Young people from across Gloucestershire have joined forces to create a song, Every Rainbow Drawn, to say thank you to the NHS and key workers.
The team from the charity The Music Works which has music studios in Gloucester, Cheltenham and Cinderford, hope people are inspired to donate to the fundraising page to raise cash for the NHS.
The piece has been written, performed and recorded by young people, with a bit of production help from community musicians.
You can see for yourself below.
Creative director for education at The Music Works, Ben O’Sullivan said: “I am blown away by the final product.
"It is hard to watch it to the end without crying.
“We usually work with children in school but we evolved during lockdown.
“Those that submitted their clips were really good. They have learnt to play and sing the song in time and their hard work has meant that is sounds great and was easier for us to edit it together.
“We did not realise how well it was going to work so I think that this will be the first of many.”
There are over 60 children and young people perform in the video. This ranges from singers, guitarists, pianists, DJs, drummers and even members of a samba band.
Callum Marshall, 16 from Gloucester, is a singer-songwriter who features in the video.
He said: “The NHS are doing everything they can to try and support us and keep us happy, healthy and safe.
“This song is a thank you to all of the frontline workers who sacrifice so much to be there for us – and we can also hopefully raise some money for them so they have resources to use in this time of need.”
The Music Works usually works with groups in schools of students that are 18 years and younger.
They also work with young adults up to the age of 25 years old that are living with challenging circumstances in the community within projects ongoing.
However due to the lockdown and the charity evolving they are reaching out to those they have previously worked with online to continue music workshops and support.
The final cut took more than a month to put together.
An open invitation went out on social media to anyone who wanted to get involved in performing the song.
The young people sent their suggestions in to music leaders at The Music Works.
When everyone was ready the lyrics and sheet music were sent out and participants. In turn they sent back a clip of them performing all or part of the song.
Finally, all the video submissions were edited together to create a virtual band and choir, performing the whole track in harmony, remotely.
CEO of The Music Works, Deborah Potts, said:“We know that there’s loads of musical talent in the county, because we see it from young people that we work with every week.
“It’s great for people to have something creative and expressive to do during lockdown. The finished song is really beautiful.”
It is clear that the young people that have taken part in the video are passionate about supporting the NHS and keyworkers looking after us at this time.
The song is just one of several different initiatives from The Music Works to help young people keep making music even while they’re stuck at home.
The charity has also started providing free music lessons online, running an interactive radio show on YouTube and offering one-to-one mentoring sessions via Zoom
