When Debra Baxter’s daughters brought letters home from school about music cutbacks, it sparked the start of something that would inspire children in Aberdeen for the next 20 years.
Debra founded the charity Music 4 U in 2005 and has watched it evolve and expand – and move home a few times.
“Music 4 U came together after 18 months of a project called Music Makers, which I set up in Dyce,” said Debra.
“Schools were pulling away from the music I had experienced.
‘At school, I sang every day’
“I was in three choirs and sang every day in school. I couldn’t imagine a life without singing.
“By 2003, I had two daughters at Dyce Primary. They would come home with letters about cutbacks in music or that learning an instrument would be charged for.
“I realised that would create a divide between those who could afford it and those who couldn’t.
“I thought, I’m not liking this very much but I didn’t get far talking to school about it, so I decided to do it myself.
“I set up a music group with no start-up funds, no constitution, nothing. I had no idea what I was doing; I just wanted to make a difference. When seven kids turned up I was delighted.
“I was offered a room at the back of our church on Wednesday nights.
“By week two, we had 15 kids and I was absolutely over the moon.
“I had a love of music. I didn’t have any formal training but I had always written songs and poems.”
Parents insisted on paying something and so coins were collected in a tambourine and handed to the church for a children’s ward in Nepal.
“The hospital wrote back saying they had used some of the money to buy eggs and oranges,” said Debra.
‘Children helping children’
“So, we started a little project called Children Helping Children Through Music. One of my songs, along with a few others, was put together on a fundraising CD.
“We raised money for local, national and international charities. It deepened my belief that children helping children through music was a really good thing.”
Debra said the Music 4 U charity “grew very organically”.
“One thing led to another. It was always a mishmash of this, that and the other.”
Debra said there has always been more to Music 4 U than facilitating performances.
“We wanted to do more. We took some of our showpieces to children’s hospices and performed for the youngsters there.
“It was something they had never experienced because they couldn’t go to a theatre or public venue. So, we brought the show to them.”
Debra was approached by another group about having a show in Aberdeen to give young people with disabilities a platform.
‘They said it would never work’
“Somewhere to be seen for the right reasons, not because of their disability,” said Debra.
“About 12 of us sat around the table and with each meeting, someone decided it would never work.
“They said things like, ‘You’ll never get a wheelchair on stage, no one will support it’.
“The group shrunk to three people. I said, ‘I haven’t spent all this time and energy for it not to happen. I’ll take it on myself’.
“We called it I Am What I Am and it was a success. All I wanted was some sort of legacy that I could continue.”
“Now we call it I Am, which stands for Inspirational Artistic Musicianship.”
Many of the young people are on the autistic spectrum, have mental health issues, Asperger’s, low confidence, social anxiety, or are school refusers.
“We support anyone who can benefit from the power of music,” said Debra.
Participants gained experience of a real stage at Aberdeen Arts Centre.
“Giving them an actual platform, surrounded by professional lighting and videography, gave them confidence.
“They realised they were worth it because they are so talented. Some of them are incredibly gifted.
“A young girl came to us when she was four and she’s now heading towards 13.
“She was non-verbal when she started, but we got her singing before she could speak.
“Now she speaks fluently. For her, music was the connection before words.”
The charity also works in schools through a Scottish Government project.
‘I’m more determined than ever’
“There’s a lot happening, more than we can really handle, to be honest,” said Debra.
“We’re still a very small unit, massively underfunded.
“We’re having to sing for our supper but my mission isn’t complete yet, so I’m not ready to throw in the towel.
“I’m more determined than I’ve ever been.
“When you see someone who struggles to speak, to communicate, or to make eye contact, and then you see them come to life through a song, you can’t put that on paper.”
From a townhouse on Waterloo Quay, Music 4 U runs the Sounds of Music programme for over-16s in supported education and the Upstage Performance Academy for both mainstream and supported youngsters.
The charity is currently working with 85 young people.
“A parent once said to me, ‘Music 4 U is the key that unlocks what is within that young person’, said Debra.
“We’re very person-centred. The young people are recognised as themselves, not just part of a group.
“There are not enough funds, not enough resources, but I just don’t work that way. My determination says, where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Music 4 U has a sponsorship campaign to raise £250,000 to support young musicians and performers across the city and shire. The 500 4 500 initiative is looking for 500 local businesses to each donate £500.
Meanwhile, alumni of Debra’s former school, Bankhead Academy in Bucksburn, are invited to a series of musical reunions, with proceeds going to the charity.
For more information visit www.m4u.org.uk
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