CODA Music Trust, the award-winning music charity based in Walkford, has announced a funding partnership with Curious Arts Festival that will see the New Forest festival support Coda until 2019.

After meeting with Coda, the festival organisers were impressed with the breadth and quality of the charity’s work in the local community and committed to supporting the charity with an investment of £5,000 over three years.

As part of the programming for children and families at the festival, Coda will deliver a Curious About Songwriting workshop and a Kids’ Ukulele Club.

“We are absolutely delighted that Curious Arts Festival has chosen to support us in this way,” says Phil Hallett, CEO of Coda Music Trust. “We are particularly excited about developing this partnership further and look forward to working closely with Curious over the coming months and years.”

Curious returns to the New Forest for a fourth year in July with music headliners Tom Odell and Izzy Bizu, literary headliners Dave Eggers, Lemn Sissay and Joanna Trollope and comedy from Ed Byrne, Simon Evans and Paul Tonkinson among others.

“As Curious puts down roots, we are delighted to support this wonderful local charity,” says Rory Steel, director of Curious Arts Festival. “We were impressed by the quality of the work Coda delivers locally and its determination to reach some of the most vulnerable people in the community.”

Coda Music Trust uses music as a tool for personal and social change, often tackling issues of social deprivation, isolation, ill health and disability.

Curious Arts Festival is the first corporate organisation to commit to Coda’s recently launched fundraising campaign Coda In The Community with its investment of £5,000, which will be match-funded by the Arts Council, effectively doubling the contribution.

Curious Arts Festival takes place at Pylewell Park in the New Forest from July 21 to 23. Find out more at curiousartsfestival.com