Paul Boyd (41) has been awarded an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list which has just been announced.
Mr Boyd is both founder and Director of Morningside School of Music and has been recognised for “services to Entrepreneurship and to the Music Industry”.
He said: “It’s an incredible honour for someone like me to be given an MBE, something I never even dreamed of at all. But to be honest, the people who really deserve the award are those at the school – the students and the staff.
“They are the ones who make things tick and make Morningside School of Music the place it is. I hope this award helps us in our work to make learning musical instruments accessible to all, irrespective of age or background. Together with my wife Linda, it’s a huge privilege to run this school, and we look forward to continuing our work for many years to come.”
- Changing the face of music education through Morningside School of Music, he set the company up when he was just 18 years old.
- Realising there were a lack of opportunities for young people to learn popular musical instruments, such as guitar, drums, keyboard and singing, he aimed to improve music education in Scotland as a whole.
- Since then, Morningside School of Music has grown to be one of the busiest music academies in the country.
- He managed to adapt and even grow his business significantly during the Covid pandemic by transferring all the music lessons online, keeping all his teachers in steady work when other musicians faced financial difficulties.
- Drawing on his personal experiences, he assists at Heriot-Watt University, where his outstanding efforts have resulted in the award of an honorary professorship.
- He provides his expertise free to anyone wishing to learn but would struggle with the financial commitment.
- In addition he is a frequent contributor to charities. He regularly organises charity events to raise money for those in need. For example, the Dan Beattie Award, given in memory of one of the school students who lost his life in a plane crash.
- Each year the award is presented by the student’s father to the musician who has strived for musical excellence.
- All the funds generated are donated to the focus charity of the year, Teenage Cancer Trust, The Royal Institute for the Blind and Children’s Hospices Across Scotland by have all been recipients.
- Mr Boyd also recently pledged £10,000 worth of free music tuition for children.
- His work at Heriot-Watt University includes lecturing MBA students and he is also involved with the Edinburgh Business School’s incubator where he provides valuable advice as a panel member, selecting students who will use the services of the incubator each year.
- As a Fellow of the Royal Society of The Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Society for the Arts, he is an important member of the music community. In addition he was a Fellow of the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs. a member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians and of the Royal Society of Musicians of Great Britain.
- In the charity sphere he served as a non-executive director with the charities, ‘Moni Malawi’ and ‘One Kind’.
- He is also a keen supporter and donator of the SSPCA, Animal Aid and Animal Equality, and many other charities.
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