Chances are you haven’t managed to make it through the web around classical music in the last week or so without coming across something about THAT Guardian article. As a colleague pointed out to me earlier this week, there’s nothing like a critical opinion piece to get the community in
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been extremely lucky to see two musicals, an opera and a piece of dance theatre: Come from Away and The Light in the Piazza, Thomas Larcher’s The Hunting Gun, and Lost Dog’s sensational Juliet and Romeo. I would recommend all four, in fact,
It is a truth universally acknowledged – well, by this writer anyway – that a pretty major part of any researcher’s job is to keep reminding people what we already know. I’m not just talking about a straightforward educational model of making sure that the people being born at the
A few weeks ago, the Guardian reported on the results of a new study conducted by Youth Music and Birmingham City University, to look at the impact of a possible overhaul in the curriculum for music education in the UK. One of the key findings was that including current genres,
I’m back!! Did you miss me? Sorry for the silence, the run-up to Easter and immediately after were so busy, I didn’t have the time or brain power to sit down and be thoughtful. But I’ve had a rest now, and walked by the sea a few times, and eaten
Oh dear, I seem to be in the midst of a bit of things-aren’t-what-they-used-to-be grump. Not regarding the current political omnishambles (or rather, I have plenty to say about that too, but I’m not going to put you through it just at the moment). But about a concept that I
Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin. And I want to begin with a question. How would you define ‘education’? Think about it for a moment, and jot down some stuff. Done that? Good. Next question. What would you therefore define as ‘educational’? I’m thinking activities, projects, participatory things, events
On Thursday night, I went to the Young Vic to see Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, a play by Stephen Adly Guirgis about two convicts in Rikers. One has been convicted of killing eight people; the other, still a teenager, shot a guy without the intention of killing him, as
You know how there are some topics which make people feel sort of uncomfortable and embarrassed just by their being raised, let alone if they are in any way related to us individually? One of them (don’t worry, this is not about to turn into a post on weird social
I’ve just got back from a week’s holiday in Venice. I’d never been before – a combination of time, money, and (I freely admit) a rather teenager-ish eye-rolling that came into play, a few years ago, when it seemed that everyone I knew was going to Venice and coming back
