Olympias is 10!
We're celebrating ten years of providing a visionary and free music education to young people in Greater Manchester, with over 38,000 music lessons delivered.
We have loads planned for our anniversary year and have already kicked off the fun with our Recycled Orchestra, our Global Music Teacher Training and more! Get involved here.
Ten years of Olympias in numbers​​
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38,590+ free music lessons delivered since 2015
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180 Children experiencing low income in Manchester currently receive free weekly music lessons and now own an instrument.
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608 different children in total have passed through Olympias’ projects since 2015
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50+ concerts hosted
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20 freelance teachers regularly employed
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30 children successfully passed an ABRSM, Trinity or Pop Music music examination
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12 children accepted onto the Royal Northern College of Music Pathfinder scheme
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100 donated and repaired instruments in new Recycled Orchestra for 2025
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120 volunteers have contributed
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200 children and adults attended choirs, orchestras and SEND workshops
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20+ community events hosted
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1 Artist Residency for 34 Global Majority Musicians
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2 Residential Music Courses in Wales in 2023 and 2024
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5 Awards - Community Integration Awards 2017; Manchester Culture Awards 2018; Be Proud Awards 2019; King's Award 2023; Music and Drama Education Awards 2024
For 10 years, Olympias Music Foundation has been transforming access to music education for children and young people experiencing low income in Greater Manchester. From its roots as a student-led project hustling instruments and giving free music lessons to children at local schools, pianist and founder Dr Jo Yee Cheung has grown Olympias into an award-winning charity with a core team of five, over twenty musicians and facilitators and a Board of six Trustees.
Congratulations Olympias! I’m delighted to support this wonderful charity, which is at the very grassroots of our musical community in Manchester.
Kathryn Stott, Pianist, Artistic Director and Professor of Piano at RNCM
