So he decided to put together a program that delivered live music to children which excited and inspired to want to try a musical instrument themselves whilst simultaneously helping teachers fulfil the demands of the curriculum… and so was born Key Strings.
In the nearly 30 years since then Key Strings has developed many different themed programmes and delivered over 8,000 music education programmes to children in schools across more than 40 education authorities.
Key Strings began back in the mid 90’s when it was formed out of the Cheshire String Quintet. Whilst working as a Violin Teacher for the Cheshire Music Service, Keith Mosedale Snr. was engaged with the quintet in trying to boost the uptake of music lessons by visiting primary schools in the area. He saw the need to give children more than just a demonstration, but rather to inspire and educate with fun and engaging performances.
Keith Snr. had a lifetime of experience as a professional musician and educator. He studied at the Royal College of Music in Manchester (under the tutelage of Rudolph Botta) and the Vienna Conservatoire. He played in the Halle Orchestra under Sir John Barbirolli and even directed his own light orchestra on Colwyn Bay Pier before moving into education as a Head of Music in a high school and later as a peripatetic violin teacher. He was also well known locally for being the musical director of several local operatic societies. Sadly Keith Sr. passed away in late 2024, but his legacy lives on with Key Strings and the many young lives that have been inspired by his musical pedagogy.
David, who is also an experienced teacher and musician, has been a long time colleague of Keith Sr. and has been working with Key Strings since 2007. David has been teaching music his entire life both as a high school music teacher and as a perepatetic instrumental teacher. He has also played in many orchestras being versatile as both a Violin and Viola player. He is currently also touring the country playing with a succesful Northern Soul Orchestra.
Please note although we do not work alone and unsupervised with the children, all members of our team have full DBS clearance.
“Key Strings gave a fantastic performance at our school on Tuesday this week, right in the middle of our Ofsted inspection. They taught the children so much – no mean feat when catering for a large group of 4 – 11 year olds. The pupils who ‘helped’ were thrilled with themselves and all enjoyed the experience tremendously. Our Ofsted inspector thought it was a great contribution to our music curriculum enrichment. I would like to thank them very much for the lovely and very ‘to the point’ comments they took the trouble to write in our visitors’ book. We look forward to next time.”
“Just wanted to tell you that the whole show was inspiring and amazing, very interactive and very visual including all the different music and sound effects. It was a superb morning and excellent value for money. Thank you for entertaining the whole school so well. All the children really enjoyed themselves.”
“Our relationship with Key Strings has built up over the past 3 years and has benefited our children beyond expectation. Their skill, kindness, respects and love of music has enabled our children to experience something magical every year. It is always a pleasure to welcome them in to our school and their performance is something we look forward to for many weeks leading up to the occasion.I would strongly recommend that all schools, including nursery schools engage in an experience which can only be described as unforgettable.”
“Just to say what a wonderful experience for our pupils and staff worth every penny. The topic of the Olympics was dynamic, fun and interactive. There must have been a lot of preparation for the performance and it was ‘pitched’ at the right level for our 4-7 year olds. The pupils were absolutely enthralled! Many thanks.”
“My daughter and I have just experienced a KeyStings performance. I have never seen her so engaged for a whole hour, she is only 3 1/2 and the skill shown by the session providers in making sure each child had a turn at a new string instrument was second to none (no one was left out) and it was very busy. The performers skilfully moved from Mozart to The Beatles and they had us all tapping along. If you have the opportunity to take this into your school, I cannot recommend these performers highly enough. Fun and interesting, if this doesn’t inspire your students to want to play a string instrument or engage with music, nothing will!!!”
“All the children and staff thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Staff were particularly impressed by the way the musicians involved all children in school and made the morning extremely enjoyable for everyone.”
“We would like to pass on our thanks for an excellent afternoon! The children loved the performances and got so much out of it. We look forward to working with you again.”
“…how entertaining, informative, inspiring and fun the two performances were. The children and staff LOVED the visit from Key Strings. The children’s attention was held throughout and they were talking about what they had learnt as they went home. You will be hearing from me again soon.”
“I would like to say thank you so much for the wonderful musical experience you provided for our children on your recent visit to our school. I have never seen so many smiling faces from both children and adults alike…truly inspirational. Thank you.”
”Just to say a huge thank you for providing such a lovely warm atmosphere with your fantastic music on Monday it made our celebration day such a success. The children were thoroughly entertained in the morning and enjoyed it and our guests were bowled over by your fabulous music in the afternoon and commented to no end.”
“[Following a Key Strings visit to a Derbyshire school] …one of the string teachers picked up 4 starter pupils on the violin! This has been a completely non-engaging school with the Music partnership and things are now moving in a much better direction. This has also resulted in the school having a Whole Class ensemble playing next year!”
“What a thoroughly phenomenal afternoon you gave our children at school today, and the staff too.”
“Thank you SO much for today, school was buzzing with music!! I actually heard one of my children telling their Mum what they’d done today rather than the standard ‘nothing’!! … we will be inviting you back next year!!
“My lovely son has autism, and other learning difficulties, he finds it very difficult to engage in any activity. I just wanted to thank you so very much as, when you visited the school, staff were amazed at how much my son enjoyed your session. He hardly ever shows interest and will not participate in such events, but this is the second time he has loved your visit to his school. You must be I think, fantastic musicians and fantastic people to get my sons approval. I cannot thank you enough.”
“Thank you so much for yet another wonderful ‘musical’ experience. Your visit always gives us such a lift. New staff have also commented on how ‘fun and inspirational’ your performance is. Key Strings always manage to give us so much enjoyment, fun and musical education. Our children love the interaction and audience participation as do the staff. Keep entertaining our future musicians!”
“The pace and humour were great, along with very ‘mind friendly’ ways of learning the vocabulary. We thoroughly enjoyed it.”
“I am writing on behalf of all the staff and children to express our appreciation of the wonderful afternoon’s educational entertainment you provided last Friday. All of the children, from the youngest reception to the most cynical Year 6’s came out brimming with enthusiasm for what they had seen and heard, and every member of staff commented upon not only how hugely enjoyable it had been, but also how relevant to the work they had to cover in Music within the curriculum. The accompanying worksheets are a great resource and no doubt will be well-used in the coming weeks. Thank you once again for your time and energy. I look forward to inviting you back for more in future years.”
“Thank you so much for a thrilling experience you gave to the pupils and teachers, which has enriched their knowledge of music. It was really outstanding and the best I have seen in 44 years of teaching music to children. Thank you so much and may you continue with the fantastic work.”
“Just a brief note to say ‘thank you’ and to congratulate you all on a brilliant session. What a fantastic experience you gave our children; not just the music — which was fab, but the way in which you talked to the children and the messages you gave. All the staff have agreed that you were one of the best visitors to Brierley this year. Please contact us soon — we want to book next year’s in! “
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