Schools in Wales given free access to rehearsal tracks for the Urdd Eisteddfod 2024

In collaboration with Charanga Cymru, National Music Service Wales (NMS Wales) and the Urdd Eisteddfod are announcing a new development that will pave the way for more Welsh children to participate in the festival.

As part of the new partnership – the first of its kind between NMS Wales and the Urdd Eisteddfod – rehearsal tracks for singing set pieces in the Urdd Montgomeryshire Eisteddfod 2024’s Year 6 and under category will be available on Charanga Cymru. All Welsh schools can access the Charanga Cymru online platform free via the NMS Wales website.

The aim is to increase the opportunity for children to learn and rehearse the set pieces while giving more young people and their teachers the chance to take part in Wales’ largest youth cultural festival. In addition to the rehearsal tracks, children can use YuStudio, Charanga’s digital audio workstation (DAW), to support their entries in the festival’s Composing Music categories.

The rehearsal tracks will help tutors and provide equal opportunities for everyone. NMS Wales and the Urdd Eisteddfod also plan to add to the offer over the next few years. After the 2024 Urdd Montgomery Eisteddfod, the tracks will remain available to all schools using Charanga Cymru to support their day-to-day music teaching.

‘Eisteddfod yr Urdd is proud to be working with Charanga Cymru and Wales’ National Music Service to ensure every child is given the opportunity to engage with the arts and compete in the Eisteddfod. This is the first year of our partnership, and we hope it will grow so we can provide tracks and resources for all of our music competitions. Remember, you can use Charanga YuStudio to take part in the music composition competitions, too, so go for it! We hope you have fun practising with these fantastic resources. They were created especially for you, and we hope to see you on the Eisteddfod yr Urdd stage soon!’ – Llio Maddocks, Director of the Urdd Eisteddfod and the Arts.

Mari Lloyd Pritchard, NMS Wales’s National Co-ordinator, added:

‘The Urdd contributes so much to music education in Wales and provides a valuable platform for many of our young musicians. I’m therefore delighted that this partnership allows us to remove a barrier for a child, teacher or school to learn these songs, increase intelligence from the musical requirements, and open the door to composition.

 

These resources offer support on many levels, whether you’re an experienced musician or want to enjoy singing or rehearsing without an accompanist. We are so grateful to the Urdd Eisteddfod for embracing this idea. Our thanks must also go to the Charanga Cymru team, who have created an area dedicated to the Urdd Eisteddfod on the digital platform in such a short time so that we can give this gift to children and teachers in early 2024.’

Accessing Charanga Cymru and the new resources:

Schools can access the resources by clicking the new Urdd Eisteddfod tab when they next log in to Charanga Cymru. Schools who have not yet signed up for free Charanga Cymru access can do so here.