Ronnie Scott's Hosts Musical Instrument Amnesty This Month

On Saturday 22 Januarya??Ronnie Scott'sa??will be hosting an all-day Musical Instrument Amnesty, collecting the city's unused musical instruments. All instruments - from plastic recorders to violins and state-of-the-art mixing desks - will be donated to school-aged children in the UK and overseas, enabling musical education amongst communities across the world.

This year, Ronnie Scott's Charitable Foundation has partnered with charities Music For All and Sistema England to ensure that instruments donated in this year's Musical Instrument Amnesty find the best new homes across the UK.

The iconic Frith Street venue will open its doors between 10am-3pm for the public to drop by and donate. Alongside a cup of tea or glass of fizz, donors will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with stars and celebrities who have graced the Ronnie's stage over the years, whilst learning more about the project, and the impact their donation will make. All instruments are given a tracking number so donors can follow the journey of their instrument and see first-hand where in the world it will find its second lease of life.

The 2019 Musical Instrument Amnesty saw huge success with over 300 donations pledged to new homes. Happy recipients included the London-wide musical charity World Heart Beat Music Academy, which provides music tuition and personal development opportunities to children and young people. Croydon based, Play for Progress, which strives to build a world in which societies ensure equal access to the use of the arts, play and therapies in safe spaces, also received donations from the amnesty. All donations will help a new generation of aspiring young stars which may one day grace the Ronnie's stage!

Over the years the Ronnie Scott's Musical Instrument Amnesty has welcomed several high-profile donors. The Grammy and Brit Award-winning Sam Smith donated a white violin from his iconic 2015 Brit performance of 'Lay Me Down' - the violin travelled from London to the Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club along with other donations which were then shipped to the MusicArt Society, a charity in Nepal which teaches disadvantaged children to play donated instruments. British multi-instrumentalist Nithin Sawhney donated a guitar, Neil Cowley a violin, and two specially commissioned trumpets have been made courtesy of two-time Edison Award-winner and American trumpeter Christian Scott.

Working in partnership with Music For All and Julian Lloyd Webber's charity, Sistema England, all instruments will be checked and distributed to children whose access to music education has been compromised due to their social situation and/or geographical location. Ultimately, the project aims to transform the lives of young people and communities through the power of music making, a shared belief between Music For All, Sistema England and Ronnie Scott's Charitable Foundation, which has organised the amnesty.

As part of Ronnie Scott's Charitable Foundation initiatives for 2022, the club will also help collect and repair broken or forgotten instruments, bringing them back to life and sharing them with the next generation of aspiring musicians. 2022 projects include workshops at Ronnie Scott's, based on the hugely successfula??Big Band in a Day programme whereby school children are invited to Ronnie's to work alongside world class musicians in forming their very own band. Ronnie's encourage all genres of music for the programme, including pop, hip-hop, RnB, blues and soul genres, ensuring that our rehearsal space is accessible to young musicians of all backgrounds.

Ada Ologbosere, head of the Ronnie Scott's Charitable Foundation, says of the 2022 Musical Instrument Amnesty: 'What a wonderful opportunity for us to come together in the name of charity. This is such a great incentive - we have supported many young musicians over the years, and we are so excited to be in a position to bring the Musical Instrument Amnesty back for 2022. I look forward to meeting both members and other guests on 22 January.'

Music For All says of the 2022 Musical Instrument Amnesty: 'We're delighted to be working with the Ronnie Scott Charitable Foundation on this year's Instrument Amnesty. The charity Music for All believes passionately in the power of music to change lives and works to create lasting impact for disadvantaged people and communities across the UK. We look forward to finding great new homes for the amnesty instruments, enabling and inspiring generations of musicians to come.'

Anyone and everyone is welcome and encouraged to get involved. Donors can express interest viaa??ada@ronniescotts.co.uka??and then pop-in to the legendary Frith Street club on 22 January to donate.

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