EDITOR’S LETTER
Beyond lip service
There has been a fair amount of correspondence in the newspapers of late about how ‘elitist’ opera is. Indeed, all classical music is in danger of being tarred with the same brush. But what is meant by ‘elitist’? To those who do not go to the opera – which is probably the most expensive of the classical music genres – the caricature is of extremely wealthy people paying a fortune for tickets. Well, I go fairly regular to the ballet or opera at Covent Garden, and the most expensive ticket I have ever bought cost £68 – usually I pay more in the region of £30 to £40. Yet having researched the price of a ticket for a premier league football match, I find tickets starting at prices way beyond that, and stretching to three- and even four-figure sums. So it has nothing to do with cost. Furthermore, the term ‘elite’ is complimentary when used in relation to sportsmen and -women. What the world of classical music is in danger of, however, is becoming alien to everyday culture, and this begins with schooling. Since 2010 there has been a marked decline in governmental support for the arts in general, reflected in policies such as omitting them from the EBacc and abolishing grants for trainee music teachers, conveying the message that they are not important. Although the government has tried to claw back some street cred through its National Plan for Music Education, this places the onus on already time- and cash-strapped schools to realise the aims expressed without providing the resources for them to do so. All of this contributes towards alienating young people from classical music.
It is therefore heartening to see independent initiatives pushing back in various ways against this parlous state of affairs, aiming to give as wide a group of young people as possible the chance to participate in highquality music-making. Founded in 2021, and providing grants for a wide range of musical initiatives, the National Schools Singing Programme (see News, p.8) states that it aims ‘to combat declining availability of specialist music lessons for children at state schools, particularly those in the most socially marginalised and economically deprived areas.’ Salisbury Cathedral School, meanwhile, has launched a new organ scholarship programme in its prep school (see p.8); and in a significant step, Canterbury Cathedral has removed the requirement for its choristers to board (see p.7) – boys and girls may now attend any local school, thus widening the opportunity to sing in the choir to anyone with a good voice, regardless of economic position or academic ability. As The Sixteen’s founder-director, Harry Christophers, a former Canterbury chorister, paid tribute to the then choir for instilling in him ‘a passion for music’, he acknowledged that in his day a requirement to board would have precluded his joining the choir.
Congratulations to two other excellent choirs as they reach milestones: the NYCGB and Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir celebrating (respectively) their 40th anniversary and their centenary – lessons in what may be achieved with vision and commitment.
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