Ronnie Scott's Musical Instrument Amnesty to take place in January 2023

Ronnie Scott's will be hosting an all-day Musical Instrument Amnesty, collecting London's disused musical instruments. All instruments - from plastic recorders to violins and state-of-the-art mixing desks - will be donated to school-aged children in the UK and overseas, enabling musical education amongst communities across the world. This year, Ronnie Scott's Charitable Foundation has partnered with charities Music For All and Sistema England to ensure that instruments donated in this year’s Musical Instrument Amnesty find the best new homes across the UK.

The iconic Frith Street venue will open its doors between 10am-3pm for the public to drop by and donate. Alongside a cup of tea or glass of fizz, donors will have the opportunity to rub shoulders with stars and celebrities who have graced Ronnie's stage over the years, whilst learning more about the project, and the impact their donation will make.

The 2022 Musical Instrument Amnesty saw huge success with over 500 donations pledged to new homes.

Working in partnership with Music For All and Julian Lloyd Webber’s charity, Sistema England, all instruments will be checked and distributed to children whose access to music education has been compromised due to their social situation and/or geographical location.

The project aims to transform the lives of young people and communities through the power of music making, a shared belief between Music For All, Sistema England and Ronnie Scott's Charitable Foundation, which has organised the amnesty.

Over the years, Ronnie Scott’s Musical Instrument Amnesty has welcomed several high-profile donors. The Grammy and Brit Award-winning Sam Smith donated a white violin from his iconic 2015 Brit performance of ‘Lay Me Down’ – the violin travelled from London to the Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club along with other donations which were then shipped to the MusicArt Society, a charity in Nepal which teaches disadvantaged children to play donated instruments.

British multi-instrumentalist Nithin Sawhney donated a guitar, Neil Cowley a violin, and two specially commissioned trumpets have been made courtesy of two-time Edison Award-winner and American trumpeter Christian Scott.

How to get involved in Ronnie Scott's Musical Instrument Amnesty:

Anyone and everyone is welcome and encouraged to get involved. Donors can express interest via ada@ronniescotts.co.uk and then pop-in to the legendary Frith Street club on 28th January to donate.