WORLD-CLASS music and dance teachers are taking their skills to rural Ayrshire - thanks to royal patron Prince Charles.

Dumfries House and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) announced a new arts education programme giving young people high-quality, specialist dance and music tuition.

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And yesterday's launch celebration saw young musicians and dancers perform for the Duke of Rothesay, who is Patron of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

RCS principal Professor Jeffrey Sharkey said: "When I took over at RCS I had the opportunity to have a one-to-one meeting with our patron, Prince Charles.

"It was clear that our aims were very compatible. Although Dumfries House has developed many programmes for young people, it had nothing supporting them in the arts.

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"At RCS one of our aims is to support excellence in music and develop young people's abilities.

“I believe that there is something particularly distinctive about the work of RCS and at its heart is our role as a national and international institution for the whole of Scotland.

"That is why I am delighted that the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Dumfries House have taken this bold step to educate a new generation of artists for Scotland and beyond.

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"This will bring an exceptional quality of teaching to these young people that they would not otherwise have access to."

The new widening access programme, which is set to work with its first students from September 2016, will see the Royal Conservatoire at Dumfries House work with youngsters from pre-school onwards as well as community groups and arts professionals.

During the first two years of the partnership there will be a programme of concerts and performances at Dumfries House showcasing a variety of musical forms.

Eventually ballet, musical theatre, drama and contemporary performance will be added.

During yesterday's visit Prince Charles gave piping a go for the first time since he was a schoolboy as he joined a group of children learning the bagpipes.

He said: "I tried to learn when I was at Gordonstoun but I gave up rather stupidly. It's quite difficult to learn."

The piping was part of a day of music at Dumfries House as a partnership with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) was announced.

Charles helped save Dumfries House, its land and contents from being broken up by leading a consortium of charities and heritage bodies which bought the house and estate in 2007.

The Duke, who has been patron of the RCS since 2002, launched the collaboration which aims to provide young people with arts education, performance and employment opportunities.

He said: "When I acquired Dumfries House it was my sincere hope that not only would we restore the magnificent house and its unique contents for future generations to enjoy, it would also act as a catalyst to regenerate this part of Scotland and provide education, skills and training for local people.

"I now have pleasure in seeing another of my patronages, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, join in partnership to create an artistic hub for the young people of Ayrshire.

"The arts are integral to the education of young people, they broaden our horizons and our humanity and allow people to transcend their boundaries.

"I am delighted to see two historic establishments join in a new partnership which will inspire and enable the young performing artists of Ayrshire to reach their full potential."

Brodie Lopez, nine, of nearby Greenhill Primary School was one of the young people who performed for Charles during his visit.

He said: "Every Wednesday I get to practice playing cello at school but today was really different as we learnt a brand new song. Performing for Prince Charles was great fun and I got to meet him afterwards and shake his hand.

"He said our song was really good."

Kenneth Dunsmuir, Administrative Director of Dumfries House, said: “It was very evident to HRH The Duke of Rothesay that, despite the many community, educational and employment initiatives we had developed here on the Dumfries House Estate, the performing arts were not represented.

"Being Patron of RCS, creating a hub here for performance and outreach work seemed the perfect partnership.

"As an alumnus of RCS (then RSAMD), I feel hugely privileged to have played a part in developing this new initiative knowing the transformative power that the performing arts can have on people’s lives.”