Royal Scottish National Orchestra announces global partnership with Charanga

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) and Charanga are delighted to announce an exciting new global partnership. Over the coming year, teachers, students and schools using Charanga’s online music teaching and learning platform will be able to access a suite of bespoke educational materials developed by the RSNO and Charanga alongside a range of the RSNO’s most popular digital education resources, including Yoyo & The Little Auk and Once Upon a Tune. 

Charanga is one of the world’s largest online music teaching and learning platforms and providers of educational technology, curricula and content for music education. The addition of RSNO content to the platform will bolster an interactive resource library currently used by over 70,000 teachers in 64 countries every week. The new partnership will add to the already significant reach of the RSNO’s National Schools Concert Programme, which has engaged over 150,000 school children across every local authority in Scotland to date, including over 35,000 pupils from schools in areas of multiple deprivation. 

Alistair Mackie, RSNO Chief Executive, says the partnership reflects ‘the RSNO’s ambition to ensure everyone can access and enjoy music from the earliest possible age’. ‘This is an opportunity for Scotland’s National Orchestra to be heard in schools across the UK and internationally,’ he said. ‘Charanga’s digital platform has already given millions of children worldwide access to high-quality music education. This is something we passionately support – inspiring future musicians, new audiences, and the next generation of music lovers. 

The RSNO is committed to music education, and our Engagement team has developed some fantastic digital education resources over the past few years. We can now distribute them to the widest possible audience. Funding permitting, our ambition is to add more RSNO educational content to the Charanga platform in the future.’ 

Christina McKelvie, Scotland’s Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development says, ‘we warmly welcome news of this partnership between the RSNO and Charanga, which means the world class music the RSNO produces can be accessed and enjoyed by people of all ages. This partnership recognises the transformative power culture holds.’ 

The RSNO/Charanga partnership follows the launch of Charanga Cymru, a bilingual digital music platform supporting the delivery of Wales’ National Plan for Music Education. Here, a blend of
culturally rich content from the RSNO, combined with Charanga’s technology and personalised teaching and learning features, will ensure ever more students can enjoy a truly contemporary music education. 

‘Getting to know the RSNO team in recent months has been an absolute pleasure,’ Mark Burke, Charanga’s Founder and Director, added. ‘Spending time up close to the RSNO has reminded me just how emotionally powerful an experience it is to feel the combined artistry of such high-level musicians coming together as a symphony orchestra to perform truly great music. I think the Charanga community of teachers and students everywhere will love the new materials that will emerge from this partnership, and I hope we can help more children experience the exhilaration of live orchestral music.’

Find out more about the RSNO/Charanga partnership

About RSNO

Formed in 1891, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) is one of Europe’s leading symphony orchestras. Led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård, the Orchestra regularly performs across Scotland and tours internationally. Awarded royal patronage by Her Late Majesty The Queen in 1977, its special status in the UK’s cultural life was cemented in 2007 when it was recognised as one of Scotland’s five national performing companies, supported by the Scottish Government. The RSNO believes music can enrich lives and aims to inspire, educate and entertain people throughout Scotland, and beyond, with its performances, recordings and engagement programmes. www.rsno.org.uk

About Charanga

Charanga is one of the world’s leading online music teaching and learning platforms. The company is perhaps best known for providing award-winning music curricula, technology, CPD and teacher training that, together, boost music in schools. Charanga also has a 25-year history of partnership working with music hubs, services, national and state governments, and others to support their ambitions for change in music education. Its high-respected Musical School primary music programme was again named best ‘Digital Learning Product’ at the global Bett Awards in March. Today, over 70,000 teachers in 64 countries use the Charanga platform to help them teach music. 2.5 students enjoy a Charanga-supported music lesson every week. https://charanga.com/site/