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Welcome to Pied Piper

Established in 1997 by Simon Thackray, the man behind The Shed, and Sarah Derbyshire MBE, Executive Director of the national charity, Live Music Now Pied Piper is now the leading charity dedicated to youth music participation and performance in Ryedale, North Yorkshire.

The organisation was set up to provide much needed opportunities for young people living in the rural district of Ryedale to participate in music and performance workshops delivered by internationally acclaimed artists across all genres of music.

Since 1997 over 30,000 children and young people have taken part in Pied Piper's activities, giving them the chance to get involved in music and performance through jazz, world, folk, classical, rock, urban, songwriting, composition, sound sculpture and music technology workshops.

As an organisation Pied Piper works in two distinct ways:

To introduce children and young people to new and unusual genres of music, broadening their horizons and introducing them to culturally diverse artists

To nurture the talents of young musicians to enable them to meet their full potential as musicians and members of the musical community of North Yorkshire

Recent activities have included workshops with Annie Whitehead and the Kirkbymoorside Brass Band; half term world music workshops with African and Greek musicians; songwriting workshops with Gwyneth Herbert for 14 - 18 year olds; musical storytime activities for families in partnership with the Ryedale Children's Centre and the creation of a new jazz sextet led by professional saxophonist Jan Kopinski to celebrate our 10th Birthday.