Miranda Jessop meets Sahana Gero, whose free music academy is helping youngsters get their lives in tune...
Through the pink door, up the lime green stairs and into a welcoming space full of guitars, keyboards, drums and a medley of other musical instruments. It’s my first visit to World Heart Beat Music Academy in Wandsworth, but for many youngsters this is the path they choose to tread after school and at weekends.
I’ve come at a quiet time – any later and the whole place will be full of young people and music. The perfect moment, in fact, for founder and director Sahana Gero MBE to explain the success of her vision for making music accessible to all.
An accomplished musician herself, Sahana travelled all over the world, playing music and delivering workshops. Then, while settling back into South West London in the late 1990s, she began to feel the urge to set up a community band for young people.
“I invited some youngsters to my house for a ‘doughnut party’, the idea being that we would play music together and then eat doughnuts,” she recalls. “So many people came along to that first session, they were literally playing down the hallway to the front door.”
Week by week the numbers grew. Encouraged, Sahana hired a hall in nearby East Putney.
“We started putting on concerts. I saw at first hand how music was transforming some of these kids’ lives, so we set about fundraising so that those who couldn’t afford it could carry on.”
Then, in 2009, Sahana raised the bar by setting up her charity.
“We needed to carry on with what we’d been doing, but every day and with a wider range of music genres to reflect the changing community. I also wanted to respond to new learning patterns: not everyone could afford the old model of going to a music teacher’s house.”
World Heart Beat Music Academy was born, opening its doors in 2012.
“It was a derelict building, so the landlord let us have it for a peppercorn rent, and with huge support from the local community, we opened in just a few weeks. All we had at first was my grandfather’s old upright piano, but the place soon filled up with instruments.”
Today, the Academy has 350 students aged from 6-25, many of whom attend several times a week. All are signed up to a structured programme tailored to their own needs. Typically, this might include a group or individual lesson one day of the week, band practice on another day and performance on a third.
“We do insist that they come every week and it is important they make progress, but we aren’t pushy. It has to be done through joy and engagement.”
Youngsters have endless opportunities to perform ensemble and the Academy’s US-style 51st State Band is one of the UK’s largest community bands. There are classes in jazz, Asian, Celtic, Brazilian, gospel, Gypsy, Latin, reggae and more.
“We have over 40 teachers, all experts and great role models. Many of our kids come from big estates and their role models aren’t always the best. If they need it, children are given an instrument to practise on for free, so we love receiving instruments by donation.”
With 51% of students learning on a free or low-cost basis, the charity relies on funding from various sources, and in 2017 it was chosen by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation.
Meanwhile, September should see the opening of a new hub facility for the academy at Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, a major regeneration on London’s South Bank. It will include a 110-seat auditorium, state-of-the-art recording studios, teaching rooms, practice spaces and digital learning labs.
“As it comes to life, brick by brick, so does our dream of doubling the number of youngsters we impact and creating a space for quality concerts with international artists,” enthuses Sahana.
Another school day has ended. As we talk, the academy hits its stride, filling with the sound of music and youth.
“It is beautiful, just perfect,” smiles Sahana. “We have many students from difficult backgrounds, but everything is pristine. They value this place so much. Everyone is here because they want to be, each one empowered by the music.”
One outstanding name in children’s music is Reigate’s Pilgrim Band Trust. For the past 48 years, the charity has provided free tuition in guitar, piano, drums, steel pans and singing to local youngsters. Each week, 100 7-18s enter the former Reigate home of the late Edward West, the charity’s benefactor, whose legacy funds free one-to-one and group lessons, along with projects in local schools.
Children can learn about any number of instruments. No auditions – kids just need to live in the vicinity – and the focus is on enjoyment over performance with just two shows a year for family and friends.
“We don’t push the children to do exams,” says organizer Vicky Wool. “We’re all about getting them to find the joy in music. Many don’t learn music in schools now and we want them to see what a pleasure it can be to play.”
Find out more by calling 01737 244134.