CELEBRATING 140 YEARS OF THE ISM
Holiday Pay The Case for ChangeNicola Benedetti
From talking to members there is also a desire to move to four editions per year rather than six, which is what we will now be doing. We are also building a new website, which will offer you a much better member experience and will be easier to use. It will also have a new look and feel, as well as containing brand new resources and guidance to ensure we give you the very best service.
We know that many members are avid readers of Music Journal. While it is much loved, it cannot always give you the up-to-date information you need. We know from so we are expanding the ways news reaches you. This will now come to you via the weekly member update newsletter.
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
To celebrate 140 years of the ISM on 7 October, we are delighted to share with you the new look Music Journal. Music Journal has been at the heart of the ISM since we started and to mark our anniversary we are launching a freshly redesigned journal with its striking new contents informative and stimulating.
We have also published our latest report, The Case for Change, which found a common theme – creeping casualisation of the music education workforce. Poor contracts about whether the Brazel case might affect you and our latest research into working conditions at our webinar on 15 September.
As you will also know from Music Journal, we have been giving the name of our organisation a lot of thought. There have been discussions about the word ‘Incorporated’ for some time because it does not speak to our values or what we are trying to do as an organisation. The view of Council, which is made up entirely of ISM members, was reinforced by a discussion at the AGM in 2020 when a member said that the name was old fashioned, meant nothing and needed to be changed.
Music Journal also features Nicola Benedetti who has just become the latest recipient pages 12-15. This issue also includes some brilliant features, including the work of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales which is expanding the musical horizons of children and young people in Wales, Graham Fitkin’s interactive app called Geography: Truro, and the work of the Music in Secondary Schools Trust who are a great music education charity.
This edition of Music Journal is packed full of news. The ISM legal team have achieved a historic result in The Supreme Court, the highest court in the land on holiday pay. Our member, Lesley Brazel, supported by the ISM legal team, started her claim in 2013 and in July The Supreme Court decided that the ISM lawyers were right in their interpretation of the law. This is an amazing result.
ocleWme 2
Thank you for your continued support.
range of insurances or use services such as counselling and physiotherapy. And of course, in recent years the ISM has been at the forefront of campaigns, from music education and Brexit to jobs and money, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
09.Holiday Pay Power of Music to Change Lives Benedetti* Focus: Music in Secondary Schools Horizons in Wales
This year is the 140th Anniversary of the creation of the ISM. Our founding objective to support the music profession and promote the art of music still underpins everything we do. Please be aware that our upcoming changes to our name and website
Volume 89 / Number 3
Emile Holba WELCOME
Contents
To renew your membership please log in to your online ISM ism.org/my-ism; if you have any questions please contact our membership team on 020 7221 3499 or email membership@ism.org
Front
08.ISM07.ProfessionalCampaignsDevelopmentReport
04.New &
Photo:
11.The
24.Geography Truro: Hear Your City New Music in The Marches
The Case for Change: The Music Education Workforce in 2022
20.ExpandingTrustMusical
30.ISM 36.MemberCommunitySpotlight
We know from discussions with members that it is important to keep the initials ISM. So the hunt was on for a word which spoke to our values and begins with the letter ‘I’. Once we started to think, it became obvious that the word is Independent. Independence is ingrained in everything we do and has been since 1882. We know from members that our independence is an
Over the next couple of months many of you will be renewing your membership. For those working in music and music education it is an essential part of your kit. We know just how hard life can be in the music sector and the ISM is here to help you. You can pick up the phone or email our very experienced legal team on work issues, access a whole range
12.Nicola
* Cover: Nicola Benedetti Photo: Craig Gibson See feature on pages
12-15 E. deborah@ism.org
28.
of your rights as a Company Act member have changed either. These changes are about the ISM investing in the future – with improved member resources and services we can provide you with even more support and advice, enabling the ISM to continue to deliver its founding vision for the next 140 years.
to any political party and we do not take money from the government no matter who is in power. This is because we have to be totally dedicated to what musicians are telling us without fear or favour. We must never be dependent on an income stream, which means we have to do the bidding of a third party.
16.In
Read more on page 9 and on the ISM website.
ISM member
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of The Harpur Trust and found in favour of ISM member Lesley Brazel regarding holiday pay.
The Supreme Court judgment will impact not only on the holiday pay of visiting music teachers, but also on holiday pay rights for thousands of others who work term-time only. In dismissing the Harpur Trust’s appeal, The Supreme Court has unanimously backed the ISM’s interpretation of holiday pay law.
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The case for change: The music education workforce in 2022 examines the working conditions of the music education workforce and makes positive recommendations for improving workplace conditions.
ISM Chief Executive, Deborah Annetts, said, ‘The report is clear that music should be an integral part of students’ school experience, which we wholeheartedly agree with. The “British Baccalaureate” idea includes units on creativity, which are missing from the current policy of the “EBacc”.’
that music should be a key part of the curriculum, with a clear statement that Key Stages 1-3 should have at least one hour of ‘high quality’ curriculum music per week. This is something the ISM has been campaigning on for years.
The report includes data from an ISM survey of peripatetic teachers working in schools across the UK, has taken hold over the past 20 years, with 72% of peripatetic teachers engaged on insecure zero-hours respect for this part of the workforce in schools, further education and higher education settings.
The Times Education Commission has produced investigation into the education system.
The Plan is also silent onthe continuing negative effects of the EBacc and Progress 8 measures on music in schools.
Its recommendations include the critical suggestion to make music an essential part of students’ school experience, stating that, ‘sport, music, drama, art, debating and dance should be an integral part of the timetable for all children, not an optional “extracurricular” add on’.
ISM issues new music workforceeducation
The ISM has released a major new report on challenges facing the music education workforce.
Continued overleaf > AUTUMN 2022 NEWS & CAMPAIGNS 5
The long-awaited National Plan for Music Education (NPME)
casualisation, which has resulted in many teachers being confused regarding their employment status and a lack of access to professional development. ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts said ‘The report The case for change of professional respect for our music education workforce. It’s clear that steps must be taken to improve condition, practices and pay for this sector.’
Its boldest recommendations include a slimmed-down replacing A-levels with a ‘British Baccalaureate’, which would be based on the international baccalaureate. This idea importantly includes units on creativity.
Read more about the ISM’s response to the Plan resources on our music-education.ism.org/npme-national-plan-for-TimesEducationCommission
of music to
Titled The power of music to change lives, it has been broadly welcomed across the music education sector.
The Act exempts pre-1975 musical instruments and their accessories which contain less than 20% ivory by volume. It also does not apply to mammoth ivory, commonly used for bow tips.
As touring resumes following issues facing UK musicians have come to the forefront.
See the ISM’s guide to whether you need an MIC and how to apply in the advice section of our website, ism.org.
A new proposal from Brazil to move Pernambuco wood to CITES Appendix I is threatening the movement of bows worldwide.
The vast majority of stringed instrument bows are made from Pernambuco and the proposal would require CITES permits for all trade and movement of Pernambuco bows and bow blanks. The ISM, together with other music organisations, is in discussion with the government about this and will be lobbying for exemptions to allow legal trade in bows to continue.
6
The ISM’s work on Brexit continues.
MICs are currently free and last for three years. They must be stamped by customs at a designated CITES port upon leaving or entering both
We have launched a new survey asking those who are ISM members and others working across the music touring sector to share their experiences and thoughts with us. The survey is available on the ISM website (ism.org/campaigns/surveys) and will inform an upcoming report on how the UK’s departure from the EU has impacted those working in music.
Responding to a report that found bookings of UK acts at European festivals have fallen by 45%, ISM Chief Executive Deborah Annetts said, ‘this needless bureaucracy creativity of the next generation of British musicians’.
registration service for this, which costs £20 per item, or you can apply by post. If you plan to buy or hire an instrument or bow containing ivory, be aware that both the buyer and the seller are responsible for checking that it is exempt from the Ivory Act.
Photo: Tarisio
restrictPernambuco
before travelling with an exempted item.
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persuasive when advertising for new students. If there is something about the way you teach that would appeal to a certain demographic, then highlight this in your advertising. This can be anything from teaching students with disabilities or special education needs to offering lessons online.
Photo: Emile Holba
Next identify how to reach your prospective pupils and how you can market yourself to them. Consider if there are local venues, rehearsal rooms, activity or leisure groups you can contact or visit to introduce yourself. If you can, obtain a supportive testimonial from a current or former pupil in a similar demographic to use on
4. Apply to be an ISM Registered Private Teacher to demonstrate your teaching credentials at: private-teacherism.org/advice/registered-
business cards with people you meet that point back to your website or social media and ensure you obtain a phone number or email address so that you can follow up with prospective students to see if they want to take the next step and book a lesson.
hether private teaching is a mainstay of your work or something you’re looking at expanding, there are several ways to grow your teaching business.
Kirsten Peter, ISM’s Digital & Insights
short information snippets that come up when you search for a service – is up to date. You might also want to explore online advertising and there are many useful guides online if this is something you want to take further.
Use your biography to detail your experience and establish your credentials. Use FAQs to answer questions about what to expect in lessons and provide useful information about your teaching environment, such as accessibility provisions or proximity to public transport. You may wish to mention your fees and your standard terms and conditions which will be set out in the contract.
on when lessons take place this may appeal to working adults or, if you have availability during the daytime, this may suit someone who is retired. Can you teach year-round or only during the academic year as this could also affect the type of student you appeal to?
Manager, discusses how to approach growing your private teaching business
Then sense check that your target audience is compatible with your own commitments and
You may be wary of the word ‘brand’ but think of it as your ‘personality’ – it’s the way you want to present your business to the world. Consistency is key – everything from posters to your website should have a similar look and feel. This ensures you come across as professional and authentic, as well as giving an indication of what your approach or style is. Your musical genre or instrument may may want to look different to someone teaching pop or rock electric guitar.
There are a multitude of options for setting up an affordable website. Making the leap to contact a music teacher will be a big decision for many, so your aim is to put potential students’ minds at rest and help them make that decision
Lastly, don’t forget the power of traditional methods of marketing like posters, community
your business:
OPROFESSIONALDEVELPMENT
1. Think about the people who may be interested in taking your lessons. Put yourself in their shoes and think about where they would look for a music teacher.
2. Develop a consistent brand that is congruent with your personality
3. No two teachers are the same, so use your website to tell your story
5. you, you never know when you will meet someone who could be a prospective pupil.
TUMN 2022
First think about your ideal mix of pupils and whether there are certain groups that you would like to teach more, such as adults or early years. Consider this alongside your teaching strengths and whether developing your technical prowess is your forte or if you prefer to teach those who want to play for fun?
Where Scotland and Wales lead the way in recognising the need for fair work practices, England has fallen recommendations since 2016 the government has failed to act to address the issues.
term financial and family plans of respondents had considered leaving the sector, with the main factor being job insecurity of respondents said they had struggled to pay bills of insecurebybeenmentalsaidrespondentsthattheirhealthhaddamagedworkingoncontracts 8 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
The gradual withdrawal of centrally funded provision
we now focus on the workforce to see what needs to change in the light of its publication. The case for change focuses on the peripatetic instrumental and vocal workforce as well as on academics working in Further
ISM Report Thecasefor change:Themusiceducationworkforcein2022
Peripatetic instrumental teachers and academic staff are a vital part of the wider music education eco-system and without a
HE institutions has led to a need to cut costs and look for additional income sources. Staff have often borne the brunt of these money-saving measures, with fulltime employment and its associated legal rights and entitlements being replaced with less secure contracts and weaker terms and conditions.
impact of increased casualisation, which has resulted in confusion regarding employment status, affected rates of pay and terms and conditions, and led to increased insecurity. The workforce is also undertaking lack of professional respect.
in England has released the NPME, called The Power of Music to Change Lives: A National Plan for Music Education, and there are questions around whether it is
supported workforce, properly renumerated for their skills, experience and expertise, the ambitious aims of the refreshed Plan risk falling respondents said they had struggled to make ends meet of respondents said that their insecure contract made it hard to make long-
O
faced increasing casualisation for more than 20 years as a result of government policy, changing business models and funding cuts.
Jodie Underhill, ISM’s Research Associate, introduces the latest of the ISM’s special reports
The report presents a series of recommendations and suggestions for best practice which organisations can adopt to support their staff freelancers. The selfemployed face a range of challenges that are not experienced by salaried staff. More equitable contractual practices are needed and contractual stability should be a core organisational objective. Organisations should
in Music: A subject in peril? have not been addressed, namely funding and school accountability measures.
Alongside these issues we know that there are
ur latest ISM report on the music education workforce sits alongside Music: A subject in peril?, which we published in March 2022 and which explored classroom provision and what music teachers wanted to see in the National Plan for Music Education
sources, including data from peripatetic teachers working in schools across the UK, and academics
progression. Staff should be fully supported to access
Please bring the report to the attention of your senior managers. A copy can be obtained at: ism.org/news/case_ for_change. Our report highlights casualisation of the workforce and how this poses challenges to ISM members. Do check our website on a regular basis to see what we are doing to campaign for better terms and conditions, and what you can do to get involved.
60% 83% 85% 40% 71% of
from this verdict. I would like to thank my legal team and the ISM for their support over many years – this would not have been possible without them.’
In 2011, the Harpur Trust changed the way in which it calculated holiday pay. It started using guidance from ACAS which said that holiday pay could be pro-rated at 12.07% of basic hourly pay. This left Mrs Brazel worse off because she is only contracted to teach during term-time.
for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy updated its guidance in 2020 to cover term-time and partCourt of Appeal decision.
After approaching the ISM legal team in 2013, Mrs Brazel was supported in trying to resolve the issue with the Harpur Trust. This involved correspondence with the Harpur Trust, attending meetings with Mrs Brazel and commissioning a barrister’s opinion on the case. Despite the ISM’s intervention the Harpur Trust did not change its position and the matter was referred to the ISM legal expenses insurer.
An Employment Tribunal claim was launched but it found against Mrs Brazel and the matter was appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The Employment Appeal Tribunal overturned the Employment Tribunal decision and agreed with Mrs Brazel that her holiday pay should be calculated in line with the Working Time Regulations, which did not allow for the pro-rating of pay.
‘I am pleased to have secured my holiday pay rights, in accordance with the law and my contract of employment, in the highest court
The Harpur Trust appealed to The Supreme Court. The case was heard in November 2021, with judgment being handed down in July 2022. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and held that Mrs Brazel’s holiday pay should be calculated by determining average weekly pay and multiplying it by 5.6 in line with the Working Time Regulations. In dismissing the Harpur Trust’s appeal, The Supreme Court has unanimously backed the ISM’s interpretation of holiday pay
Many of those will be in low-paid and insecure jobs.
Deborah Annetts, CEO of the ISM, commented: ‘This is a landmark decision from The Supreme Court and is
We always do our utmost for our members, and we hope that this verdict will mean that any other worker who has not received their proper holiday pay entitlement will now see it changed in line with this judgment.
The Harpur Trust appealed to the Court of Appeal and in 2019 the appeal was dismissed. Following the Court of Appeal decision, ACAS withdrew its guidance about
Holiday pay
What is the background to the case?
Respondinglaw.
Mrs Lesley Brazel is a music teacher at Bedford Girls’ School, which is run by the Harpur Trust. She has worked there for 20 years and is an alumna of the school. Like many visiting music teachers, Mrs Brazel is contracted to work all year round but only teaches during term time. She has no guaranteed hours and her hours – and therefore pay – can vary from week to week.
Stuart Darke ISM’s Director of Legal Services, discusses the long awaited judgment of The Supreme Court in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel, handed down on 20 July 2022. In this feature we will to know when considering your own circumstances.
Continued overleaf >Above: Lesley Brazel 9 AUTUMN 2022 LEGAL & BUSINESS
to The Supreme Court ruling, Mrs Lesley Brazel said, ‘As an alumna of the school where I have now been teaching for over 20 years, pursuing a career I am passionate about, it has been personally challenging for me to see through this long and arduous case.
The law governing holiday entitlement and pay is contained in the Working Time Regulations. These state that all workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday each year.
over a whole year but is only paid for work they complete in part of the year eg visiting music teachers or hourly-paid lecturers in Further and Higher Education.
The rules on holidays and holiday pay only apply to workers and employees, so if you are genuinely selfemployed then this won’t affect you. If you have a contract for a whole year but only work for part of the year, you should check how your holiday pay has been calculated. This can be done by checking payslips or by asking your employer.
Employers should look at the method which they have been using to calculate holiday pay and, if necessary, make adjustments to ensure they are compliant with The Supreme Court decision. They should keep staff informed of all the steps they take to bring their holiday pay arrangements into line with The Supreme Court judgment.
The Supreme Court drew a distinction between workers
Workplace rights: Music education
The Harpur Trust was using a pro-rata method to calculate holiday which is not included in the Working Time Regulations. The 12.07% that it was using represents the proportion that 5.6 weeks of annual leave bears to the total working year of 46.4 weeks. However, it does not work for people who teach term-time only,
In this session, we will discuss rates of pay, employment status and contracts, and the judgement from The Supreme Court holiday pay case and how it may apply to you. The webinar on 15 September will be presented by ISM Research Associate Dr Jodie Underhill, author of The case for change: The music education workforcein 2022, ISM Director of Legal Services Stuart Darke, and ISM Senior Legal Advisor Nerys Owen. Sign up to the webinar: bit.ly/3p5BKyC and if you would like to submit a question in advance, please email: enquiries@ismtrust.org
This is a complicated area of law and if you have any concerns about holiday pay contact the ISM legal team via email at legal@ism.org. Tribunal deadlines are strictly enforced, so it is sensible not to delay.
Once the average weekly pay is calculated this is multiplied by 5.6 to calculate the annual entitlement to holiday pay.
The judgment won’t affect part-time workers who are contracted to work all year round, as long as they receive their 5.6 weeks of paid holiday each year.
The judgment means that the law in this area has now been
10 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
What does the judgment mean?
for a whole year but are only required to work for part of the year. This will include anyone who is employed or works
What should ISM members do?
The Supreme Court rejected the idea that holiday pay could be paid on a pro-rata basis, as that is not what the legislation allows for ‘part-year’ workers.
to her. I would also like to thank the ISM legal team who support members every day; I am very proud of the ISM team for the work they do. This result could not have been achieved without the help and support of a wider legal team funded by the ISM’s legal expenses insurance, which is available to all ISM members.’
For full-time or part-time workers with the same hours each week who work all year around, this is an easy calculation. They must be given at least 5.6 weeks of holiday and they are paid normally for their time off.
‘I’m delighted for Mrs Brazel and pay tribute to her
What does the law say about holiday pay?
It is more complicated when a worker is engaged part of the year with hours which vary on a week-to-week basis.
To calculate average weekly pay, an employer should use the last 52 weeks of pay, ignoring any weeks where no pay is received and count only weeks in which pay, however minimal, was earned. The total amount earned in those 52 weeks is then divided by 52 to work out the average weeks’ pay.
T
In terms of the workforce, while there is some focus on CPD, there is little detail on training. It is also extremely disappointing that the Plan misses the opportunity to address the issue of terms and conditions for the wider peripatetic workforce, who urgently need greater security and protections.
all schools should deliver at least one hour of curriculum music per week throughout the year, something that the ISM has long been calling for.
We also welcome the Plan’s emphasis on inclusivity, with Music Hubs expected to publish an inclusion strategy and appoint an inclusion lead, and its focus on progression – not just the importance of allowing all talented children to progress, but also building connections with the music industry to support the talent pipeline. There will be a pilot music progression fund to support disadvantaged children who show potential.
Finally, the Plan is silent on the continuing effects of the EBacc and Progress 8 measures. With many schools already struggling to stretch their limited budgets to arts subjects, it is hard to see how the Plan will successfully mitigate against these measures.
Yet there are some serious shortcomings in the Plan. Funding is a key concern. Admittedly the Plan has provided some much-needed
£79 million per year for Music Hubs to 2025. There is also an additional £25 million of funding for instruments and equipment. But keeping the hub funding at current levels
The Plan’s non-statutory status is also a concern. A new National Plan for Music
AUTUMN 2022 11
implement the Plan’s broad ambitions.
he power of music to change lives (the Plan) was welcomed by much of the music education sector when it was published on 25 June.
the importance of music education: ‘…music is an essential part of a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils’. The ISM has consistently argued that music should be valued more highly in schools and that every child should have access to an excellent music expectationeducation.that
for implementation, but it is unclear how this will work in practice.
The ISM agrees there is much to praise in the new Plan. It is extremely welcome to
Discover our analysis of the Plan, plus free resources to assist in the delivery of outstanding music education, including free National Curriculum frameworks and music self-evaluation tools for primary and secondary, as well as a wide range of useful webinars and advice pages at: ism.org/npme
The Plan is an ambitious, detailed and worthy document. If it succeeds, as we hope
of a high-quality music education. The Plan has many positives, but also limitations, and the ISM will continue to campaign for these issues to be addressed.
The Plan also covers all stages from the early years to post-18 education. Its early years section states that all settings should embrace music in their provision, a welcome acknowledgement that music education should not wait until a child begins school.
BNicolaenede t ti 12 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
Continued overleaf >
The last time Music Journal featured Benedetti, in May 2019, she had recently set up the Benedetti Foundation to support her education work, had launched her ‘With Nicky’ video tutorials and was preparing to run in-person
brought the in-person Benedetti Sessions to a halt, but they were adapted into virtual sessions enabling the violinist to reach far more young people and invite guest musicians from around the world to join her for additional features such as panel discussions.
AUTUMN 2022 NICOLA BENEDETTI 13
BenedettiBwinner,wMusicianMDistinguishedDistinguishedusicianAwardAwardinner,NicolaNicolaenedetti
Meet the ISMs’
here must be a special ingredient in the atmosphere of Ayrshire that nurtures creative talent. In the second half of the 20th century the Scottish county has produced two of the world’s leading musicians: composer Sir James MacMillan and violinist Nicola Benedetti CBE. The two are frequent collaborators; they share a passion for music education and Benedetti is Patron of MacMillan’s festival, the Cumnock Tryst, set up in his home town in 2013.
Benedetti comes from Irvine, 30 miles further north; when I saw her give a chamber concert at the Tryst a few years ago one side of the church was full of enthusiastic
T
Benedetti told The Strad magazine that this experience had really opened her eyes to the possibilities of online coaching. Certainly it’s possible to do a lot more through a screen than I ever In-personimagined.’Benedetti Sessions have now returned, with [at the time of going to print] workshops scheduled for
She will join the Scottish Chamber Orchestra this autumn to premiere MacMillan’s second violin concerto in Perth, piece is a tribute to their long musical relationship, and aims to showcase Benedetti’s renowned technical ability and beautiful sound.
Above: Nicola Benedetti
Photo: Craig Gibson
Benedetti is proud of that side of her heritage too and says her main skill in the kitchen is making a good
‘Certainly it’s possible to do a lot more through a screen than I ever imagined.’
teachers, adult learners, conservatoire students and noninstrumentalists. Live sectionals for around 1,700 string players culminated in a virtual concert produced using hundreds of video submissions. On a smaller scale, the Foundation also offered After
she has demonstrated that she also has determination, vision and a generous spirit that prompts her to invest hours of time and skill in education and advocacy. A worthy winner indeed
The challenges she has set herself over the past three years have included honing her
But the development of her Foundation has not been the only focus of Benedetti’s attention – far from it. In March this year
Edinburgh’s Usher Hall , aged just 16, that Nicola Benedetti
But Benedetti is also passionate about new music. In 2015 she premiered a concerto written for her by the jazz trumpeter Wynton
livestreamed premiere with the London challenging, 40-minute long concerto, begun as an optimistic vision of hopefulness but extended and completed during the pandemic, which turned it into ‘a concerto of the COVID era’, according to Rebecca Franks Times review,
practising, rehearsing and performing
Marsalis – though not without a few teething
set up the Benedetti Baroque Orchestra of period-instrument specialists in December strings. Last summer they gave eight intimate, informal concerts of the Vivaldi violin concertos and Geminiani Concerto Grosso ‘La Folia’ featured on the album, in the faded grandeur of the Grand Hall in
Chair of the EIF Board, commented that The festival’s administrative structure is being refreshed with additional appointments to new or enhanced directorial roles that will support Benedetti’s overall leadership and enable her to continue not just inspiring children, students and their teachers through her Foundation activities, but Theinternationally.performingdisciplineof
composer, and Benedetti are both former winners of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. It was evident from her winning
othngn.
Asked how much of her success is down to natural talent and how much to hard work, she has said that while a certain amount of natural talent, sensitivity to music and an enthusiasm for sharing it with others are all essential for any successful performer, there is no substitute for the hours of hard work every single day.
had to explain to him that she is used to working on new pieces for weeks before she can even attempt to play them in tempo.
Musician Award for 2021. benedettifoundation.orgnicolabenedetti.co.uk
Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), taking over from Fergus Linehan on 1 October.
14 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
‘She’s dedicated to advocating worldclass music making and innovating new ways to bring it to audiences’
Clare Stevens15 AUTUMN 2022 NICOLA BENEDETTI
Markus Werner Photo: Craig Gibson
she ‘raced around the violin as if fuelled by a dozen espressos and found inRebeccawordlesslinebeautyexquisitewhenherspunoutintosong’.Franksherfive-starTimesreview
classical music programme. By 2007 Highbury Grove was judged by Ofsted to be a good school and by 2010 ‘an outstandingly effective school’. In particular Ofsted noted the outstanding extra provision offered in music.
funding application to the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, matched by the CWCT, to extend the project beyond Highbury Grove. There was enough money for four schools to have a full classical music programme.
partnership was formed with the Dame Alice Owen Foundation, which was keen to work with MiSST to provide every Islington secondary school with the opportunity to run our music programme. They too have supported us for close to 10 years.
Rachel Landon, Chief Executive of Music in Secondary Schools Trust, explains how the trust developed into a music education charity that is changing the lives of young people across England
MiSST has now reached nearly 19,000 young people and provides opportunities to over students10,000weekly
In Focus: Music in Secondary School s Trus t
involved by providing regular and
ighbury Grove School in North London was struggling to achieve good outcomes for its students when Truda White was appointed as Headteacher in 2001. During a study visit to The Bronx, New York, she witnessed a whole class string programme that, for the young people, was having a transformational effect and was inspired to develop a similar programme in her school.
In 2012 Lord Lloyd Webber mentioned Highbury Grove in the House of Lords in relation to the impact, on music and arts provision more widely, of the EBacc. He was invited to visit the school, which led to a successful
launched in April 2013 with the belief that children and young people’s lives could be transformed through high quality music education.Ourthird
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL 16
H
A chance meeting and a passionate pitch attracted the Charles Wolfson
MiSST has now reached nearly 19,000 young people and provides opportunities to over 10,000 students weekly, every one of them receiving an instrument for at least three years and studying a diverse, progressive curriculum that enables young people to achieve up to Grade 3 level in theory and playing by the end of Year 9.
Our data shows that educational and social outcomes are improved through the provision of orchestral instruments and expert tuition. We believe that every young person is entitled to a broad, balanced education that helps them
Chamberlaine in Bedworth, Warwickshire. The school joined in 2019 and now, after three years of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Programme, is reporting a much longedfor reintroduction of GCSE music, with a healthy 22 students about to embark upon the course, bucking the trend of decline seen in so many schools. This success is also reliant on the dedicated school staff and effective
be at the helm, equipping more schools with this tool. At the time MiSST worked in eight schools and had a reach of more than 5,000. I was tasked with scaling up and expanding the reach. As a Lancashire-born leader, it was personally important to me to take the programme beyond the boundaries of the M25. During my education, I had only ever been given the chance to play a recorder for six weeks at primary school and my parents certainly could not afford music lessons, so I was aware, from an early age, how opportunity is not the same for every child. My resolute aim was to take MiSST from a Londoncentric charity to one with national reach, national
both a contributor to and consumer within our society. Our moral purpose is to close the gap in outcomes to improve the life chances of every individual, whatever their background or starting point. We believe this and we expect the schools we work with to believe it too.
The chance to play a musical instrument, to be a part of ensembles and to play within an orchestra should not depend upon the area in which you live, the school that you attend or the wherewithal to pay for individual instrumental lessons. Of course, not every child will continue with music for life or become a classical musician. Some will drop away. But MiSST believes that every child should be given the opportunity and we are proud of all of our young people, whether they are now studying music at Oxbridge, are doctors, teachers or
Music Service.
AUTUMN 2022 IN FOCUS: MUSIC IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS TRUST 17
I took up the role of CEO of MiSST in June 2018. Having worked at a MiSST school as a senior leader and having successfully transformed the school, I felt privileged to
Continued overleaf >
We have many wonderful stories from all our schools. Our current Ambassador, Deronne White, had never a year 7 student through the MiSST programme. Years later he has played with National Youth Orchestra, gained a 2.1 at The Royal College of Music, is playing in the Chineke! Orchestra and generally thriving in life. At another school, students are awarded their instruments through a ceremony that resembles the Hogwarts Sorting Hat ritual.
Our support is a critical part of our offer but we believe schools need to drive their own programmes if they are to be progressive and embedded and therefore have impact in the long term
We delivered the curriculum lessons to years 7, 8 and 9 via video lessons uploaded to YouTube. Our team recorded over 350 video lessons that included theory, instrumental, singing and ensemble tutorials that covered everything, that would have been taught in
We are very excited that a further Middlesborough school will join in September, alongside schools in Bournemouth, Yorkshire, Cumbria and Dorset. Since 2018 we have moved from eight schools to 26 and a waiting list of over 70 schools across the UK, all of which we would like to support if we could. The most powerful thing is that behind all of these numbers are individual students, many of whom are engaging with a
celebration of music through lockdown’ in March 2021. The video told the story of all the fantastic music our students had played throughout the pandemic. It was testament to the continued power of music to enrich and transform lives. It was more important than ever for so many of our students because it provided community when so many young people found themselves isolated and Fundingseparated.fromMiddlesbrough
ISM MUSIC JOURNAL 18
Council enabled MiSST to start working at at Kings Academy, where all of the 270
Music Service and MiSST is that this is an entitlement.
In July of this year 250 disadvantaged students from all corners of England came together at Radley College for a fully-funded music residential, many of them travelling out of their towns and certainly out of their comfort
evident in the feedback we receive through social media, headteachers, parents, teachers and of course the children themselves.
2020-21 was a challenging year for all due to the pandemic but MiSST continued to grow in the North of England, with The Radclyffe School and Hathershaw College, both in Oldham, joining the MiSST family. We also welcomed the Sydney Russell School in Dagenham, Essex, and extended our support to children with mental health needs at the Chelsea Community Hospital School. MiSST was able to adapt and change to meet the pandemic challenges and MiSST at Home was launched to enable our students to continue with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Programme.
Our model has always hinged on working directly with headteachers and chairs of governing bodies. As we recruit schools it is critical that there is an alignment of vision and values and a commitment to the transformational power of music in the lives of young people – not to mention the adults who work with them, and that includes both parents and teachers. Practically, this means that there is a requirement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, that sets out our collective mission and keeps us
Whilefocused.allthe
We must support schools to make high-quality music education a reality rather than an unrealistic target that they wish they could achieve. Music should be seen as just as important as English and Maths and music teachers and music instructors should be
The delivery and success of any such programme relies upon the highest quality of teaching staff who share our values and beliefs, who are very well trained and engage our students. Our own growing staff team demonstrates this commitment, dedication and expertise. The work of our team includes creating CPD programmes and in-school support as we seek to empower schools to be the best that they can be.
himself through music and hearing him talk about what role performing may play in his future is exciting.’
ensure children have an impactful music education and access to music courses at KS4 and 5 but they need support and leverage from the school leadership to do this. With Ofsted’s recent change of heart towards the arts and the DfE NPME there is no longer a doubt about the positive value of having music embedded within the school curriculum.
Our approach is a commitment to excellence at all levels. This includes a well-planned, progressive Foundation Curriculum – the Andrew Lloyd Webber Programme – and Programmes of Excellence including a MiSST Music Academy in London with several Orchestras and Choirs, a Radley Residential, an Annual Concert, Conducting Programmes, Composition Programmes, Wellbeing and GCSE classes plus Student Leadership Programmes which run through our work. It is important to note that everything we do is free and that is non-negotiable.
19 AUTUMN 2022 IN FOCUS: MUSIC IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS TRUST
Our support is a critical part of our offer but we believe schools need to drive their own programmes if they are to be progressive and embedded and therefore have impact in the long term. As a teacher myself I’ve never met a music teacher, headteacher or governor who would refuse the opportunity to do this in their own school.
MiSST’s mission continues and we look forward to taking on even more schools and working with even more highquality partners along the way!
Good funders are key to sustainable impact, they need to be in it for the long haul as it allows us to be strategic and give much needed security to our schools. We don’t just remove support from a school. In an ideal world, schools would be self-sustaining but in reality, that is impossible for some schools. Some can sustain themselves with just day-to-day support and access to the programme, some cannot and that’s OK. MiSST does what is necessary to keep funding the students who walk into each school and see the opportunity that their peers have. Naturally, they want the same.
misst.org.uk
schools we partner with meet certain deprivation markers, they are very different. MiSST always recognises this and can adjust its support accordingly. Some of our schools have very little music within their curriculum model and need help to build back their department. Some schools have a rich and varied music offer but want even more for their students. Some of our schools are judged to be Outstanding, some Require Improvement and some are in the Inadequate categories. We believe that we can support all schools and certainly do not shy away from helping those in challenging circumstances –in fact that is where we see ourselves needed the most.
‘[My son] has used music to cope with painful loss and grief in the past two years,’ says one parent. ‘Having an organisation like MiSST supporting, boosting and encouraging him alongside the music department at school has been a gift to us all. Witnessing
Clare Stevens Photo: Bruce Childs
E
Right: Eugene Monteith
ISM Council member Eugene Monteith tells Clare Stevens about two new projects that aim to expand the musical horizons of children and young people in Wales
horizons in Wales Expanding musical
Top: BBC NOW and Tredegar Band players Photo: Yusuf Bastawy
ugene Monteith has a rewarding salaried job as librarian of people that would be quite enough to occupy a working week, question’ in the May/June 2021 issue of Music Journal a keen interest in inspiring young people to get involved with music. Over the past couple of years he has devised and led two projects that have done just that, while providing opportunities for his colleagues at BBCNOW and other freelance musicians to carry on working during the pandemic and to establish links with their local communities.
20 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
Both the cricket club and the BBC NOW education team were interested in the concept and a pilot project
singing ‘I don’t like cricket, I love it!’
of a score book and get a composer to translate the numbers into cells and rhythms and patterns, and use that as a starting point for some composition work with kids, but I couldn’t get my head round it, so I went back to the sound of cricket – what do you hear? Percussion – the ball hitting the pads or the bat … stumps falling – and a lot of singing. So there you are, there’s a body percussion and voice workshop, themed around cricket.’
was launched in January and February this year. Year 4 primary school children were invited to come along to Sophia Gardens, to meet Monteith and some orchestral players for a fairly simple music workshop, while the cricketing sounds were still fresh in their minds. At the next session they were given a quick introduction to four brass instruments – the trumpet, trombone, French horn and tuba – learned some basic clapping and singing rhythms and heard a brass quintet and percussionist play Monteith’s arrangement of a medley of cricketthemed tunes such as the ‘Soul-Song Limbo’ used by the BBC for Test
AUTUMN 2022 EXPANDING MUSICAL HORIZONS
advantage of the one-to-one coaching sessions for the at its test match ground in Cardiff city centre, Sophia Gardens, which is not far from BBCNOW’s base at the Wales Millennium Centre.
‘One of the players came up to me afterwards and said, “this is great”, because at school he was a keen rugby player and always felt he had to choose between sport and music,’ says Monteith, who had a similar experience as a talented schoolboy cricketer. ‘It was good to show these children that maybe you don’t have to choose, here you are in the cathedral of Welsh sport and you’re getting music lessons, and the skills and discipline you need for sport and music are the same.
He acknowledges there was a lot in the introductory sessions for the children to take in, especially as many of them were just as unfamiliar with cricket as they were with music, but the aim is to make this a legacy project,
IN WALES
Eugene Monteith
Sounds of Cricket
‘It was late and I was helping the coach Ed pack up,’ Monteith recalls. ‘He was heading off to Colwyn Bay, North Wales to run some schools workshops, and it struck me “there’s a workshop here, something we can do as a national BBC orchestra and a national cricketing centre”. That got my brain turning.
– the ball hitting the pads or the bat … stumps falling – and a lot of singing. So there you are, there’s a body percussion and voice workshop, themed around cricket.
Continued overleaf > 21
so I went back to the sound of cricket – what do you hear? Percussion
Above:
Yusuf Bastawy
Brass bands in the valley
The second of Monteith’s projects involves helping to support the work of Tredegar Band in rebuilding the brass banding tradition of the Welsh valleys. This year’s BBC Proms featured a substantial
People in the valleys generally have struggled to keep children engaged with music. So we had planned to take the brass element of our cricket workshops and do something similar in EugeneTredegar.Monteith
Right:
Photo:
Iwan Xox, Beatrice Carey and Eugene Monteith
BBC NOW brass and Eugene Monteith
building on their experience over two years. They will create and record their own cricket-inspired music, perform it in school and then see it broadcast on a big screen at Sophia Gardens in a family cricket day that will also include try-an-instrument sessions and performances by BBCNOW players.
22 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
have all the necessary equipment, with a brass ten-piece, mainly BBC musicians but including four Tredegar players as well.
Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra by BBCNOW’s current composer-in-residence Gavin Higgins, who previously held a similar post with Tredegar Band, hence their collaboration as the band featured in the Prom performance on 8 August.
afterwards from schools saying their students really wanted to learn to play brass instruments, and asking for advice, so the BBC has been able to put them in touch with community bands, teachers and music hubs and
happening anyway, but the pandemic has accelerated the process.
‘We put out a call to schools and had an amazing response – we reached 3,200 children across Wales...’
‘We put out a call to schools and had an amazing response – we reached 3,200 children across Wales, which obviously made far more impact than our original project would have done. It showed us that we can deliver for a
we are thinking about how we can help to support that, perhaps with some sort of residency or masterclass series by BBCNOW players.
eugenemonteith.comtredegartownband.co.ukglamorgancricket.combbc.co.uk/bbcnow
AUTUMN 2022 EXPANDING MUSICAL HORIZONS IN WALES 23
‘The Sound of Cricket project ties in well with the new Welsh national curriculum for music; this one is much simpler, it’s just about helping the community and getting kids to engage with music. But when I’m planning these activities I always remember visits by the Ulster Orchestra to my school. I was already hooked on music, but when I looked up and saw these people making a living from it, I thought “that’s something I could do, there’s a world out there that I want to exist in.” It would be great if a child in one of our sessions felt the same.’
‘Tredegar used to have a youth band,’ explains Monteith, ‘but they couldn’t keep it going when the pandemic hit. People in the valleys generally have struggled to keep children engaged with music. So we had planned to take the brass element of our cricket workshops and do something similar in Tredegar, but when the Welsh COVID-19 rules tightened again we had to very hastily rearrange it as an online workshop, broadcast on Zoom from Hoddinott Hall, where we now
Geogr aphy cityyourHearTruro:
Above:
Journeys of whatever duration can be recorded, shared with other users and listened to in retrospect outside Truro; the app works as a virtual exploration of the city although it is primarily intended to accompany real-life walks. It can give
The idea is that you buy the app, put on headphones and listen to it as you wander round the city, hearing sequences that have been put together to capture the identity of each street or district, using aural snapshots of sounds such as reversing buses, railway station announcements or people talking; specially composed music performed and recorded on acoustic instruments; electronic music, created on a synthesiser; or sound effects such as cattle mooing, coins clinking or running water to represent the heritage of an area, such as the city’s old cattle market that is no longer used for its original purpose, or the invisible streams that run under some streets.
hears a single musical theme, for example, then moves forward, sideways or back into another space and hears another theme or element simultaneously, then another, and can choose whether to continue exploring a particularly ‘busy’ space or retreat to a more tranquil
C
omposer Graham Fitkin loves exploring new cities. Unencumbered by his phone, a printed map or a tourist guide, he will simply turn left out of a station or hotel and wander around, absorbing the sights and sounds, investigating intriguing buildings or winding streets– no doubt
app, I was particularly struck by the beauty of some of the musical sequences.Theyaredesigned so that whatever pathway is taken through a city, a homogenous composition unfolds. Flexibility is built into the music so that it functions regardless of listeners’ choices or speed of journey. Each listener as a result creates their own personal ‘mix’ of the piece. ‘It was really important to me that the overlaps or “joins” between one place and another would be seamless, that there wouldn’t be any glitches or feeling of hesitation if you change direction and that if you revisit a place the music you hear should be exactly the same.’
Exploringone.the
Occasionally these insights pop up as ‘Information Points’, nuggets of historical fact, such as an explanation that the Crown Court was built on the site of the cattle market, which in turn was built on the site of Truro Castle. These are delivered by the actor Samuel West, and sometimes include details of who is playing the instrumental music written for that particular place. But there are not very many of these; more information would turn the app into a heritage guide, rather than a work of art as Fitkin conceived it.
Graham Fitkin Graham Fitkin
random experience that appeals to Fitkin, but can also provide locals with new insights into places they thought they knew well.
‘Journeys of whatever duration can be recorded, shared with other users and listened to in retrospect outside Truro’
Photo: Owen Richards
well-known attractions, he admits, but discovering other things instead. Sometimes he might get slightly lost, but he can usually reorientate himself without too process is part of the fun. Over the past few years he has that particular enthusiasm, creating a unique soundtrack for a city that as a resident of Cornwall he knows very well: the county capital, Truro. The result, ‘Geography Truro: Hear your city’, is not a straightforward score for concert performance, as you might expect, but an interactive app, ‘enabling listeners’, Fitkin says, ‘to explore music and location together’. He describes it as a ‘sonic project; a musical map in which urban cityscapes are explored through sound and music. You and the city become entwined in an immersive, interactive experience.’
The origins of the project go right back to his period as composer-in-residence with the London Chamber Orchestra (LCO), in 2007-8, when he was asked to
26 ISM MUSIC JOURNAL
The ground-breaking features of ‘Geography’, which would have been impossible to create before the advent of sophisticated GPS technology, include the grid of unique, complex boundaries or zones for each element of the soundscape. These are sometimes layered upon one another so that the listener stands in one place and
Photo: Ryan Sharpe
While the idea of mapping an entire city is his own, the composer acknowledges his debt and gratitude to other sound artists such as Pete Stollery of the University of Aberdeen, who created a sound map of the UK as a lockdown project, and in particular to the technical skills of his producer, Michael White, and software developers Ignacio Pecino and Sonic Maps, who enabled him to realise his vision. Designing the maps was an interesting challenge, Fitkin says: ‘I didn’t want them to be too visually alluring, because I want people to look around them as they walk, not at their phones.’
of course hugely time-consuming, especially as I wrote far more music than we could ultimately use; but now that we know how to do it the process would be much quicker.
Graham Fitkin
a musical map in which urban cityscapes are explored through sound and music.
England and the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Asked how the idea might develop in the future, Fitkin says he would like to produce versions for other places, and is not yet quite ready to hand it over as a franchise to other people, though this could happen eventually and he admits it would be interesting to invite other composers
BottomRight: Graham Fitkin
Words: Clare Stevens
The app is presented in association with Truro’s Hall
‘I’m used to writing pieces of music that people sit down and listen to from beginning to end; this is quite different. But I think it may be a way in to this sort of music for young environment than a concert hall.’
‘I didn’t know Damascus, so the planning was very different, and in the end it didn’t happen because of course Damascus then became a more challenging environment to work in, and the project was shelved; but I kept thinking about it and aspects of that work have found their way into “Geography”.
27 GEOGRAPHY TRURO: HEAR YOUR CITY
players and local musicians performing on the streets of Damascus as part of a visit to Syria by the orchestra.
Right: Geography Truro Map
I couldn’t disagree with their assessment of the programme, however. The eloquent Vaughan Williams quartet, dating from 1942-4 and expressing all the anxiety beautiful Epilogue, was a wonderful discovery for me;
Presteigne Festival was founded 40 years ago. Contemporary classical music was at its heart from the start, but since George Vass took over as Artistic Director, in 1993, commissioning and performing new works has increasingly become its unique selling point. In its current format it features art exhibitions, open studios around the
‘If new music is not written and performed, classical music will die’
Bottom: George Vass conducting Presteigne Festival Orchestra in 2017
‘W
Clare Stevens reports from this year’s Presteigne Festival, which celebrated its 40 birthday with the usual crop of premieres and past commissions
and literary talks, and there are always a few Classical, Romantic or early 20th-century works scattered throughout the musical programme; but the essence of Presteigne is music for string orchestra and chamber ensembles by living composers and those no longer with us but associated with the festival in the past.
Photo: Clare Stevens
The two audience members were not specialists in music; like many residents of Presteigne they had been offered a pair of concert tickets of their choice in recognition of their generosity in hosting musicians for the weekend, and this was the event they had chosen to attend.
28 ISMMUSICJOURNAL
while ‘Cosmic Dawn’ vividly depicted the trajectory of the most distant star ever seen, Earendel, or the Morning Star, its light captured by the Hubble telescope though the star itself, which had travelled an estimated 12.9 billion years to reach Earth, no longer exists.
Ne w Music in
Top: Carducci Quartet and Amy Dickson at Bleddfa Church
e liked the pieces by the oldest composer and the youngest composer best,’ commented two audience members after a Presteigne Festival concert by the Carducci String Quartet and saxophonist Amy Dickson in August this year at St Mary Magdalene’s Church, Bleddfa. The ‘oldest composer’ was Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), whose String Quartet No 2 in A minor was one of the few pieces by a composer born before the 20 century to be performed in 16 concerts spread over six days of the summer bank holiday weekend. The ‘youngest composer’ was Aileen Sweeney, born in Glasgow in 1994, whose piece ‘Cosmic Dawn’, for string quartet and saxophone, a Presteigne Festival commission, had just received its world premiere.
Photo: Liz Isles
Rebecca Bottone, mezzo-soprano Rebecca Afonwy-Jones, actor Alexander Knox and the Nova Music Ensemble, conducted by George Vass. With a libretto by Rebecca Hurst, the piece is a co-commission by the Nova Music Trust and Presteigne Festival, supported by the RVW Trust and the John S Cohen Foundation.
The festival always features a composer-in-residence, whose work is showcased across the weekend. For 2022 this was Julian Philips (b 1969), whose concert-theatre work Looking West
another song cycle Swift Partitions, based on the poetry of Barcarola, performed by Tim Horton in a solo recital.
The most important thing about Presteigne Festival, perhaps, is that audience members are prepared to travel considerable distances to this small town in the Welsh Marches to listen to contemporary music. Local residents
Photo: Clare Stevens
doing that for the next 40 years. presteignefestival.com
last year’s festival. ‘Hugh was a wonderful raconteur, a larger-than-life presence, always a joy to be with,’
launched in 2017 to celebrate the artistic director’s 60th birthday, expressly to support new works for Presteigne, and the festival also works closely with other organisations such as the Royal Philharmonic Society, which this year jointly commissioned ‘to Gelert’ by solo recital.
composers unable to be in Presteigne to hear his
Another substantial work by Philips, the inventive concert suite Divertissement made from his score for English National Ballet’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, closed the festival, as the last work in a concert by the Presteigne Festival Orchestra. In between, the audience was able to discover more of the composer’s music with performances of his Winter Music Sweet Love Remembered,
his Divertimento Op 53 and songs for soprano and string orchestra are among the Presteigne Premieres CD recorded by the festival orchestra with Rebecca Afonwy-Jones in August 2020
AUTUMN 2022 NEW MUSIC IN THE MARCHES 29
originally written last year for the tenor Nicky Spence; and the extraordinary,virtuosic Night Windows by Thea
Horton’s recital also included three exquisite musical
up as Friends or Patrons of the festival and are still to be heard exchanging views on their favourite or least favourite pieces in the High Street shops and cafés several days
giving her many important opportunities when she was starting out and more recently by providing follow-up performances of existing works and the chance for the composer herself as well as audiences to evaluate her portfolio to date.
performances and several commissions, including this year’s ‘Bewegt’ for violinist Benjamin Nabarro and Tim Horton. Sarah Frances Jenkins holds the newer ‘Emerge’ position for three years; her orchestral piece ‘Trallali, Trallaley, Trallalera’ made a strong impression in the closing concert of this year’s festival, and she will be working with a writer and local schoolchildren to create a new cantata to be performed next spring in a Presteigne Festival community education project.
amusing tributes to their old friend. Tim Horton also took the opportunity to celebrate the enthusiasm of the festival for commissioning and performing new music and the audience for supporting it, pointing out that ‘if new music is not written and performed, classical music will die’.
Some of those early opportunities for young composers are now formalised in two mentoring and development schemes. Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade is the festival’s current
A residency at Presteigne is rarely just a one-off experience. Several previous incumbents of that role featured in this year’s programme, not just in repeat performances of past commissions in celebration of the festival’s 40 anniversary, but with new works too, such as Cheryl Frances-Hoad’s The Wrath of Troilus, a 2022 festival commission for resident choir Bath Camerata, and the UK premiere of Ave maris stella, written in 2017 for a choir in
watch. A new sonata by Matthews for oboe and piano, performed by Nicholas Daniel and Huw Watkins, was one of this year’s ten Presteigne world premieres; their recital also included Four Country Dances by Richard Rodney Bennett
Above: The audience arrives for an evening concert at St Andrew’s Church, Presteigne
programme book. ‘He is missed by many and I felt it important that the festival should mark his passing in some way, so I invited three of his close composer friends – Thomas Hyde, David Matthews and Francis Pott to write memorial pieces. I know he would have approved.’
Corporate member the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland has awarded an honorary doctorate in music to internationally renowned composer
Photo: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland -Martin Shields
Professor of Composition at the Scottish conservatoire, Wallen received the doctorate for her multi-award-winning career that spans everything from opera, orchestral and dance to
Right: NethsinghaAndrew
years.Corporate
Our congratulations to Andrew Nethsingha, currently Director of Music at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, who has been appointed the new Organist and Master of Choristers at London’s Westminster Abbey. Nethsingha will take over the prestigious role in the New Year from James O’Donnell, who has been in the position for 22
between the exam board and Sounds of Intent, founded by ISM member and Professor of Music at Roehampton University
from Entry Level 1 through to Level 3, with Level 3 carrying UCAS points. The or other organisation that works with learners with special educational needs, additional support needs or disabilities.
Left: Errollyn Wallen
her with the Distinguished Musician Award for her outstanding contribution to the music have work featured in the BBC Proms and the Classical Music.
Photo: Dean and Chapter of Westminister
I S M MU S I C J OU R N A LISM MUSIC JOURNAL 30 Community @ism_music facebook.com/ISMusicians @ism_music ism_music
member Trinity College London
In July, the International Society for Music Education held its 35th World Conference online, attracting music educators and teachers from across the globe. UK speakers included ISM President-Elect Pauline Black, Head of Music at Aberdeen University, and fellow ISM member and Council member Dr Kirsty Devaney, Lecturer in Music and Music Education at The University of AsWolverhampton.partoftheconference,
Here’s what our members have been doing across the UK
Emma Winscom, Chair of the Hereford & Worcester Local Group updates on two student concerts held in June.
making and soul-restoring fellowship. Held at the Elgar School of Music in Worcester, the morning session was for juniors and the afternoon for adults. Both were attended by capacity audiences. We were treated to some dazzling solo
spanning music as diverse as Beethoven, Haydn, Wildhorn and Loesser. One student, Edward Kimberley, beautifully performed a premiere of one of his own pieces.’
We’re delighted to welcome Brass Bands England to the ISM as corporate members and share details of next year’s National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain. Also known as the Youth Champs, this annual competition moves around the country and will take place at Stockport Grammar School in Greater Manchester on Saturday 25 March 2023. The event offers both competitive and noncompetitive participation, and all youth brass bands across the UK are encouraged to take part, regardless of their level of experience. More details can be found on the Brass Bands England website, bbe.org.uk. Applications open on Tuesday 20 September 2022.
AUTUMN 2022 I S M C O M MU N I T YISM COMMUNITY 31
Music Education Conference
Devaney presented research on UK music conservatoire composition departments. ‘Research on composition teaching, especially within higher music education, is few and far between, so I was delighted to share the results of my research involving six heads of composition and their experiences of composition teaching,’ commented Devaney.
2023 Brass band
We would like to join Emma in thanking Stephen Dunachie for his involvement in the Hereford and Worcester Local Group over many years. For details of the group’s upcoming events contact emma@emmawinscom.com for more information.
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‘Let some new music in every day.’ Malcolm Edmondstone said this to me while I was studying at Guildhall. I’ve found it to be an interesting, open, achievable daily target.
If you could work in another sector in the music industry, where would it be and why?
What has been the most rewarding project so far in your career and why?
It would have to be centred around live music. I would love to run a stage at a music festival or curate a regular night at a venue.
What piece of advice has helped you most in your career?
I originally thought the trumpet looked pretty cool, but later discovered how versatile it is, as is the trombone. I was able to play in all kinds of different groups and genres growing up, which really helped me concentrate on what I wanted to focus on as a musician.
Be generous. The most inspiring musicians I’ve met have all been incredibly generous with their time, knowledge, and resources.
How did you originally get into music?
I love the feeling of collective music-making in all contexts, from performance to education and workshops.
inspiring each other and making new music. The project has taken me all over the place and given me so many amazing experiences.
Where is the best place you have performed and why?
is always special as there is so much great music going on and at such a high standard, but there are many great smaller ones around too, all of which have their own character. It was great to see Secret Garden Party make a comeback this summer; and Love Supreme and We Out Here are programming great stuff.
If you could change one thing about the music sector, what would it be and why?
Do you have a favourite music festival?
If I could change one thing it would be that grass-roots music venues get the support and funding they need to survive.
We’re lucky in the UK to have so many great festivals. Glastonbury
What plans do you have for the future?
Finally, what does your ISM membership mean to you?
I acquired a trumpet from my brother’s friend when I was six and was fortunate to have a kind teacher
11 years ago, I formed a band called The Brass Funkeys with a group of friends. It’s still going strong, and we are constantly pushing and
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Photo: HamblettDave
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What advice would you give someone wanting to succeed in the music industry?
What or who inspires you?
I plan to continue to develop as a musician and workshop artist. There’s so much still to learn and achieve, I suppose more of the same really.
It’s quite clear in the current climate how important it is to be part of a membership body. It’s great that the on many different fronts. Trombonist, composer, and educator Vij Prakash talks about his journey in music
The North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. The whole festival was a huge musician hangout. It was really great to meet some of my heroes, spend time with inspiring musicians, and also be in such an open, warm environment where everyone took a genuine interest in each other.
