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Developing high quality music education in the community...
Welcome to the Yorke Trust!
Music can make an enormous contribution to a happy life. It is something which should be available to all young people, above all to those who have musical talent which might otherwise remain unfulfilled. Our aim at the Yorke Trust is to provide opportunities for students and children from all walks of life to study and to perform in the un-pressurised atmosphere of the North Norfolk countryside, away from the competitive environment of university and school. We have been doing this to the highest possible standards since the foundation of the Trust in 1984, and we have been doing it virtually free of charge. Our work began with the Yorke Mini-Bass Project, an innovative scheme to enable children to play the double bass, for which we received generous funding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Acquisition of premises in Norfolk enabled us to broaden our horizons and focus on singing as well as providing facilities for instrumental courses and workshops for children. Trustees invite you to join them in planning for the future and help continue this valuable work in the years ahead. You can do this in a number of ways: by coming to events; by making a donation or by remembering us when making your will. NEW DEVELOPMENTS FOR THE YORKE TRUST! As you are aware, I am not getting any younger and the trustees and I see clearly that the Yorke Trust now needs new hands to take on some of the day-to-day management, alongside arranging new and exciting events to take the Trust into a vibrant future and secure further income streams. As founding Chairman of the Trust, I am personally delighted that Keith Hobday and Lucy Murphy have been appointed by the trustees as General Managers following their closure of the highly successful Belfry Arts Centre at Overstrand which they set up and have run for the past ten years. They are two of Norfolk’s most experienced string players and teachers, who will bring fresh ideas to the Trust’s operation and help to enhance its place on the nation’s arts map. We believe it is right and necessary that Keith and Lucy should receive financial reimbursement for their work. They have very kindly agreed to what is actually little more than an honorarium of £10,000 pa between them. This is an incredibly generous offer for which we are extremely grateful. However, the Yorke Trust does not have that sort of capital in its funds. So, we are now asking our supporters for help. Our proposal is to seek to secure donations from supporters or other sources to cover Keith and Lucy’s payment for the duration of 3 years. We confidently expect that by then they will have been able to substantially increase the activities and income of the Trust, and we would then be able to pay them from our own resources. We are therefore asking supporters to consider if they, or anyone they know within their own circles, could commit to giving a yearly donation for a period of 3 years. This could be one person donating £10,000 per year, or ten people donating £1000 per year. Or anything in between or less! Building on a forty-year track record of music courses, oratorio and opera performances, Young Musicians’ Benefit Concerts, together with a game-changing international project to teach children the double bass, we have exciting plans to refurbish the premises and improve the facilities. In doing so we will celebrate past achievements and fulfil our mission to develop high quality music education in the community. As trustees we feel very strongly that this is a make-or-break time for the Yorke Trust. If we are able to secure Keith and Lucy’s position, we are safe. Without that, we fear that the Trust may be in danger of being unable to continue into the long term future. If you are able to contribute in any way, either by making a donation or being ambassadors for our cause amongst your own social and business circles, we would be extremely grateful. We are planning for Keith and Lucy to start their work in September so there is a degree of urgency to find a solution. Please contact me or one of our trustees, Brenda Blewett, to discuss opportunities for support. With very best wishes, Rodney Slatford OBE Brenda Blewett 01328 823501 07885 144086 Boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate. gift_aid_declaration_form.pdf Please return form to The Yorke Trust, Grove Cottage, Southgate, South Creake, NR21 9PA [email protected] Cheques payable to The Yorke Trust BACs: Sort code 52 41 29 A/c 44630417 Name as reference. Thank you for your support! - Rodney Slatford, OBE A Message from The Yorke Trust New General Managers I thought I would introduce myself and my partner, who are now working as General Managers for the Yorke Trust. Lucy Murphy and myself, Keith Hobday, spent 10 years running the very successful Arts Centre – The Belfry Centre – in Overstrand, Cromer. We reluctantly gave up the lease on the building in August 2025 but were very excited to discover that the Yorke Trust were considering bringing someone onboard to help organise concerts, lettings, courses and much more. This could not have come at a more opportune moment for us, and we have quickly discovered what a fabulous set-up exists at the Old Chapel and Old Norwich Arms in South Creake, and what a supportive, imaginative and kind set of trustees there are in place. Our job as I see it, is really to help the trustees and Rodney fulfil many of the amazing ideas and inspiration they have on a daily basis. We are well connected with various organisations and hope this will bring its own opportunities to the Yorke Trust. We are also experienced with concert and course organising, social media, online systems, IT, safeguarding, health & safety and much more, all of which we hope we can bring to bear for the Trust. None of this will be possible without the support and generosity of our supporters and audience members. Plans are already taking shape for events, courses and more at the Yorke Trust and we really hope you are able to continue supporting us as we help the Yorke Trust into the next stage of its remarkable existence! 
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