As the dust settles following Arts Council England's latest funding announcement, those of us within music education can't help but look ahead with foreboding to the next stage of ACE's Music Hub Investment Programme. The ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ nature of the recent NPO (national portfolio organisations) decisions may well be a sign of things to come – the new National Plan for Music Education sets out the intention to reduce the number of hub lead organisations via a competitive bidding process. While this in itself may not be a bad thing (read Nigel Taylor's thoughts on hubs, and the NPME online), the division it is likely to provoke within the music education community has the potential to do more damage. Let's hope that the importance of partnerships and collaboration remains at the core of decisions to come, and that any structural changes ultimately result in improved music provision for children and young people.
This month, we're focusing on Woodwind and Brass. Brass bands take centre stage, with features on the 70th anniversary of National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, Brass Bands England's Brass Foundations programme, and the gender imbalance within banding and the wider industry. We also check in with saxophonist and BBC Young Musician 2018 finalist Rob Burton and meet the new head of woodwind at the Royal College of Music. You'll find a hilarious but poignant piece from a fresh-faced whole class brass teacher; elsewhere, we meet the winner of this year's BBC Young Musician competition, Jordan Ashman, and you'll find an interview with two members of ABRSM's new Chief Examiner Group on p.26. This issue also covers hip hop literacy workshops, access to early years music, and metacognition in the music classroom.
Last week, we announced the shortlists for the Music & Drama Education Awards 2023 (p.32). The extraordinarily high calibre of entries meant that whittling them down with the judging panel was no mean feat, and I look forward to celebrating with the finalists and winners in the ceremony on 23 February.
Finally, after nearly two years at the helm, this will be my last issue as editor of MT. It has been a joy and an honour to work with such dedicated teachers, writers, journalists and advocates to keep you informed, inspired and supported in your crucial roles as music educators. Thank you for your wonderful feedback and continued engagement with the magazine. I remain in post as head of content (music) for the Expo and the Awards until the events in February, so I look forward to seeing many of you there.
