The Wren Trust has had many successes to sing about since it was formed 20 years ago.

Essentially it's a charity which supports local music in all its forms from choirs to junk bands.

It aims to get out and about across Devon to get as many people involved in music making as possible - through concerts, workshops and open-access sessions.

The trust has helped set up choirs, folk orchestras, community carnival celebrations, junk bands and song writing sessions.

Its open access performance groups are a great opportunity for people with no previous experience to get involved in music making.

The aim of these sessions is to be fun, creative and challenging. The main qualifications for taking part are enthusiasm and energy!

They're open to people of all abilities and no audition is needed to join in.

The Okehampton Youth Roots Band, a dynamic folk-rock band for 11 to 18 year olds, is one of several groups born out of an open access session.

The Roots Band draws on local and national traditional music and works with rock and contemporary styles.

Another open-access success story is Rough Music, the Wren Folk Orchestra of East Devon.

The Wren Trust brings together professional and amateur performers.

Formed in July 2001, Rough Music brings together amateur musicians from all walks of life. Numbers have grown steadily and the group now involves up to 20 people aged from 10 up to 65!

They play a wide range of music from Devon step-dances through Breton airs to Finnish polkas.

Wren is also involved in an extensive education programme which covers all abilities from pre-school to university including less-formal settings such as youth and after-school clubs.

Another lasting legacy of the Trust's work is the Baring-Gould Festival. Now in its fifth year, it mixes the best local and national artists with international visitors.

The festival uses small, local venues in the West Devon villages of Bridestowe, Bratton Clovelly and Lewdown. So festival-goers get to hear some of the greatest performers in cosy village venues.

The roots of the Wren Trust grew from work undertaken collecting a local oral history and folk music archive.

Over the years the trust has gathered together an enormous variety of songs and music - much of it transcribed from field recordings or taken from old documents.

Its ever growing sound archive includes important song, music, dance and oral testimony linking current musical trends with the past.

First published: 14th January 2004