“It’s about giving people real-life skills. When an orchestra moves into a school, people assume that our ambition will be to help every student learn the violin. Of course, we are always pushing for musical engagement at every level, but there is a lot more that we can offer besides. We have the chance to provide these young people with experiences they will never forget, the opportunity to develop their skills and tangible work experience which will train them and open up career opportunities for the future. This is what our partnership at the school is about – it’s about working with the community we are in, understanding its priorities rather than imposing our own and sharing the resources we have.”

Crispin Woodhead, OAE Chief Executive

This major gift from Dreamchasing Foundation in support of the scheme and the new name are reflective of the values and ethos of the supporter behind it, founding shareholder and former Chairman of The McLaren Technology Group, Ron Dennis. His Dreamchasing Foundation seeks to provide opportunities for young people to pursue their goals.

“Dreamchasing is about making a difference and investing in the next generation; over the 15 years that Dreamchasing has been running, we have been privileged to support many different projects, initiatives, and talented individuals, all of which were lacking in funding, and enabled them to achieve their dreams.”

Ron Dennis

The funding will be vital in allowing us to expand the offer to two cohorts of Young Producers, creating further production opportunities including working with the school’s media department to create an in-house documentary about the residency, and to launch a new creative video competition for students at the school.

“I am really enjoying young producers because I feel I’m actually learning something useful instead of something I feel like I will never use, which has always been my problem with school. So far, Young Producers has given me the experience to set up a recording, manage an event, operate a camera and work in a more professional environment.”

Rafi, Young Producer