Music on the move

Councillor Keith Swift, Richard Charles and Cliff Woodworth from Rochdale Music Service receive the keys to the new music service van

Rochdale Music Service is back on the road after the Mayor’s charity provided money to buy a new van.

During his year as Mayor, Councillor Keith Swift raised money for three local music organisations; Rochdale Youth Orchestra, The Back Door Music Project and the Rochdale Music Service.

With their share of the funds, over £5,000, the music service have replaced their old van with a newer and more suitable model. The van will be used for transporting instruments and equipment to over 90 performances per year and will also be used to help distribute instruments to schools across the borough.

Richard Charles, head of Rochdale Music Service said: “I would like to thank Councillor Swift for all his fundraising efforts. Despite the challenges of civic duties and ill health he always made himself available for the many fundraising activities that were held during his time as Mayor.

“Our new van is fabulous, and will be very well used. It’s much more suitable than our previous vehicle and we all appreciate that this sort of investment would not be possible in the current financial climate without such fund raising activities. I would also like to thank Graham Thompson, the council’s fleet manager, for his assistance in sourcing the vehicle.”