At The Amber Trust, we believe that vision impairment and other disabilities should not prevent children and young people accessing appropriate musical opportunities.
The Amber Trust was founded in 1995 with the aim to provide blind and partially sighted children, including those with additional disabilities, the best possible chance to meet their musical needs and aspirations.
We have grown to become the only national charity dedicated to supporting vision impaired children with their musical development and education. We aim to enhance the lives of as many of the 29,000 vision impaired children in the UK as possible through music, and to promote high quality music provision.
How The Amber Trust supports children:
For some children, learning to play an instrument or to sing can add immeasurably to their lives. With the right encouragement, these children can develop their talents to remarkable ends, breaking down barriers, promoting social inclusion and helping to fulfil their potential as individuals and musicians. With many blind children in the UK living in relative poverty, they suffer a double disadvantage. Their families cannot afford to give them the musical experiences that can make such a difference to their lives.
In order to help these remarkable children we have established The Amber Music Awards, which pay for:
- Music lessons
- Instruments
- Specialised equipment
- Concert tickets
- Accommodation and travel for music related activities
Amber also runs direct music services for families with a vision impaired child aged 0-5 (Little Amber) and aged 5-18 with complex needs (AmberPlus). These services aim to help families and professionals gain the confidence and resources to engage with their blind child through music.
We work with other charities to raise awareness of the value of music for these vision impaired children. We fund research into the impact of music and develop materials to help support the musical development of children. Through research, we know that music has the power to influence change in so many aspects of a child’s life: change that can last a lifetime.
Why Amber is needed
Many of the blind or partially sighted children living in the UK have a real flair for music and, given the right support, they can develop their talents to remarkable ends, fulfilling their potential as individuals as well as musicians.
Amber knows that children with sight loss, including those with additional disabilities, are less likely than sighted children to receive tuition or assistance. This is often due to discrimination and to other people’s misunderstandings about disability.
When a child with special needs shows an interest in music, progressing this requires funds that are often not available, as many families with disabled children cannot afford to buy even the most basic leisure equipment that many of us take for granted. This is why what we do is so important.
Faith’s piano teacher says:
I appreciate the work you are doing, having taught in a school for the blind for many years, working with multiply disabled visually impaired children. It is good to be able to ‘unlock’ so much that is within them through music and to see their joy. In all my years of teaching there have been very few children who have not responded to music. Long may your work continue.
Find out how you could get involved or make a donation to The Amber Trust
Amber Notes was our annual printed newsletter, which ran until 2024 – click here to view previous newsletters in our archive.