You may be reading this in the week following the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II – a sad time for many, in which we remember and pay our respects to a dutiful monarch who served for 70 years. This month's cover star Nicola Benedetti paid tribute to the Queen following her death, recalling the conversation they had as she was presented with The Queen's Medal for Music in 2017. Benedetti said: ‘She told me of her profound belief in collective music making, in collective action, having all devices and distractions banished from the room with everyone present and committed to the same endeavour.
‘She was incredibly funny and told me of her and her sister having a giggling fit as young girls because Yehudi Menuhin was breathing so loudly as he played for them.’ In her tribute, the violinist added that she was in Cardiff with the Benedetti Foundation ‘about to do what I know she believed in’. ‘We will do it inspired by her discipline and grace.’ You can read my interview with Benedetti (conducted before the Queen's death) here.
Elsewhere in this Strings focus issue, we consider how we might free ourselves and our young string students from self-imposed genre constraints and find out more about how Project String Quartet is simultaneously supporting primary school children and young professional string quartets. Other features in this issue include a fascinating interview with the Fabian Society's Ben Cooper, author of the left-leaning thinktank's report into music education published last month; an introduction to RSL's new Group Performance Exams; an interview with Simon Purcell, co-chair of the recently established Jazz in Education UK group; and a wonderful exploration of a set of dragon-themed resources for school choirs and community projects.
This month's news pages include troubling reports on the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on music educators. Many readers may be experiencing financial pressures at this time and might be worried about what lies ahead. I want to thank you for continuing to read MT – I hope that we can provide inspiration and a sense of community, as well as continue to raise awareness of, interpret, and interrogate what is going on around us.
