WHAT IS YOST?
We are a music education charity working to support, train and inspire a new generation of organists.
The Young Organ Scholar’s Trust (YOST) trains and supports the next generation of young organists, with the aim of widening access to organ education, and ensuring the survival of the UK’s unrivalled church music tradition.
We support young musicians nationwide whose families would not otherwise be able to afford organ lessons, enabling young organists from diverse backgrounds to play a vital role in the enhancement of liturgy through music for decades to come.
Where it started.
YOST was founded by Christopher Cowell in 2013. Chris was a lifelong educator, who was concerned that a lack of young organists could threaten the survival of the UK’s unique church music tradition. His solution, with the unwavering support of Dr Martin Clarke, a dedicated philanthropist to the arts and our founding trustee, was to create a charitable trust to support talented and committed young musicians through access to high-quality organ tuition.
In particular, he wanted to ensure that no aspiring young organist would be excluded by lack of financial means. His overarching belief was that education has the power to transform young lives and is a right, not a privilege. That was something he wanted YOST to exemplify, and it remains at the heart of our charity’s work.
The challenge.
Recent years have seen severe funding cuts to school and local authority music budgets, and church youth music programmes are in decline. As a result, many young people have no opportunity to encounter the organ.
Access to organ education is fast becoming the preserve of a highly privileged few, usually those in major independent schools with an established chapel tradition. We firmly believe that the future of our national church music tradition depends not only on training many more young organists, but also on ensuring access for young musicians from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.
The benefit.
It is well-documented that music education provides huge benefits to students’ academic results, cognitive abilities, and mental health. Making music allows students to feel part of something worthwhile - to be part of a team - and the training a young organist receives is amongst the most complete musical training of any musician.
The training YOST Scholars receive allows them to contribute to their local community. Through our Regional Hubs, our tutors support Scholars to gain experience playing for services and concerts, and to become closely involved with the cultural life of their region. YOST Scholars are mentored by supportive, experienced musicians at the top of their profession: role models who encourage aspiration and pursuit of the highest standards.
Young organists can feel isolated; our Regional Hub model combats this by creating local support networks of students and teachers. Our regional workshop events provide an opportunity for young organists to connect with each other and enjoy valuable learning and social time together.
Impact.
The impact of the Trust’s work since its inception in 2013 is already striking, with several YOST scholars having been appointed to Organ Scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge, following time as Organ Scholars at prestigious churches and cathedrals including Beverley Minster, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, All Saints, Northampton, Hereford Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral.
Two of our young organists went on to study at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire last year, another has gone on to the Royal Academy of Music, and one graduated with a First in Music from the University of Durham. This year, one of our scholars is starting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and two have been awarded Oxbridge Organ Scholarships.
LEAVE A LEGACY
We deeply appreciate every gesture of kindness. Your contribution guarantees that our efforts will be cherished by future generations. For a confidential conversation about leaving a lasting legacy and how such gifts support our mission, please reach out to us.
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