MUSIC teaching in York is to be given a £368,000 boost - provided it is offered to more pupils.

It means an explosion in the type of music on offer to York youngsters. Education chiefs hope to experiment with teaching steel drums, African music and modern choir singing.

There may also be money in the pot to support budding rock guitarists.

Conditions attached to the Department for Education and Employment grant are that the cash be used to offer a wide range of music teaching to pupils across the city.

The cash will be used to pay for a whole range of music teaching, from tuition itself to buying new instruments and sheet music.The current system of performing arts in York, inherited from North Yorkshire County Council, provides music teaching for just over 1,800 pupils in the city's schools.

But the amount of music teaching varies from school to school - and there is little support for drama or dance teaching.

Education committee members have now voted to introduce a new system for teaching of performance arts, which will involve more dance and drama. Gill Cooper, the city council's performing arts manager, said everyone was delighted at the city's grant. The council had received every penny it bid for from the Government's new cash pool to help boost musical skills among children.

She said City of York Council had been in the process of reorganising its performing arts service anyway, and the music grant showed it was obviously going in the right direction.

She said the council intended to extend its Music Centre workshops, which currently offer bands and orchestras to young musicians on Saturdays at Queen Anne's School.

She said: "A 'Music Centre 2' would enable us to offer all sorts of different things, from steel band lessons and African music to tuition for up-and-coming rock guitarists. We are going to experiment with this grant and use pilot projects to see what people really want.

"It is a very exciting time."

Gordon Pearce, educational development officer, said: "The emphasis has to be on music for all. It won't just be about improving music for those who already play instruments, we want to involve all children as much as possible, and this money will go on general curriculum activities as well as existing young musicians."

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