The AMBER Music Awards  
   pay for:

  
     music lessons

     music therapy sessions

     musical instruments

     music software, such as Sibelius

     concert tickets

     travel related to musical activities

 
The AMBER Music Awards are entirely
dependent on donations

  £10 pays for a set of drumsticks
  £20 pays for a piano lesson
  £25 pays for a cello lesson
  £30 pays for a music therapy session
  £100 pays for Braille transcriptions
  £150 pays for a term of clarinet lessons
  £450 pays for Sibelius music software
  £500 pays for a drumset
  £750 pays for a year's piano lessons
  £900 pays for a new upright piano
  £1,000 pays for a year's music
    therapy sessions

Access to musical instruments and specialist music lessons vastly increases the musical ability of AMBER's children. Music software enables them to compose and arrange their own music, while attending concerts expands their experience of musical styles and performance.

Many of the blind or partially sighted
children living in the UK have a real
flair for music and, given the right
support, they can develop their talent
to remarkable ends, fulfilling their
potential as individuals as well
as musicians.

AMBER knows that children with
sight loss, including those with
additional disabilities, are less likely
than sighted children to receive tuition
or assistance. This is often due to
discrimination and to other people’s
misunderstandings about disability.

When a child with special needs shows an interest in music, such as
Faith (above), progressing this requires funds that are often not available,
as families with disabled children often cannot afford to buy even the
most basic household leisure equipment that many of us take for granted.
The AMBER Music Awards address this need.

The Awards are open to blind or partially sighted children and young people up to the age of 18, who may also have other physical disabilities and/or learning difficulties. Parents or carers can apply for Music Awards to fund:

Each Music Award lasts for up to one year to fund three terms of lessons
or sessions, one-off events or the purchase of instruments or software.

AMBER Music Award Criteria

•   Applications will be accepted for children and young people aged from
    0-18 years (funding cannot be provided after their 19th birthdays). 
  
•   All applications should be made by a child’s parents or carers, but can
    be prepared by a Support Worker or Teacher.
•   Applications for instruments or software must include prices and
    supplier’s details.
•   Applications for music lessons or music therapy sessions must include
    details of the teacher’s or therapist’s qualifications, experience and
    CRB clearance.
•   In some instances, the AMBER Trust will not provide the full cost and
    applicants will therefore be required to raise the balance from other
    sources. They can, of course, use the AMBER pledge to encourage
    other funding.
•   Music Award offers will be held open for a 10-month period, after
    which they will lapse and a new application would need to be made
    to The AMBER Trust.
•   The AMBER Trust will not fund retrospectively.

AMBER holds three Award meetings per year. Parents or carers need to ensure that they send in the completed application forms by the deadlines given below:

   Meeting            Deadline
   Mid March          End of February
   Mid July             End of June
   Mid November    End of October

   All applications must be on AMBER's
   Music Award Application Form.
   Once an application has been received,
   it will be checked to confirm it is
   complete. Any further information
   required will be requested from the
   applicant. For all eligible applications,
   the parents/carers will receive a
   notification letter to:

     Confirm receipt of the application

     Outline the timescale of the
       application process

     Establish when parents or carers
       can expect to hear the outcome


Dr Adam Ockelford, the founder of The AMBER Trust, along with the
Trustees of the charity, help to access and evaluate applications for
The AMBER Music Awards.

If you have not found a suitable music teacher or therapist for your child,
the RNIB’s Music Advisory Service may be able to help. The Music Advisory
Service provides information and advice on music education at all levels
and can be contacted on 0207 391 2273 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it