MT editor Phil Croydon unveiled the campaign at last week’s Music & Drama Education Awards with a call for educators across England and Wales to complete a short survey on the key issues and barriers facing music teaching today.
The campaign, Growing Musicians, Shaping Lives, comes on the back of numerous reports highlighting a 15-year low in the number of students taking arts subjects at GCSE, while uptake of A Level arts subjects has fallen by 31% since 2010.
Educationalists, performers and unions have all voiced heightened concerns about the worrying state of participation.
Many winners at the Gramophone Awards in October 2024 used their acceptance speeches to advocate for music education. Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, soprano Carolyn Sampson (pictured below), said: ‘I am a product of what was then Bedfordshire County Youth Music… What you see over the years is these services really struggling, and there are some really wonderful people in Bedfordshire trying to keep the threads of these things going, so that other people can grow and become future Artists of the Year.’ She highlighted how Andrew Manze, another recipient of a Gramophone award, was also a product of Bedfordshire County Youth Music.
© Colin Miller
Others at the Gramophone Awards, including the eminent violinist Hilary Hahn and Gabrieli Consort artistic director Paul McCreesh, added their voices to call for more inclusivity in the sector.
Through Growing Musicians, Shaping Lives, Music Teacher and Gramophone will share inspiring stories of how music education has transformed lives, shine a spotlight on musical opportunities for children and young people, and urge policy makers and funders to increase support for music education.
Planned content includes a continuation of Music Teacher’s work highlighting the exceptional – and often unrecognised – projects within the sector, giving ideas and support to teachers who go above and beyond, often with limited budgets. Gramophone will regularly include music education in interviews with high profile performers from across the industry.
Findings from the campaign survey, which covers access, participation and support for teachers, will be shared in Music Teacher, inform the campaign, and contribute towards both magazines’ coverage over the coming months.
Deadline for completing the survey: 31 March
