Ecuador is the first musical project Keys of Change created back in 2011. With the help of our local partner, the Condor Trust for Education, we continue to support the musical education of twenty children from deprived backgrounds who live in and around Quito. In 2021 were able to restart the group guitar lessons that take place weekly under the roof of the Condor Trust for Education, and in 2022, we welcomed new students to the group. Apart from the weekly group lessons, we also offer advanced guitar classes and a teacher training programme for students that wish to take their music education to the next level, who, we hope, will also be able to teach the rest of the group soon.
 

Over the years, our musical activities have expanded. Alongside guitar tuition, we now also provide singing and violin lessons. Our choir meets weekly and performs a growing repertoire of mainly South American songs, sometimes unaccompanied and sometimes together with our guitar students. In June 2022, all the young musicians took part in a concert we organised in central Quito. For most, it was the first time they had performed in public and, despite initial nerves, they enjoyed it hugely. They came off stage “as if they were 2 metres tall”, said one teacher.