Depressed, angry and frustrated by the news? Read our round-up of positive news stories about music education. We love to celebrate and share positive stories and new opportunities for musicians and music teachers. Read on for:
- Could your students enter the BBC Young Musician 2020 Awards?
- Youth Music Awards open for entries
- Sound of the Next Generation report plus no Stormzy / Mozart beef
- How Huntington School offers a rich variety of musical experiences
- New Chair of Trustees for Orchestras For All
- Recorder was foundation for Oscar-nominated Greenwood
- Help Musicians UK’s support for musicians including the “Music Minds Matter” initiative
Entries for The BBC Young Musician 2020 Awards are now open for entries. Previous winners include pianist Lauren Zhang, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and violinist Nicola Benedetti. Previous finalists include saxophonist Jess Gillam, now presenting the excellent BBC Young Musician podcasts.
More than 450 musicians entered the BBC Young Musician Awards in 2017-18 (the awards run every 2 years), according to the entry brochure. Anyone eligible who applies will be auditioned and can receive feedback from the judges.
The BBC Young Musician 2020 Awards are open to Brass, Keyboard, Percussion, Strings, and Woodwind players. Entrants must be aged 18 or under on 1 January 2020, and resident in the UK at the time of entry and for the duration of the competition.
Regional auditions will take place during September and October in locations around the UK, including Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and London.
Entry forms must be submitted by 26 July, 2019. Details of how to enter and the entry brochure, terms and conditions are here.
It’s the 20th Anniversary year of Youth Music as we’ve covered previously. 2019 also sees the charity launch its first ever Youth Music Awards. The Youth Music Awards will:
“celebrate the achievements of young people who are making music in all genres, all over the country, every day. We will also be recognising the organisations and music leaders that are tirelessly working on the frontline, going above and beyond to help the next generation of young musicians progress personally, socially and musically.”
There are several categories including an Inspirational Music Leader Award. The Awards are free to enter and the deadline is 5 August 2019. Full details, nomination forms and criteria are here.
We enjoy listening to a wide and diverse range of music. You probably do too. So do YMTS Claire’s violin, piano and guitar students, who want to learn to play a wide variety of musical styles including classical, pop, rock, folk, world, film and musicals.
Youth Music’s research report, The Sound of the Next Generation, demonstrated the powerful contribution music makes to wellbeing. The report also called for music education in schools to increase in breadth and diversity to reflect young people’s experiences and DIY and popular culture more. (You can download a pdf of the report here – it’s well worth reading.) What the report did not do was to say schools should stop teaching Mozart, or that “Stormzy should be taught in schools instead of Mozart.” However – that was the line taken by some media (sigh). Cue huge debate and argument.
I enjoyed Rebecca Lundberg’s perspective on the similarities between Mozart and Stormzy and specifically about teaching composition in schools. Read it here.
And it was great to see Stormzy’s own tweet:
The British media just got me beefing Mozart. I do not want to beef Mozart. Mozart is my guy. Peace
— VOSSI BOP OUT NOW! (@stormzy) May 23, 2019
Still on Stormzy and Mozart – but also covering how a comprehensive secondary school runs thriving A level and GCSE music courses, read this Music Mark article about Huntington School. It’s an inspiring read about a school offering a rich variety of musical experiences.
Orchestras For All, the charity whose mission is to unlock access to the life-changing experience of ensemble music-making for 11-18 years olds with complex lives, has appointed Susanna Eastburn MBE as its new Chair of Trustees. Eastburn is Chief Executive of Sound and Music. asasas In a press statement Eastburn, awarded an MBE for Services to Music in 2018, said “Creating music with your peers and having the highest quality musical leadership can be life-changing, but too many young people are prevented from accessing this opportunity due to their circumstances,” adding that Orchestras for All’s vision directly addresses that need.
Jonny Greenwood – member of the band Radiohead and Oscar-nominated film soundtrack composer – says playing the recorder was the foundation of his musicaal success. Read more in this inews piece.
Liam Hennessy is Help Musicians UK‘s Health and Welfare Manager. During May’s Mental Health Awareness Week, Hennessy appeared on Steve Lamacq’s 6 Music programme to talk about Help Musicans UK’s support for musicians including the “Music Minds Matter” initiative. The podcast is available here (only until 14 June).
What next?
- Checkout our recent interview with highland bagpipe teacher, James Carnegie.
- Read earlier editions of Good Music News.
- If there’s something you would like us to cover in Good Music News, please email us.
- Here’s some good news for music teachers: our free 29 tips for a thriving music teaching business will give you things you can do immediately to boost your music teaching business. They’ll also make you smile.