Okehampton charity Wren Music has launched an urgent fundraising campaign to help it stay open this year.

For over 40 years, Wren Music has been providing music opportunities for under-served communities in Devon. Projects include Singing for Wellness for people with respiratory conditions, and inclusive Ceilidhs for All. The charity also links with other organisations to reach people of all ages who’d otherwise not have access to singing or playing music. Its work in keeping traditional English folk music alive and relevant is also recognised nationally.

But without support, the charity warns there’s a “very real possibility” that it won’t make it to September 2026, when their autumn programme of regular groups and projects is due to start up again after the summer break.

Wren Music’s creative director and co-founder, Marilyn Tucker, explained: “Our work plays an important part in the folk music landscape of England, and in the community landscape of Devon.

“We work directly within local communities, bringing people together across generational and cultural divides. Crucially, we provide accessible music projects for disabled people – creating a space where physical, cognitive and sensory barriers dissolve.

“And in our weekly and monthly sessions, a non-verbal child finds their voice through the steady beat of a drum. An adult isolated by chronic illness finds connection, warmth, and a sense of belonging in a choir. Here, everyone is heard. Everyone belongs. But the music is at risk of falling silent.”

Like many arts organisations, Wren Music – which is staffed by a small team of professional musicians at its base in North Street – has been affected by funding becoming unavailable or used elsewhere.

Since 2010, the arts have seen a decline in national and local funding due to increased financial pressure on government and councils and rising costs. According to the independent review of Arts Council England, published this year, there has been a 48 per cent real-terms fall in funding per person through local authorities and an 18 per cent fall through Arts Council England. This has led to greater competition which was only compounded by a loss of access to European cultural funding since Brexit and the financial difficulties faced by many music and arts organisations during the Covid lockdowns.

“Covid and Brexit feel like they were a long time ago, but these two things had a profound impact on arts funding in England,” said Marilyn.

“The money that used to be just for extra arts activities is now also having to stretch to pay for more fundamental things like libraries, museums and schools – the things the local authority used to pay for in full.

“We have also, sadly, already seen the loss of local arts organisations like the Devon Arts in Schools Initiative. But we believe we can galvanise our wide community to help prevent Wren Music being a casualty of these times.”

The charity’s ‘Keep the Music Playing’ campaign page is on the website at www.wrenmusic.co.uk/support-us/donate.