stentor children

We receive many requests for sponsorship and are able to respond to a limited number each year.

Imagine a whole school playing violins and cellos!

At Gallions Primary School in Newham, East London that's just what they're doing - all 400 children from 6 to 11 years of age learn to play, using Stentor stringed instruments. Many of the teachers also learn a stringed instrument, in groups, alongside the children.

At the London International Music Show at ExCeL, children from Gallions performed their own piece with the school choir and string ensemble. Stentor presented £1000 worth of Stentor violins to Gallions School at this event. This support from Stentor will enable even more music making in the school, as students currently share instruments due to the large number of children playing. "This is fantastic news," said Paul Jackson, head teacher at Gallions.

Inspiring more String Players

The Music For All charity recently toured primary schools in the Croydon area, offering free taster sessions on a range of nstruments, inspiring many children to take up an instrument! 500 children had the chance to play an instrument, often for the first time, under the guidance of experienced tutors and with the full support of the local Music Service. Stentor loaned violins and cellos to this project for the children to experience playing a stringed instrument and making music.

Young players discovering the unique sound of the viola.

Stentor Supports more Music Making

Stentor has loaned violas and double basses to an outreach programme organised by the National Children's Orchestra (NCO). Over 600 children in the North East of England were offered the chance to play an instrument for the first time, under the guidance of experienced tutors, discovering the sound of these instruments and broadening their musical knowledge. As a result of this successful project, young players were selected to attend a five-day residential course that will hopefully recruit new players to the NCO.

Stentor is proud to be part of such exciting and successful projects, building the future for stringed instrument playing.

English Chamber Orchestra
Earlier this year, Stentor was able to donate several instruments to an education programme run by the English Chamber Orchestra in Bristol. A teaching programme run in primary schools aimed to sow the seeds of a community band 'ECHO' which would loan out instruments to children who wanted to take part. The band is now taking off this autumn, with coaching from ECO members.

South African Music Trust
Through our South African distributor, we have supported a project which was first launched in 4 years ago by the South African Music Trust (SAMET). It began with just 20 children and now about 120 children learn instruments through the project which loans out instruments to learners. Moagi Tom Mpshe, age 16, is now South Africa's finest young violinist, having started to learn on a Stentor violin donated to the project.

For several years, Stentor Music Company has supported a project which provides violin teaching to children in the former Yugoslavia. Stentor provided Stentor Student violins to Harriet Longman, an English teacher who directs the project. It aims to bring new hope and a sense of achievement to children living in orphanages as a result of the conflict. Harriet Longman now teaches small groups of children, giving them the opportunity to experience the thrill of music-making and the discipline of learning to play the violin.

Feedback from the children's performance to SFOR troops:
"Watching the SFOR soldiers interacting with the children was a wonderful sight to see...I am sure the children enjoyed themselves but we, the SFOR soldiers, got much more out of this day than the children."
(William S. Haberlach, CJ CMTF CSM, MSG USA, Sarajevo)