American Friends of Nucleo

Thanks to your incredible generosity, Nucleo has just reached its 12^th birthday! Our latest impact report is out, and we couldn’t be more excited to share what your support has made possible.

As you may know, every week, over 400 children and young people choose to learn music with us. What we have found is that they don’t just use the opportunity to improve their musical skills – they also build self-confidence, resilience, and a sense of belonging that they often describe as ‘family’. In fact, 89% of students say they feel to connected to others at Nucleo, and we’ve discovered that this strong connection correlates with feeling more confident playing as a part of group. Our young musicians tell us they are not scared to perform in concerts because they can hear their friends playing around them. This support is also reflected by parents and carers, who express their investment in the progress of all students: “It's good to see them. Not only [them] but all the kids”.

With your donation, we can create a space where children and young people can invest in their personal development while strengthening a supportive and empathetic community. Thanks to your continuous support, we can organise events like our community concerts in December, where young musicians proudly showcased their talent, enthusiasm and commitment. Their supporters, in return could feel a strong sense of belonging to the “Nucleo community”.

At a time when long-term offering of instrumental lessons in schools is steadily declining, your generosity ensures that cost is not a barrier to sustained musical engagement at Nucleo. We provide lessons six days a week, and our free, immersive programme means that most children attend at least two to four times a week, with attendance among senior students reaching 83%.

With years of experience and accumulated data, we can now share even more insights into what makes Nucleo so special. We hope you enjoy reading the full report – we are proud to have you on this journey with us!

Links:

• Nucleo Impact Report

As you may know, Nucleo is the only organisation of its kind in England – a free, immersive, and comprehensive, after-school ensemble-based programme focused on changing lives and building communities through music.

The new school year is now well and truly underway, and this year we are working with over 400 students, six days a week! We have had a busy start - from new 3 and 4-year-olds joining our musicianship classes, to last year’s starters moving into the full orchestras, and our most advanced students planning and preparing for their own recital in December.

Meanwhile, we are excited about what we’re learning from students about the impact of our work. Last year, 89% reported that they feel connected to others at Nucleo. 94% say they take responsibility for what they need to do at Nucleo. And 89% believe in their ability to achieve their musical goals. Our students are learning so much more than just music – independence, confidence, resilience, emotional regulation, teamwork - and we hope that the life skills they are developing will serve them well in whatever they go on to do. One student (aged 13) wrote “I am grateful to everyone at Nucleo for all their hard work to help all of us become better in every way.”

We would not be able to do this work without your generous support. 85% of Nucleo families live in the poorest 50% of neighbourhoods nationally, and 51% in the most deprived two deciles. Of course, the life skills, community building and personal development that you offer our students through your investment are incredible. But we are just as grateful for the sheer joy that you give to our community by enabling happy moments and wonderful experiences for our kids. A parent recently told us “My child’s attendance at Nucleo has brought immense joy and pride to our family”. Thank you for being here with us, helping to do that.