As part of Volunteers' Week we're sharing stories of our amazing volunteers who help our member groups to keep making music. Today's...
As part of Volunteers' Week we're sharing stories of our amazing volunteers who help our member groups to keep making music. First up, we meet one of our Funding Research Volunteers, Andrea Lee.
What do you do in your role?
I update the Find a Funding Opportunity tool in the Resources section of the Making Music website, and follow up requests from member organisations for information about sources of funding for specific needs and projects.
How long have you been volunteering with Making Music?
Two and half a years.
What inspired you to volunteer with Making Music?
I want to see leisure-time music flourish and grow. It’s such an important part of so many people’s lives in very positive ways.
What has been your most rewarding experience with Making Music so far?
I’ve done lots of fun things including piano playing at London Bridge station for Make Music Day. However, the funding research work is really rewarding. I hope it helps members achieve their aspirations.
Do you play an instrument or sing?
I’ve played the clarinet for as long as I can remember and play regularly in Barnes Concert Band, where I am also the Chair. In recent years I’ve learnt the alto saxophone and set up a saxophone ensemble.
If you could invite three people, past or present, to dinner, who would they be and why?
I’d invite a composer, a conductor and an instrumentalist: Beethoven for his sheer creative genius; Marin Alsop, as I’ve learnt such a lot from her in my endeavours as a novice conductor; and finally, my favourite jazz saxophonist, Paul Desmond – if only I could emulate his sound which he described himself as being ‘like a dry martini’.
Do you have a particular favourite piece of music or song?
‘The Catskills’, from East Coast Pictures by Nigel Hess for wind band. I’ve never been to the Catskills Mountains but this music conveys the wonder, majesty and power of the natural landscape.
Read more profiles of Making Music volunteers in our news and blog.
Volunteers' Week runs from 1-7 June and is organised by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO).
