Saturday, April 19, 2014

TheGuardian: Tom Service On Classical Blog: 'Class, Race, and Classical Music: the Debate'


Tai Murray

Candace Allen


On January 30, 2014 AfriClassical posted:


Sergio A. Mims writes:

Well the talk did take place and I've sent you for for all your readers an article about the subject by Tom Service in his classical music column in The Guardian. Along with a short edited video of the debate (5:14), and an audio recording of the entire 100 minute discussion which is truly enlightening and inspiring as well as extremely informative.

Sergio



The white sea … Despite its best efforts, classical music's audience does not reflect the UK's diversity. Photograph: John Stillwell/Reuters

The Guardian

Important, this: a debate on Class, Race, and Classical Music hosted by London Music Masters at the English Speaking Union. Candace Allen (whose piece on this crucial subject you can read here), violinist Tai Murray, and LMM’s Executive Director, Rob Adediran, were the panelists who inspired a wide-ranging, controversial, and challenging debate. Up for discussion, among much else, were the idea of who classical music is for, why we think it’s so important for the whole of society to have access to it, and what the institutions of music education and musical excellence can do to become part of people’s lives in areas of economic impoverishment and communities who wouldn’t otherwise have access or opportunity to be involved in this music.
 
Watch the short film above to hear some of Candace, Tai, and Rob’s main points, and follow that up by listening to the whole thing here. It’s only a start, but this is the conversation that classical music needs to be having, in public, in private, and in principle in the future.

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