Cambridge charity continues to hit high notes for talented musicians

Founded in 1985 by Cambridge entrepreneur and philanthropist Nigel Brown, The Stradivari Trust has enabled Britain’s finest musicians to acquire instruments of the highest calibre – traditionally violins, violas and cellos.

The Trust’s inaugural scheme helped Nigel Kennedy acquire the ‘La Cathédral’ Stradivarius violin, an acquisition that laid the foundations for a model of syndicated ownership that has since become unique in its field.

Contributors to each syndicate acquire a portion of an instrument which the musicians buy back gradually over a set period (normally 20 years), enabling them to eventually own it. The instruments tend to go up in value with the market, typically 4.5-5 per cent per annum with the value calculated annually for musicians’ buybacks to reflect that. The Trust is careful to say that the funds people put into the scheme are contributions and not investments.

The Trust is now seeking new contributors to join future schemes where the minimum contribution costs £5,000. Over the past four decades, the Trust has facilitated more than 60 such schemes, with instruments collectively valued in excess of £30 million, benefiting musicians including Steven Isserlis, Lawrence Power, Jennifer Pike and Natalie Clein. The highest individual contribution that The Trust is aware of was £300,000 and the minimum contribution now required is the aforementioned £5,000.

Serial entrepreneur Dr Colin Smithers is now the Chairman of the Board following the passing of Nigel Brown a few years ago. Under his tutelage the Trust has also now launched a separate scheme – the new 'Nigel Brown Fine Instrument Fund' – which can take actual donations as this is a pot of money that will be used in the future to buy instruments. Donations will facilitate the acquisition of certain fine instruments more quickly before the fundraising has been finalised.

A spokesperson for the Trust says there is a demand from talented musicians for more schemes and to do this it now needs to find a fresh generation of contributors.

The Trust says that in its long experience, everyone involved benefits from the shared ownership scheme: the chosen artists get to play on instruments they could not otherwise access, while contributors get to be part of that musician's growing status as well as owning a slice of the fine instrument whose value swells with the prevailing market.

The Trust’s 40th Anniversary concert is being held on December 4th at Smith Square Hall in London (7.30pm) where Natalie Clein plays Schumann. Natalie is the latest Stradivari Trust Artist to complete the syndicated ownership scheme.

To buy tickets for the concert, visit: www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/event/natalie-clein-plays-schumann. To get involved in either of the new Stradivari Trust schemes, go to https://stradivaritrust.org/ or email admin@stradivaritrust.org.

• Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier (c.1644-1737) – a term derived from the creation of lutes. He is regarded as the pre-eminent master of stringed instrument making in Cremona. Instruments have included the violin, cellos, guitars, violas and harps.