A pioneering music project for young people was celebrating today after receiving £25,926 of funding.

Band Train in Basildon was set up to bring young people aged between 12 and 18 together to play in different musical styles.

The aim is to encourage music making and lead to the growth of instrumental bands and orchestras in the area.

The grant comes from the East of England Arts Council, which is donating £1.8m in total throughout the region.

Paul Norman, project co-ordinator for Band Train, said: "We're ecstatic to be given this money. This will mean that we can run Band Train for the next three years, providing young people in the area with five terms of music training a year."

Published Thursday November 27, 2003

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