2023 has been an exciting year for our charity The Rhythm Studio Foundation, from our school and hospital workshops, to our gigs, fundraisers and everything in between!

RSF Tutor Sean at Larmenier & Sacred Heart Primary

School workshops

This year we have worked with a large number of local West London state primary schools, including St. Pauls, St. Peters, Avonmore, Larmenier & Sacred Heart, Addison Primary, Ark Brunel and Ark Atwood. We delivered a range of different classes for them all, with some schools focused on learning music production using iPads and laptops, and others focusing on performance. Pupils were taught programmes such as GarageBand, Logic Pro and Bandlab, learning the basics of music production while scoring clips from animated movies, creating their own beats and tracks and learning how to re-create sounds and styles from different genres of music. In total, over 500 Year 4-6 pupils took part in our award-winning RSF Primary Schools Pop & Rock Workshop programme during 2023.

RSF Tutor Oli working with students from Avonmore Primary during a Bandlab workshop during the Summer

Alongside our music production workshops, we also continued to deliver our band workshops, which involve pupils forming a class band, learning a small setlist of pop songs and performing at the end of the term to their parents, teachers and classmates at their schools.

RSF Tutor Hannah working with Students of Larmenier & Sacred Heart, preparing for their end of term performance

As well as the primary school sessions, we also worked with Paddington Academy secondary school to deliver a Logic Pro X taster session before they launch the use of the software in their own music curriculum. You can read more about our work with Paddington Academy visit here.

RSF Tutors Oli and Maya with a thank you letter from Avonmore for their teaching over the Summer term

RSF SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

Our scholarship programme is going strong, with more applications than ever this academic year! RSF Scholarship students have been continuing their weekly music lessons on their respective instruments, formed bands with other students from The Rhythm Studio and performed at events such as Gig Week and Queens Park Day. We currently have 19 scholarship students each receiving an award worth over £1,000 per year and since the programme’s inception in 2012, over 80 young people have benefitted from the RSF Scholarship Scheme.

This year our current and former scholarship students have had some remarkable achievements. Some highlights include Magan and Cosima’s progression to Leeds Conservatoire and Trinity Laban for higher education, Sonny Feeney’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall at the Future Makers final, Anais recording at the legendary Abbey Road Studios with her band Neo Gold, and Myla Newell’s starring role in Jesus Christ Superstar. As part of our work with local community groups, the RSF scholarship scheme also currently supports two young refugees to have weekly music lessons.

RSF Scholarship Student Sonny on stage at Bush Hall in Spring this year

HOSPITAL WORKSHOPs

Our weekly Hospital workshops have continued through 2023, with us paying visits to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in Fulham and St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. RSF Tutors have continued to run workshops and bedside visits for patients, featuring musical games, playing percussion instruments and singing along from nursery rhymes to hip hop depending on the age of the patients (and the requests of their carers!). The workshops are super enjoyable for the patients, and the staff love having us come in to run them. The workshops are continuing right up until Christmas and then will resume in the new year.

In collaboration with Imperial Health Charity, our Young Patients Music Programme continues to thrive and is open to 8-18 year olds who have medical conditions that mean they need to shield at home, have limited access to activities due to medical issues, or whose well-being or mental-health would improve by having music lessons. Families with these children are often isolated and music lessons provide a welcome respite. We currently have 8 young patients receiving weekly one-to-one online music lessons.

RSF hospital workshops in full swing at St Mary’s hospital.

FUNDRAISING & EVENTS

The RSF events calendar this year has been full to bursting, with fundraising and community activities taking place all year long. 2023 saw the welcome return of the RSF Pub Quiz at The Troubadour which pitted teams against each other in a classic Pub Quiz format. The night also featured a final live performance from scholarship student Magan Wilcox before her departure to study at Leeds Conservatoire. Thank you to everyone who supported the event so generously by attending with friends, donating and buying raffle tickets on the night!

The first of our RSF Fundraising Concerts took place in November this year at The Bread & Roses Pub in Clapham with five acts performing to raise money for the charity. Thank you to the artists Carina, Casual Wednesday, 4 Or Docklands, Danny Wymbs and Cynics for supporting the cause and all those who attended the show.

Cynics performing at the RSF Fundraising Concert, November 2023

In October, an RSF team took part in the Royal Parks Half Marathon, a 13 mile race through four of the Royal London Parks. Passing by historic landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and the Houses of Parliament. Our team of 10 runners all completed the course and raised almost £10,000 for the foundation.

Members of the RSF team at The Royal Parks Half Marathon celebrate reaching the finish line.

As the year has been drawing to a close, we have been getting into the Christmas spirit with some festive performances, including a small acoustic performance in Lyric Square in partnership with Hammersmith BID, and a sixth form performance at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, as a part of the CW Plus charity Great Big Thank You event.

RS Sixth Formers at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, December 2023

We have a lot of plans for the coming year, and want to say a huge thank you to everybody who has been a friend of the Foundation, worked with us, helped organise the events, donated, or just spread the word about us and the work we do!

Keep your eyes peeled for news in the new year about one of our biggest fundraisers yet.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us at The Rhythm Studio Foundation, see you in 2024!