Making music accessible to everyone in Gibraltar and beyond through instruments, education and opportunity — regardless of age, background or financial circumstances.
Explore the instrument library →
NAUTILUS AWARDSymphony of the EarthCOMMENDATION · 2026WHY WE EXIST · GIBRALTAR AND BEYOND
Music belongs to everyone, in Gibraltar and beyond. Whatever your age, background or experience, and whatever you can afford, you should have the chance to learn, play and enjoy making music.
That's why we exist: to make music and music education easier to reach, starting here at home in Gibraltar and reaching further as we grow, for children and young people, adults and families, and the musicians and teachers who keep our musical life going.
Supporting music education in schools and beyond, so more people get the chance to learn an instrument.
Helping remove the financial barriers that stop people picking up an instrument in the first place.
Children, young people, adults and families, alongside the local musicians and educators who inspire them.
Opportunities to learn, be creative, perform and take part in music together.
Bringing players, teachers, schools and supporters together to build a stronger, more connected musical community in Gibraltar, with links that reach beyond the Rock.
WHERE WE'RE STARTING
The Gibraltar Music Trust is a registered charity giving children and young people free access to real musical instruments across Gibraltar's mainstream educational facilities — regardless of financial circumstances.
We were founded by music educator Lili Olivero, our Founder and Trustee, because we believe the cost of an instrument should never be the reason a child misses the chance to discover music.
Read our story →Working alongside the Department of Education across Gibraltar's mainstream schools.
Strings, woodwind, brass and percussion — the heart of the orchestra.
Every child gets the chance to discover music, while every instrument stays in use for longer.
HOW IT WORKS
Keeping instruments in circulation, extending their useful life, and creating opportunities for generations of students.
Unused instruments find a new purpose.
Assessed, repaired and brought back to life.
Instruments go into school music classrooms.
Children see, touch, hear and try them.
Where appropriate, borrowed to practise at home.
Maintained and passed on to the next generation.
OUR FIRST CAMPAIGN
There must be instruments sitting in cupboards all over Gibraltar that could inspire our next generation of musicians. Give yours a new life — or help us buy the instruments classrooms still need.
Violins, cellos, double basses, flutes, oboes, clarinets, trumpets, French horns, drums, xylophones — strings, woodwind, brass and percussion are especially welcome. Instruments don't need to be perfect: we'll assess whether they can be repaired, restored or recycled.
A one-off or monthly gift helps us repair donated instruments and buy suitable new ones for the 20 classrooms, from nursery age upwards.
£10,000 sponsors a whole classroom set of new instruments. Businesses and individuals can make that difference for a classroom.
Every sponsor and donor can choose to have their name or business credited as a sponsor or donor, recognised in perpetuity for their gift and the instruments it provides.
THE GIBRALTAR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT LIBRARY
A library of instruments, built to last.
Every instrument remains the property of the Trust and joins a centrally managed collection — catalogued, maintained and redistributed as needs change, like borrowing a book from a library.
Donated instruments are arriving and being assessed now. As each one is catalogued it appears in the library, with its family, condition and the classroom it's helping.
Some of the first instruments given a new life by people in our community.
Yamaha PSR-E433, with stand and tutor books
Donated by Mike Nicolls
View details →
You don't know which instrument is yours until you have the chance to try.
“That first moment when a child holds a violin, tries to produce a sound from a clarinet or discovers the excitement of percussion can ignite something that stays with them for life.”
WORKING TOGETHER
We're working alongside the Department of Education, with the welcome and support of the Minister for Education and the Director of Education.
Bandmaster Andee Birkett of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Band and Corps of Drums has offered the band room to store donated instruments in our early stages, along with practical help assessing, repairing and recycling them.
Education. Community. Expertise. Shared resources.
WHY IT MATTERS
A child, a real instrument, their hands, their ears, their imagination. In a world of screens, it's something wonderfully simple — back to analogue, in a good way.
NEWS & EVENTS
Selected as finalists for giving instruments a longer life, we were commended at the 8th Gibraltar Sustainable Awards. Founder and Trustee Lili Olivero collected the award from the Minister for the Environment, Transport and Education, Prof John Cortes MBE MP.
Read the story →GBC reports on the Trust's launch and its ambition to bring music to children from nursery age.
Watch on GBC →Registered Charity No. 379 officially launches with its first campaign: Donate an Instrument.
Read the press release →The long-term vision
By introducing more children to strings, woodwind, brass and percussion from their earliest years, we hope to inspire thriving school orchestras and ensembles across Gibraltar — and, in time, perhaps a home-grown Gibraltar orchestra.
An instrument donated today could introduce children to music for decades to come.
