Musical Progression Research – In Harmony and other disadvantaged communities

A report into the opportunities for musical progression for young people from the In Harmony programme and other disadvantaged communities.

Commissioned by Opera North, one of the six lead organisations of In Harmony programmes, and funded by an evaluation grant from Arts Council England; the report’s authors are Dr Sue Hallam, respected music education academic, currently based at the UCL Institute of Education and Susanne Burns, a management consultant specialising in the arts sector.

Based on interviews with children, schools, parents and data from In Harmony, the findings are supported by a detailed literature review into musical progression across a range of programmes internationally; examining social, educational and musical factors and their impact on continued musical participation and learning.

Recommendations are made based on existing practice, showing how challenges and barriers to continued musical progression can be overcome through support from families, schools, music education infrastructure and programmes such as In Harmony.

The six In Harmony lead organisations are now working on action research putting recommendations of the report into practice.