‘There's a great energy here!’ announced Lang Lang on day one of the Expo. Discussing his new Piano Book – comprising pieces which inspired him to take up the piano – the classical sensation's appearance illustrated the Expo's growth and standing as one of the leading events in music education.
First held in 2013, the annual two-day conference quickly outgrew its first home at Barbican Exhibition Halls, moving to London's Olympia in 2016. Today, it attracts over 140 exhibitors and 2,500 visitors. Since 2016, an additional one-day Expo has been held in Manchester. That has also grown rapidly, moving from the Hilton Deansgate to Old Trafford after a single year. A second stint at the football club takes place on 10 October this year.
Free to attend, the event brings together various strands of music education: classroom teachers, instrumental teachers, peripatetics, arts practitioners and industry leaders, providing a rare opportunity for delegates to network, exchange ideas and meet colleagues old and new.
Overseen by a voluntary advisory board of teachers and music education specialists, over 70 CPD sessions were timetabled across seven spaces around the hall, ranging from practical workshops and group warm-ups, to syllabus advice, product presentations and political debates about future policy.
Although the event followed a similar format to last year, there were some major changes behind the scenes: this was the first Expo since Rhinegold's acquisition by the Mark Allen Group in December 2018, and the first with new Music Teacher editor, Cameron Bray, as head of content.
For two days, the UK's largest music education pop-up shop was once again open for business, and the polyphony of sound and colour welcoming delegates was palpable. Publishers, exam boards and arts organisations exhibited alongside ukuleles, ocarinas, djembes, and even a plastic flute in a fish tank, supplying enough free stationary to keep teachers’ pencil cases filled for another year.
But despite the relentless buzz, the dark cloud of funding cuts and music's precarious position on the periphery of the curriculum loomed large over many sessions.
During his keynote speech the Conservative peer and Royal College of Music chair, Lord Black, laid bare the dire state of affairs. ‘The whole music ecosystem is beginning to unravel in a vicious circle,’ he said. ‘One fifth of schools now don't offer GCSE music while A Level numbers are down 40% in the past eight years to just 5,485 pupils last year, earning it the unenviable record of being the fastest disappearing A Level subject.’ He then explained staffing levels in music departments are also down by a third since 2012, with 75% of surviving music specialists having to teach outside their own subject.
According to Black, the blame for this lay squarely with the introduction of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). By not measuring achievement in creative subjects, he commented, ‘not only do secondary schools have no incentive to offer these subjects at GCSE, they also have a positive deterrent to squeeze them out.’
Music teachers came together under difficult circumstances
Later that day, however, his comments were contradicted in a session with Ofsted's national lead for visual and performing arts, Susan Aykin, who claimed there was no evidence to suggest the EBacc had led to a decline in take-up of creative subjects. When posed Black's question, ‘why it is possible a school can be awarded “outstanding” with no musical offering?’ the inspector replied this should not be the case, adding, ’if a broad and creative curriculum is not evident, then an outstanding judgement which might have been given is changed.’ While Aykin clearly advocated the importance of arts subjects within the new inspection framework, most left pessimistic.
Determined to fight on, a number of sessions focussed on adapting to today's fiscal austerity. A panel discussion led by the Music Teachers’ Association, ’Running a thriving music department on a tiny budget’, encouraged teachers to make music ‘a living, breathing organ of the school,’ and to harness the support of as many staff as possible to ensure that music plays a central, visible role in every aspect of school life.
Nicola Benedetti's passion for music education was clear in her packed-out keynote speech, but the Scottish violinist also gave a sobering account of the current landscape. She said: ’My worry, my concern, my fear is that in this country we have far more teachers who may be battling a headteacher that does not value their work enough, or parents who just want their child to have an exam certificate, and a general pop culture that does not encourage discerning listening, attention for or interest in long-form music, or generally value music as a vital, integral part of a full, holistic, weighty, first-class education.’
The recently appointed president of the European String Teachers Association (UK) also explained that her understanding of education is that it should generally be determined by adults, not by children. ‘Why are we so desperately seeking children's approval or lacking in confidence and steadfastness what to teach them?’ she asked.
She warned against teachers pandering to commercial pop culture and dumbing-down the quality of music being taught to children. She urged teachers to ‘engage through creative teaching practices, through inspiring lessons, through collaborative working. We don't avoid things that children might find boring if we value the content enough.’
Most would agree there's a balance to be struck here, and in his session ‘Are your students actually learning?’ educationalist and author Paul Harris encouraged teachers to share the ownership of teaching and learning so teachers are not teaching in isolation. The hallmark of good teaching, he said is ‘not telling, but asking’ and that teachers and students should decide where to go next ‘collaboratively.’
In a round table discussion with the Music Education Council, Judith Richardson from Sound and Music commented, ‘Music tech used to be an appendix, but times have changed.’
Two days before the Expo, the BBC ran the headline: ‘Music Education “needs to get digital”’ – highlighting a warning published in the Music Commission's report that ‘there is a danger that the “disconnect” between how young people use technology and music education may see current models of teaching rapidly becoming outdated.’
The plethora of apps, software and digital resources showcased at the Expo seemed to suggest the sector is already evolving, with a varied programme of sessions in the Contemporary Music and Tech Studio ranging from using DJing and music production in GCSE music, to using an Xbox 360 controller as an accessible musical instrument.
But again, the reality is that all resources, acoustic or digital, cost money. It may be reasonable for the Music Commission to conclude that music education ‘needs to get digital’, but the real barrier to this is likely to be ever-dwindling department budgets, not outdated or naïve teachers.
Mirroring society as a whole, there was an increased awareness of issues relating to physical and mental health in a number of sessions and trade stands. Claire Cordaeux, director of British Association for Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM), reported in a session on musicians’ health and well-being that 75% of musicians experience occupational health problems and reminded delegates to take time to look after themselves as well as their students.
There's somewhat of a paradox to the Expo: an inspiring celebration of the dedication, passion and best practice across a sector facing an uncertain future, struggling to find a voice in today's noisy political climate. As Lord Black concluded, ‘It would be nice to come back here in two or three years’ time and report things are getting better.’ We live in hope.
