The UK is a leader in the field of education and community outreach work in all artforms, including the fields of classical and contemporary music. It is common for musicians working on British Council projects to get involved in various types of educational and collaborative activity in addition to concert performances – in the form of creative workshops, masterclasses, individual coaching, or jam sessions with local musicians.

The main purpose of this work is to increase the longer-term impact of the British Council's music programme through cultural exchange, skill-sharing and training. Given the wealth and expertise of individuals and specialist ensembles working in this field, it makes sense for the British Council to exploit this resource, particularly in countries where ‘in and out’ performance tours by musicians are inappropriate or unlikely to meet the British Council's objectives. Educational and collaborative ventures are also valuable tools for the British Council in the process of contact-making and profile-raising and in the building of enduring partnerships with local arts organisations.

This section offers a representative snapshot of this work. It is in no way intended to be an exhaustive map of activity. By featuring these edited highlights, we merely offer examples of good practice across the broadest range of activity in the UK.