Foundation Music Education

 Over the last few years Samro Endowment for the National Arts (SENA), has reviewed a number of our sponsorship programmes and policies. In line with this review we have sought to streamline the application process for music school sponsorship in order to standardise the way in which information is received and in so doing refine our internal decision making.

We request that you kindly complete the attached application form and return it to us by no later than 15 May 2009.

APPLICATION FORM FOR MUSIC SCHOOLS

The Endowment’s Foundation Music Education scheme supports individual community based or NGO music schools.   These schools aim at preparing students for further study via the graded music examination route — whether these exams are taken through UNISA, the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or Trinity College, London — and which enable candidates to be accepted into degree- or equivalent diploma-courses once certain grades in both theoretical and practical music have been reached.  The other great value of centring the support of such schools on graded music exams is that the results give independent accreditation not only to the work of the students who take them, but also to the quality of the teaching they receive — an important form of the “outcomes oriented” type of education policy, especially for a body like SENA, whose funding is fiduciary. 

Institutions supported by this type of funding include Gauteng based projects such as  Buskaid, the Eyethu and Kulanathi Outreach Projects of The Johannesburg Youth Orchestra Company ( www.orchestracompany.co.za ), the Heritage School of Music, the Mbira School of Music & Art, the Music Academy of Gauteng ( www.musicacademyofgauteng.com ), the Ochrim Music Development Programme, the Soweto Youth Music Development scheme and the STTEP Music School ( www.sttep.co.za ).

 “STTEP [is] one of the most innovative and effective interventions in the education  and training of young South Africans....it builds the confidence of black township  youth, it offers young people alternate career paths, it broadens the content and  quality of what is considered "education"....it creates role models which other  township youth constantly seek to emulate, and most of all it inspires hope where  otherwise hopelessness and desperation reign.”
 -Professor Jonathan Jansen, Dean of Education
 University of Pretoria

In the North-West, SENA supports the Mafikeng, Taung and Lehurutse Music Units of the Mmabana Cultural Foundation ( www.mmabana.org.za ) Eastern Cape projects supported include Izabantu Live Music and Tuition, while projects in the Western Cape include the Athlone Academy of Music, the Frank Pietersen Music Centre.  In KwaZulu-Natal, the Endowment gives financial assistance to the Msunduzi Music School and the Siyakhula Community Music Centre. 

SENA’s grants to all of the above represent the largest single input into this field of the music education landscape in South Africa, totalling R310 000 in the Financial Year 2007/2008.

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