Ed Sheeran has continued his mission of supporting the future of music education by gifting some of his Lowden acoustic guitars to a school in the UK.
As per a report from the BBC, the multi-Grammy winner paid a surprise visit to Belfast Boys’ Model school in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he sat down with staff to discuss the current state of the pupils’ music education and the challenges they face in the classroom.
The importance of having a stable music department and providing students with the support needed to pursue the arts was a standout theme. As such, Sheeran stepped in to help alleviate some of the pressures that the school faced by bolstering their instrument supply.
"I was invited to a meeting with other music teachers to discuss the challenges we face in the classroom," said Sharon Baird of Belfast Boys’ Model. "We were told a musician would be coming, but we didn't know who. Then the door opened and Ed Sheeran appeared.
"He described his ordinary upbringing, and told us he wasn't very good at anything in school apart from music. Long story short, he knows better than anyone how music can change a young person's life, and said he wanted to help us promote that in our classrooms."
Baird notes the schools’ principle had been covering the cost of tuition fees and instruments for the school. Sheeran donated five of his Sheeran by Lowden guitars to help the cause.
"As soon as he said that, through the Ed Sheeran Foundation, he wanted to give us five brand-new guitars, I knew it would make a difference," Baird says.
Sheeran’s donation has had a noticeable impact on the school. As one student puts it, "Since Ed made his donation, the music department has been busier at lunchtime. I think more boys are going to learn to play the guitar because of what he did."
The Perfect songwriter launched the Sheeran by Lowden range back in 2019 with Lowden Guitars, a Northern Irish guitar maker. It came six years after Martin produced a signature version of the LX1E with which Sheeran cut his teeth as an aspiring musician.
Sheeran’s commitment to supporting grassroots music has become a key pillar in the singer-songwriter’s mission. In 2022, he performed a free show in his hometown of Ipswich, England, gifting the guitar he played to a youngster in the audience and sparking a six-string sales surge at a local store.
