain skills and confidence to develop as professional artists. The project will take place over a period of one year in weekly evening sessions and intense weeks in the Summer/Spring holidays, culminating in production at Hackney Empire and tour to Edinburgh Festival in Summer 2016

£15,441 to DJ School UK for a collaborative project with West Yorkshire Playhouse and Yorkshire Dance. Taking place over four terms of weekly workshops, the project provides professional tuition and combines art forms of dance, DJing, music production, rapping, beatboxing and singing to produce original performance pieces and compositions at the end of each term. Each term up to 40 participants, aged 11-19, are selected from diverse communities across Yorkshire, based on demonstrable talent, ability to adapt their skills in response to others and enthusiasm

£15,000 over 3 years to Northern Ballet's START Schools project for young dancers, delivering dance workshops and supported visits to ballet productions for primary and secondary school children in the Leeds area, bringing dance to those who would otherwise have minimal opportunity to engage with the arts

£15,000 to Blue Apple Theatre in Winchester to support members with learning disabilities. Blue Apple Theatre empowers people with learning disabilities through theatre, dance and film, providing opportunities to participate in regular, integrated drama and dance sessions leading to public performance

£12,960 to Donmar Warehouse educational project for up to 240 state school A level, GCSE and BTEC English and Drama students, to engage with productions and texts, starting with seeing the professional performance then exploring the work through a series of workshops and rehearsals, culminating in taking part in a related performance piece on the Donmar stage

£10,000 to Stalham Brass Band towards brass band music tuition and instrument loan for young people in Norfolk

£5,000 to Eskdale Mill, near the waterfalls of Whillan Beck in Lake District National Park, towards the installation of a self-sustaining waterwheel. Eskdale Mill is a grade 2* listed watermill dating from 1539, rescued by local people in 2003 who set up the Trust and raised £130,000 to save it from County Council disposal. The Mill is now open to the public as a visitor attraction and educational resource on commercial milling, receiving over 7,000 visitors a year

£5,000 to JMK Trust Emerging Director Development Weeks, offering the opportunity for new Directors to work with and learn from key professionals in the theatre industry, taking part in workshops with actors and getting valuable feedback on their work. In 2014, the Development Weeks were hosted by Almeida Theatre

£4,000 to Theatre Royal Wakefield Opportunity to Shine project, which will provide full and assisted place bursaries, encouraging and enabling those that cannot afford fees to join theatre's youth programme. Participants will train with professional tutors and directors in singing, acting and dance classes and take part in professional productions on the main stage

£1,000 over two years to Aylesbury Vale Youth Theatre, a company run for and by 16-25 year olds, giving participants a chance to get involved in all aspects of theatre, including performance, technical or production roles

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