Inspiring Music has been nominated for a prestigious national award at a ceremony dubbed the Oscars of the arts education sector.

Orchestras Live, the partnership organisation whose mission is to ensure that communities across the country have access to world-class orchestral experiences, have been shortlisted along with project partners in Luton, Bedford and Central Bedfordshire for the Outstanding Classical Music Education Initiative Award for their project The Wish.

A West End composer has returned to where it all began after he was named the new head of the Leighton-Linslade Music Centre – more than 35 years after he first walked through the doors as a student.

Tim Hammond is back at the Inspiring Music-run Saturday morning centre at Vandyke Upper School, which kick-started and developed his talent and would lead him on to musically directing major productions, such as We Will Rock You, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease and Bugsy Malone.

A video about a successful cross-county music project, involving the City of London Sinfonia, shows that “positive steps” are being made to encourage children to take up an instrument, according to the head of Central Bedfordshire’s Inspiring Music service.

The Sing Out Play Out Celebration concerts were a huge success with 40 schools taking part, performing at The grove Theatre in Dunstable and The Bedford Corn Exchange.

On 11 July approximately 1000 children were invited to the Grove Theatre in Dunstable to take part in the interactive concert performed by the City of London Sinfonia. The two performances were really engaging and the children really gave 'fixing the orchestra' their all.

As part of U.Dance 2018, the nation’s annual youth dance festival, are offering youth dance groups and dancers from the East of England the fantastic opportunity to take part in a new and exciting youth dance commission created by Folk Dance Remixed. 

Pupils from 14 Central Bedfordshire schools will be showcasing their musical talents when they take part in two Battle of the Bands competitions.

The first, for Key Stage 3 pupils (Years 7-9 or 11-14 year olds) takes place at Redborne Upper School, in Ampthill, at 7pm on Wednesday, 28 February.

Inspiring Music violin tutor Ali Brown got to rub shoulders with royalty at a special church service which was filmed for the BBC.