The AYM Awards

Each year we make awards of between £200 and £2000, based on evidence of musical talent and financial need.

We make awards to help with:

the purchase or hire of musical instruments and accessories
music lessons
weekend music schools
music courses
orchestra fees
travel

Applicants are required to:

have achieved distinction in their last music exam, or, if they haven’t taken exams, show evidence of this level of ability
be recommended by their music teacher
have their families show evidence of financial need

Applications require separate letters of recommendation from music teachers.

For further information please see our Guidelines and Applications page.

An adjudication process takes place every spring and awards are made in June. Our application form is available from October from this website and completed applications (including teachers’ references) must be received by the end of March.

£1000 award to our top young musician resident in the North West of England.

The Edith Hemingway Memorial Award was established in memory of Edith Hemingway (1923 - 2006), a talented and enthusiastic amateur singer from Burnley, Lancashire. The award is endowed by her grand-daughter Ria Hopkinson, an amateur pianist and violinist who benefited from similar funding as a student of the Junior School at the Royal Northern College of Music and is also funded by Edith's daughter Mal Dolan and Awards for Young Musicians.

2007 Awards — £50,000

Applications were received from 207 young people throughout the UK. Applicants were very diverse in terms of the instrument they play, where they live, and what they needed the support for.

We made 62 awards totalling £49,573. The youngest recipient was 7 and the oldest 17.

The average amount awarded was £799.56, an increase of nearly £300 in the average award from 2006. The highest award was for £2,000.

AYM was again very pleased to support four young musicians showing great potential for the second year of a three year funding programme.

In addition to the four young people in receipt of three year awards, awards were given for: 3 bassoon, 7 cello, 3 clarinet, 1 cornet, 2 double bass, 1 electric guitar, 2 flute, 3 harp, 2 horn, 1 oboe, 2 percussion, 10 piano, 1 saxophone, 1 trumpet, 1 villean pipes, 4 viola and 14 violin.

Young musicians whom we supported this year live all over the UK: from Powys to Norfolk and Devon to Edinburgh.

Awards were given for the following uses: 4 music school fees, 22 music lessons, 1 membership, 3 orchestral fees, 4 music course fees, 22 instrument purchase, 1 summer school and 1 travel expenses.

2006 Awards — £55,000

Applications were received from 205 young people throughout the UK; the awards cover a very fair sample of age groups, instruments, geographical location and end-use.

We made 106 awards totalling £54,992 to talented young musicians aged 7 to 17.

The average award was £518, with the largest being the John Hornby Skewes Special Guitar Award, followed by 7 awards of £1000.

For the first time, AYM made 3-year awards to four young musicians showing great potential, and who will benefit from the security of knowing future funding is available.

Awards were given for: 1 accordion, 1 bassoon, 7 cello, 3 clarinet, 2 cornet, 1 double bass, 1 euphonium, 10 flute, 4 french horn, 3 guitar, 6 harp, 5 oboe, 1 organ, 3 percussion, 13 piano, 3 saxophone, 4 tenor horn, 3 trombone, 2 trumpet, 2 tuba, 2 viola and 28 violin: a very wide spectrum of instruments.

Over a wide spectrum of the UK, too: Bath, Birmingham, Bolton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Croydon, Derby, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Gloucester, Ipswich, Leicester,Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Northampton, Oxford, Peterborough, Preston, Sheffield, Worcester, York…..to name but a few!

A breakdown of end-use shows: 38 awards for private music lessons; 20 for music school fees; 22 for music course fees; 2 for travel and 23 for instrument purchase.

2005 Awards — £54,000

Violin 30, Cello 16, Piano 17, Organ 1, Clarinet 10, Flute 2, Harp 6, Trumpet 3, Trombone 3, Horn 9, Bassoon 1, Guitar 2, Saxophone 1, Viola 5, Percussion 2, Recorder 3, Double Bass 3, Oboe 4

2004 Awards — £55,000

Violin 28, Cello 8, Piano 11, Keyboard 1, Organ 1, Clarinet 8, Flute 9, Harp 2, Trumpet 3, Trombone 2, Horn 4, Bassoon 2, Guitar 2, Saxophone 1, Viola 7, Percussion 2, Tuba 1, Recorder 2, Double Bass 3, Oboe 4

Would you like to sponsor an award?
If so, please contact Hester Cockcroft at enquiries@a-y-m.org.uk

Would you like to make a donation?,

Your donation makes an instant impact. It’s an investment where you can see a return in the musical development of young players. It takes the pressure off families who are struggling to support their talented children. It shows young musicians that their talent is valued, boosting their confidence and self-esteem. It creates positive role models by helping young people translate their potential into success. And your donation enables them to keep making the music they love.
If you want to support our work, you can make a donation in two ways:
Complete the Donation Form and post it to us, together with a cheque made out to Awards for Young Musicians
– Or visit Virgin Money Giving to make a direct donation using your credit or debit card

Whichever way you make a donation please make sure you sign the Gift Aid declaration if you are a UK taxpayer.

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