Home Local business Award-Winning Music Studio Reopens With New Name

Award-Winning Music Studio Reopens With New Name

by Adam Howarth, Editor
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Wrexham Sounds Vic Studios

The award-winning music studio Vic Studios will reopen as Wrexham Sounds in new premises with the vision to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people across North Wales.

Support and Guidance

The former Vic Studios has rebranded as Wrexham Sounds and moved from Hill Street to Rhosrobin. The studio will give music-based sessions to children from challenging and socially deprived backgrounds as a not-for-profit social enterprise. It will also provide lessons for those unable to access them at school. Wrexham Sounds will additionally offer support and guidance to young local talent.

Director Dave Gray said: “We’ve come through an incredibly tough time. Our earnings dried up, and we haven’t delivered any of our regular services since March last year.

“To survive, we consequently had to make some difficult financial decisions which impacted the team. We also changed the way we operate to make it more sustainable in the long term. Correspondingly, we’ve put marketing and fundraising at the heart of the business and used freelancers and partners to deliver services.

Rebuilding Relationships

General Manager Olivia Gallagher is at the helm of Wrexham Sounds, who cannot wait to open the doors this September after an 18-month hiatus.

Olivia Gallagher
Olivia Gallagher

The 25-year-old has a background in marketing and fundraising. Olivia is confident taking a fresh direction will prove popular with referral organisations and families in the region and beyond.

“My main task is to rebuild relationships with clients after such a long break. I’ll make sure they understand what we have to offer and the benefits of working with us,” she said.

“We have children and teenagers referred to us from local agencies, from social services to charities and care providers. Many of them have little or no access to any music-related activities in school.

Increasing Diversity

Vic Studios was initially a council-funded project which ran for 10 years. A group of volunteers rescued it from closure in 2016. They then made significant changes to its services and increased the diversity of its users – moving from a primarily male audience to involve more females.

Director Chris Lloyd said that as coronavirus restrictions ease, they will accordingly look to ramp up the number of music activities to benefit as many young people as possible.

“During Covid, we delivered well over 100 online music sessions, but in the future, that’s not a feasible option, especially when dealing with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who need one-to-one support,” said Chris.

Fellow Director Caroline Richards added: “This is a transformative project. The Board and also our partners have been the driving influence to bring light to those who need it. We want to make a difference for generations to come through music, fun and learning.”

For more information or to join the team at Wrexham Sounds as a freelance tutor or volunteer, visit wrexhamsounds.org. You can also follow them on social media at @wrexhamsounds.

Wrexham Sounds

NOTES: Wrexham Sounds are supported by Wales Council for Voluntary Action, The Community Fund, Thomas Howells North Wales Educational Fund, Temperance Hall Trust, Wrexham County Borough Council, Yamaha Music Europe, Arts Council Wales, Third Sector Resilience Fund, Moondance Foundation and AVOW.

We hope you enjoyed reading about how Vic Studios is rebranding as Wrexham Sounds. For more articles on local businesses, click here.

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