St. Aidan's Music Association (SAMA)
Registered Charity Number: 1033783
Chair – Andy Williams
Treasurer – Andy Norman
Secretary – Caroline Morgan
Director of Learning: Performing Arts – Vicki Elliott
Head of Music – Jo Leonard and Louisa Collett (job share)
Committe Members: Helen Askew, Lisa Dennis, Jo Anderson, Catherine Baxter, Clare Aynsley, Lisa Madden, Audrey Meredith, Roland Meredith and Hannah Manwaring
For all enquires, please contact admin@staidans.co.uk.
About The Music Association
St. Aidan’s Music Association (SAMA) is a registered charity set up to support the choral and instrumental work of the school music department which provides fantastic experiences and performance opportunities for all those who take part. Membership of the Association is open to parents and carers of members of the many school music ensembles. The committee meets every term.
We provide valuable help to the music staff at concerts setting up, selling tickets and providing refreshments and stage management. We also help raise vital funds to support the provision of wonderful musical opportunities and activities for our children.
Recent projects our funds have supported include new instruments and equipment, the ’Start the Music’ initiative which supports those who are new to an instrument and encourages existing musicians to take up alternative and rarer instruments.
Start The Music 2026 Launch Evening
We're thrilled to announce the launch of this year’s Start The Music scheme which takes place on Tuesday 28th April at 7pm in the Main Hall at St. Aidan’s.
This is the eighth year of the initiative, which gives all students — including those currently in Year 6 due to join us in September — the opportunity to apply to learn an instrument free of charge for a year. Successful applicants will also have use of an instrument free of charge for the year.
The launch event will feature the Junior Band, along with a Q&A session with successful applicants from this year’s cohort. There will also be a performance and conversation with the University of York Big Band, featuring former St Aidan’s pupil Callum Askew. It’s fantastic to see the musical journeys students continue after leaving school.
Everyone is welcome to attend the launch - including current Year 6 students who will be starting at St Aidan’s in September - to hear more about the scheme and what it offers.
SAMA would also warmly welcome any friends or family who may be interested in sponsoring the Start The Music scheme to get in touch with the Music Department or SAMA for more information. You can do this by emailing via admjn@staidans.co.uk
About Start the Music
Start The Music (STM) is a scheme which aims to help students take up a musical instrument. It is run by volunteer parents and music teachers who attend a sub-committee of the St Aidan’s Music Association, a registered charity.
The scheme was originally set up in 2019 and to date 25 students at St Aidan’s have either started a new instrument for the first time, or a second instrument. Many are now taking part in school ensembles and their performances.
Successful students are provided with:
- A full year of individual 20-minute music lessons, free of charge. These lessons are organised for students and take place either at school or, if this is not possible, online.
- Loan of a suitable instrument
- Entry to one of the school’s ensembles. This usually takes place when students feel confident to do so, after an initial term of lessons.
Each year the project committee organises an information evening or “launch” event for Start The Music. This takes place in the Spring term and in the past this event has been supported by wind bands from the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and Leeds University Music Department. Ensembles from St Aidan’s have also taken part.
Students are invited to apply to the scheme by completing an online application form, telling us which instrument they would like to learn and why. When the application form is ready for the next year, it will be available to download on this website. Please do look at the criteria of each category and the instrument choices available.
Following the May deadline for entries, the committee applies a set of criteria to each application and makes a selection of approximately six students, who will start their instruments in the Autumn term.
For further information about Start The Music, please ask either Mrs Elliott or your music teacher at school.
Ways to help
The funding for Start The Music comes solely from St Aidan’s Music Association fundraising activities, or from generous donations made by parents and associates of the school. We are always grateful for any donations of funding or instruments to the Start The Music scheme. To make a donation please contact Lisa Dennis, Project Leader, at: lisadennis@btinternet.com
