Will James Rhodes' high-profile instrument amnesty earlier this year make a lasting difference? Charlotte Gardner examines the problems that still hinder the teaching of music in schools.
Music education is getting plenty of attention in the press, thanks to a campaign by luminaries from TV pianist James Rhodes to head of In Harmony Julian Lloyd Webber. In September, Rhodes used a two-part Channel Four documentary to try and do for school music what Jamie Oliver did for school dinners in 2005. Despite the 2011 National Plan for Music, which led to the shake-up of the old system and the creation of Music Hubs, Rhodes claimed that the government ‘has not kept its promises’ on music education. He launched an Instrument Amnesty, in which the public was invited to donate unwanted musical instruments, to be passed on to schools after being reconditioned by experts at Universal Music and Yamaha.
Two months on, the success, not to mention the sheer speed, of the campaign, is impressive. Over 6,000 instruments were handed in to the 700 Oxfam stores acting as collection points... Keep reading on Sinifini Music
Music education is getting plenty of attention in the press, thanks to a campaign by luminaries from TV pianist James Rhodes to head of In Harmony Julian Lloyd Webber. In September, Rhodes used a two-part Channel Four documentary to try and do for school music what Jamie Oliver did for school dinners in 2005. Despite the 2011 National Plan for Music, which led to the shake-up of the old system and the creation of Music Hubs, Rhodes claimed that the government ‘has not kept its promises’ on music education. He launched an Instrument Amnesty, in which the public was invited to donate unwanted musical instruments, to be passed on to schools after being reconditioned by experts at Universal Music and Yamaha.
Two months on, the success, not to mention the sheer speed, of the campaign, is impressive. Over 6,000 instruments were handed in to the 700 Oxfam stores acting as collection points... Keep reading on Sinifini Music