Beating the Drum

Despite significant UK communities of Balkan and Middle Eastern heritage, their music and culture remain almost entirely absent from the national curriculum.

Our project will address this omission, providing high-quality, ready-to-use teaching modules that give teachers the confidence and tools to include these traditions. The project will also provide young people with archival and interpretation training, equipping them with skills for study and heritage careers to which access is currently limited.

Alongside this educational mission, the project will revive the extraordinary but forgotten art, writing, and music created by British combatants at the battle of Gallipoli.

The project will culminate in an act of musical reconciliation in the form of a newly commissioned song cycle by Turkish-English composer Elif Karlıdag, weaving together the classic sounds and instruments of the many nations touched by Gallipoli. Through this, remembrance becomes a shared act of healing, creativity, and connection.