The Manchester City footballer, who started learning the piano during the Covid-19 lockdown, has joined forces with Casio as part of their 'Playing for Change’ campaign
Piano maker Casio and high-flying Premier League footballer Nathan Aké have teamed up to donate ten digital pianos to some of Manchester’s most disadvantaged schools experiencing lack of funding in relation to music provision.
Supported by national music charity Restore The Music, schools and communities in Manchester that are in most need will benefit from this unique type of donation.
Nathan Aké visited The East Manchester Academy last week - located in one of Manchester’s most deprived areas - to donate two Casio CDP-S110 digital pianos to its music department enabling even more young people with the opportunity to learn. The footballer learnt piano during the Covid-19 lockdown and subsequently fell in love with it. He decided to team up with Casio as he felt passionately that all children should have access to the benefits of music education.
He comments, "I am so excited to partner with Casio to create the ‘Playing For Change’ initiative. Learning to play piano has offered me so many positives - from supporting my mental health, to helping me wind down from football.
With the support of Restore The Music, some of Manchester’s most deprived children will have the chance to enjoy the same benefits of music education that they may not have had before. I believe all children deserve these opportunities and I am grateful to Casio for sharing this vision."
Manchester is home to some of the highest socio-economic deprivation among children in the UK, estimated at 250,000 (Greater Manchester Poverty Action). The statistics for children living in Manchester in poverty have risen from 35.4 per cent in 2015 up to 42 per cent in 2021. To understand the scale of poverty, Manchester City Council has the third highest rate of child poverty among local authorities in England.
This unique collaboration between Nathan Aké and Casio, supported by Restore The Music, will provide even more opportunities for disadvantaged young people to unlock potential that only music can offer.
Check out the video below to watch Nathan showing off his piano skills on Sky Sports back in 2023!
To find out more about Casio, visit casio.co.uk/emi
