£50k+
grants awarded

150+
choir & ensemble members

Great Bowden Recital Trust (GBRT) was founded in 2004 and began by promoting high-quality classical recitals featuring leading professional musicians at affordable ticket prices. Surplus income was reinvested into grants that helped local young people afford instruments and lessons. This soon evolved into a wider mission: creating opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the joy of making music together.

Following registration as a charity in 2007, GBRT expanded its activities to include choirs, ensembles, workshops, community concerts, competitions, European concert tours and funding programmes. The first youth singing workshop in 2008 led to the formation of GBRT Youth Vocal Choir (now renamed the Youth Singers), and over time a vibrant musical family developed, including the Community Choir, Community Orchestra, Flute Choir and Carnival Drums.

Today, GBRT is a thriving community music charity serving people across South Leicestershire and North Northamptonshire. We provide inclusive music opportunities for singers, instrumentalists and complete beginners alike, welcoming people of all ages and abilities who want to learn, perform and connect through music.

Alongside our regular rehearsals and concerts, we run workshops with professional musicians, organise concert tours in the UK and in Europe, work with local schools to provide performance opportunities for primary school children, and host the annual GBRT Junior X Factor competition, which helps young performers and composers develop confidence and showcase their talents.

Supporting young musicians remains central to our mission. Through our grant programme, we help young people access singing and instrumental lessons that might otherwise be beyond their reach, ensuring that financial circumstances do not become a barrier to musical development. All surplus funds generated through our activities are reinvested into this work.

Apart from our Musical Directors and Accompanists, who are skilled professional musicians engaged on a freelance basis, GBRT is entirely volunteer run and has no paid staff. 

More than twenty years on, GBRT continues to champion the belief that music should be accessible to everyone. Whether through singing in a choir, performing in an orchestra, taking part in a community event or receiving support to afford music lessons, we are committed to inspiring people, strengthening communities and sharing the joy of music-making with all.