Riverside Music Project is one of the first groups in the UK to receive a Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) All Our Stories grant, it was announced today. This exciting project in Stirling, called “All our Tunes”, and led by Riverside Music Project, has been given £4,300 to research local traditional music and create new repertoire inspired by the Stirling area. All Our Stories, a brand new small grant programme, launched earlier this year in support of BBC Two’s The Great British Story, has been designed as an opportunity for everyone to get involved in their heritage. With HLF funding and support, community groups will carry out activities that help people explore, share and celebrate their local heritage. The popular series presented by historian Michael Wood and supported by a programme of BBC learning activities and events got thousands of us asking questions about our history and inspired us to look at our history in a different way, through the eyes of ordinary people.
The programme and HLF All our Stories has proved a real hit and now “All Our Tunes” is one of hundreds of successful projects around the UK to receive a grant. Riverside Music Project is an intergenerational community group which encourages  families and individuals who want to learn traditional music. The group, run by volunteers, holds family sessions and ceilidhs, and also has a ceilidh band and young musicians who perform at many local events. “All Our Tunes” will allow members of all ages to explore archives, and interview members of the community in search of tunes and songs. The project will run throughout 2013 and celebrate its results in recordings, and live music making. Tunes will be made available on Riverside Music Project’s website.
TV presenter and historian Michael Wood said “We British love our history, and no wonder: few nations in the world, if any, have such riches on their doorstep, and so much of it accessible to all of us. It is really tremendous that the people of Stirling have been inspired to get involved to tell their own story and to dig deeper into their own past. It’s brilliant that so any people are being given the chance to get involved through the All Our Stories grants. Having travelled the length and breadth of the British Isles this year filming The Great British Story, I am certain that fascinating and moving stories will be uncovered which will not only bring to life the excitement of local history, but will illuminate and enrich every community’s connection with the national narrative.”
Commenting on the award, Jo Miller, Convenor of Riverside Music Project, said: “We are excited about the activities that this grant makes possible, and looking forward to getting started gathering “All Our Tunes”, old and new! Colin McLean, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland, said “Clearly the success of All Our Stories has reinforced the fact that we are indeed a nation of storytellers and that we want to explore and dig deeper into our past and discover more about what really matters to us. This is exactly what the grant will do for the Riverside Music Project as they embark on a real journey of discovery.”