Getting musical instruments into public libraries

Tinderbox Orchestra announce ‘Live in Libraries’ UK & Ireland Tour

Scotland’s flagship Tinderbox Orchestra will tour libraries across the UK and Ireland to spread a campaign that gets musical instruments into public libraries so people can borrow them for free, just like borrowing a book!

Bringing together rappers and singers with heavy brass, strings, woodwind and a thundering backline, Tinderbox’s groundbreaking 20-piece orchestra will undertake a tour of libraries to spread a national campaign to get musical instruments into public libraries, so people can borrow them for free, just like taking out a book.

The ‘We Make Music Instrument Libraries’ initiative has been growing in Scotland for the past few years and has now spread to over 10 local authorities and 30 community libraries across the country. Thousands of people have borrowed instruments and these libraries are introducing a whole package of music lessons, workshops, live gigs and events into their buildings, bringing crowds of new people into libraries and supporting music and educational opportunities for communities across Scotland.

The project started when a local youth music project run by Tinderbox Collective teamed up with Muirhouse Library in North Edinburgh, to enable children and families to borrow instruments during the summer holiday. It worked so well the idea got picked up by other library services and local music organisations, who formed a growing Scotland-wide collective, convened by the Music Education Partnership Group and We Make Music Scotland. They ran a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2022 (featured on BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles Show & BBC Radio Scotland) which gathered donations of hundreds of second-hand instruments. These were serviced to a good standard and placed in libraries across the country, giving thousands of people the opportunity to try out saxophones, guitars, ukuleles, trumpets and all sorts of other instruments.

Tinderbox Orchestra are now taking this campaign and initiative further afield. Funded by PRS Foundation’s Beyond Borders programme, they are bringing their five-star show and 20-piece band together with local acts to perform at libraries in Northern England and Scotland for the first leg of the tour, with more dates to be announced soon. Initial dates include Glasgow’s Mitchell Library, Manchester’s Henry Watson Music Library, Leeds Central Library, and a run of 9 shows at Edinburgh’s Central Library as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they will present their new show “Outwith Words: Tinderbox Orchestra & Loud Poets”, featuring collaborations with some of Scotland’s leading spoken word artists. A new crowdfunding campaign will accompany the tour with a call-out for second-hand instruments to help kickstart instrument libraries wherever they go. They plan to release a ‘Live in Libraries’ album as part of the campaign, featuring performances and collaborations from different shows on the tour.

Tinderbox Orchestra will be touring to the south of England and Ireland later in the year (dates TBC) and would love to hear from libraries and cultural organisations interested in joining the campaign.

Internationally acclaimed musician and Director of the Music Education Partnership Group, John Wallace (CBE) said:

“With such an incredible demand out there for musical instruments from people of all ages and abilities who want to learn, recycling musical instruments for future generations to enjoy is a zero-carbon idea whose time has come!”

Find out more about ‘We Make Music Instrument Libraries’ and Tinderbox.