This year, Birmingham’s oldest music studio was able to revamp their community production suite thanks to a £10,900 grant from the Prime Foundation.
Grosvenor Road Studios (GRS) has provided recording space for local, national and international musicians for over 60 years. Since the acquisition of GRS by Black Voices (an a capella quintet) in 2001, it has also become a community hub, creating space to support locals not only in their musical ambitions but providing office/ events space for cultural, creative and socially responsive organisations.
GRS applied to the Prime Foundation for funding to upgrade the software and systems in their community accessible studio to function at a professional and modern standard, on an equal footing with their commercial studio space. With funding in place and the upgrade works complete, GRS can now deliver sessions and workshops with industry standard software and equipment; producing professional quality recordings and giving programme attendees the chance to build up-to-date transferable skills in the music industry.
In the revamped Studio 2, current programmes include music activities and skills training for young BME carers and young women, as well as mentorship and music therapy for young unemployed people and past offenders looking to turn their lives around – just a few of the many services GRS deliver to enrich the lives of those who most need it in the area.
‘The Prime Foundation has enabled Grosvenor Road Studios to upgrade its resources to improve and widen access for young people who create music outside of mainstream routes and where there is little or no provision for their urban genres. Following a free training session, the young people can use our updated facilities to develop their knowledge, skills, and values. This equips them for new opportunities and increases their confidence to meet the challenges they face in life’. Said Carol Pemberton (MBE), Managing Director of GRS.
In addition to housing two recording studios, as a volunteer-led, grassroots community hub, GRS went above and beyond to support locals outside of their usual services during the pandemic, at one point even turning their premises into a food bank. On reading their application the Trustees of the Prime Foundation felt their cause was hugely deserving of support.
On 21st October, Prime employees were able to visit the studio space and see firsthand the impact of the funding they helped raise. The grant awarded to the GRS was generated through Prime’s work delivering a new specialist facility at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as well as a new multi-storey car park for City Hospital Birmingham.
We at Prime can’t wait to see what GRS does next, keep up to date by visiting their website here. Read more about the range of projects funded by the Prime Foundation here.
