SFE’s Fundraising Manager, Sarah Caldwell, reflects on SFE’s recent Outdoor Festival…

For the third year in a row, our Outdoor Music Festival took over the amphitheatre stage at Midlands Arts Centre, with over two hundred young musicians performing in the sunshine.

From Training Ensembles to Birmingham Schools’ Steel Pans, our Birmingham Inclusive Choir to Birmingham Schools Concert Band and our Birmingham Schools’ Wind Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra collaborating to close the day, audiences were treated a range of music styles across four sessions.

We pride ourselves on offering fantastic performance opportunities throughout the year for our Ensembles, but there is something a bit more special about this event as it’s also free for people to attend.

The event costs us around £5,000 to host but is fully funded thanks to the generosity of our supporters who donate to our fundraising efforts. This helps us remove the barrier of cost for musicians and audiences alike, some of whom would struggle to afford the cost of concert tickets.

Our music work with schools reaches different areas of Birmingham and we know that for some of the parents and carers in these areas attending a concert is something they wouldn’t be able to do if they had to buy tickets. For their young musicians, having them in the audience means so much, and makes their performance even more special. The opportunity to have a family day in Cannon Hill park is an added extra.

A big well done to everyone involved in making the event happen, especially our Ensembles Team who plan and co-ordinate the day, our music teachers and conductors and of course the young musicians themselves.

If you would like to know more about our Music Ensembles and how you can support them, please click here.

About the Author

Sarah Caldwell - Fundraising Manager, Services For Education

Sarah Caldwell joined Services For Education in Summer 2023, bringing with her over 14 years fundraising experience. Working in the Birmingham charity sector, she has raised valuable funds for a range of projects impacting the day to day lives of young people with disabilities.

Sarah has experience across a number of fundraising streams (including Trusts & Foundation, Events and Corporate Fundraising), and brings this, along with a strong interest in building relationships with supporters, to her role at SFE.