Old instruments sent to Patagonia from Wales

In cupboards and attics across Wales hundreds of musical instruments lie gathering dust, silent for years after their last note was played.

Now a group of musicians is helping bring a tune back to even the most battered of violins and sending them to children over 5,000 miles away.

Between breaks for recording soundtracks for iconic shows including Dr Who and Sherlock, four musicians from the BBC National Orchestra for Wales (NOW) are lovingly repairing hundreds of instruments to send to Patagonia in time for Christmas.

The two percussionists, one trumpeter and a cellist, were spurred to action after seeing children learning on toy instruments during the orchestra's first visit to Argentina's Welsh-speaking community last year.

The project is the brainchild of lead percussionist Chris Stock, who said a lot of the schools made their own, with children hitting makeshift bongos made from pipes and carrier bags.

"In the youth orchestra there weren't any timps," added trumpet player Rob Samuel, who was shocked by the lack of instruments.

"When we asked why, they said there weren't any timps in the whole of the Chubut Province area - they were playing on toy glockenspiels and things like that.

"That's like learning on a plastic trumpet."

The four musicians are using their spare time to repair the instruments

The musicians visited schools during their trip to Patagonia last year

What started as an idea during the orchestra's tour to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of a community of Welsh settlers in Patagonia, is now slowly becoming a reality for the team.

Folk harps - small harps with pedals - three pairs of timpani, a flute, clarinet, French horn, guitars, 200 violins, and even a bassoon, in all different states of repair have been dug out of cupboards and donated from across Wales.

Even the most battered fiddle is put to use, with the team breaking up the bodies of violins to use for parts. Others are sold to a local artist to raise cash to buy new instruments.

Cellist Rachel Ford said: "We are making use of anything that comes in.

"We will find a way of making it useful, but we don't want to send tatty stuff out to the students. We want to send them good instruments to learn on."

Chris Stock, who came up with the idea for the project, and Sian Lloyd with the symbolic red violin

On Saturday the first instrument, a bright red violin, will be taken from Cardiff to Trevelin by former weather presenter Sian Lloyd.

Won at a raffle by Shelia Hobbs from Penarth, the violin has become the symbol of a project which the team hopes will bring music to thousands of young people both in Patagonia and Wales.

They hope the violin will be the first of hundreds of refurbished instruments to head across the waters for a new life - with others remaining in Wales to help children in cash-strapped schools.

Ms Hobbs, who won the violin at a festival in Cardiff and has been playing it as a folk performer, said knowing her violin was heading to such a project was a "marvellous way" to end her years with the instrument.

One school has asked for a piano, as there are none nearby, but the musicians are under no illusion they can fly one over.

Another is struggling to meet demand with 43 children waiting to learn the violin with just a handful to share between them.

The musicians mend all the instruments they can and break up others for parts or sell them

Six flight cases are ready to head off to schools in Patagonia

Boxes filled with basic learner instruments are also being sent to the schools

Chris said the situation was hard to imagine when there were so many pianos in living rooms across Wales which are "never played".

"You're missing out on something, a whole part of your life," percussionist Phil Girling added, explaining it is hard for players to even buy reeds for clarinets in Patagonia.

"Not being able to experience that sort of thing in an early age is like not being able to access the internet or not being able to go to the library to get a book."

While the team have large ambitions, the reality of transporting such a large and precious load so far is starting to set in.

So far, six flight cases filled with all kinds of instruments have been donated - some from musicians' storerooms, others from music shops, while some have simply been pulled out of attics.

But flying all the instruments could cost about £1,300 - which would have to be funded out of the musicians' own pockets and the project has already hit delays.

The team are now hoping to ship the instruments out before Christmas but are waiting to get charity status to make sure there are no issues along the way.

They learned that lesson the hard way, when a case of harps donated from north Wales for the orchestra to take with them got stuck in customs for seven months last year.