With the initial purchase of 6 instruments, including oboes and bassoons, the library is set to launch in Autumn 2023, aiming to empower musicians with access to quality instruments that may otherwise be financially out of reach. By democratizing access to quality instruments, the library aspires to foster musical excellence, inclusivity, and creativity among aspiring musicians, and serve as a valuable resource for the broader community.
Specific acts of ‘cultural vandalism’ have garnered a lot of media attention in recent months, with sweeping funding cuts and support withdrawn from groups as established and central as the BBC Orchestras and Choirs, English National Opera and the Britten Sinfonia. These groups are among the ‘halo brands’ to which young performers aspire and it is essential for these precious cultural assets to be defended and fought for. These groups represent the pinnacle of what can be achieved following, and this is crucial, many years of dedicated study and support. Whilst one can point to numerous factors at play, there can be little argument that the study of music and the learning of orchestral instruments is seen by many as a luxury that we can no longer afford; devalued and defunded to a critical point.
Looking through the other end of the telescope, the expert early-years teaching, systematic and well-managed group lessons, the still-rarer individual lessons and the joyous experience of ensemble playing, choir singing and orchestral playing through primary and secondary schooling, has been cut back to such an extent that the world of a professional performer can now seem foreign, so distant and out of reach for all but the most fortunate.
As a specialist music school, one of only five of its type in the UK, we can no longer sit back, basking in the warm glow of our illustrious alumni’s achievements and hope that young musical talent will simply follow in their footsteps to our door. No, a fuller understanding of our place within the broader musical eco-system is required and this has meant a period of reflection and a change in attitude to collaboration and partnerships. We have begun to invest in initiatives to support early-years teaching, we now regularly invite pupils in the regional Instrumental Music Services to participate in our events and we have begun conversations to assess what it is that we can do to foster engagement, add value to, and help support existing programmes. Despite our fee-paying structure (St Mary’s Music School offers up to 100% Scottish Government funding for pupils so that no-one is precluded from entry on the grounds of cost), far from being treated with suspicion and cynicism, our outreach and engagement activities have been received positively. We have been able to share resources and we have been engaged in work with schools and community groups in Composition and Improvisation Workshops. We have opened up our regular events to more and more people. Our interview series ‘Celebrity Six’, now regularly attracts audiences beyond our own pupils and their teachers and is made available to the wider listening public in podcast form. Our masterclass series, both our internal and more high profile events have welcomed pupils and teachers from all over Scotland to observe and participate in classes with international soloists like oboist and conductor Francois Leleux, violinist Renaud Capuçon, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt and pianist Pascal Rogé.
In conjunction with key individuals throughout the Lothians and further afield, we are working to promote those instruments that have been termed ‘endangered species’. It may seem rather niche to invest time and effort on these large, difficult and usually expensive instruments but, without lower brass, we have no balanced wind band or brass ensemble let alone a full orchestra. Without bassoons much of the classical repertoire is incomplete (we regularly re-deploy our saxophone players as substitutes) and without the viola, nearly all string-based chamber music becomes forbidden fruit.
It is not only the instruments designated ‘endangered’ that are lacking. Here at school, we have noticed a marked downturn in auditions for once-popular instruments like the flute and the oboe. One can speculate as to the reasons why, but an oft-cited cause is simply cost.
Long gone are the days when every Music Department cupboard was stocked with multiple instruments from which to choose freely. The price of good quality beginner instruments is often prohibitive, with a beginner oboe retailing at over £1,600 and a short-reach Fox bassoon at nearer £8,000. These are huge sums, and this represents only the initial outlay. Complex equipment requires maintenance and parts and, just as it is in the automotive industry, these parts are often highly specialised and expensive. There are a growing number of instrument libraries that have sprung up providing donated instruments to community groups. These welcome projects allow for that all-important first hands-on experience of a musical instrument but, quite understandably, rarely do they offer access to these more costly instruments.
Instrument Library - To mitigate some of these issues, we have successfully raised the necessary funds to purchase a small fleet of quality instruments which we will place in the hands of trusted peripatetic teachers from August (2023). Instructors who might not be comfortable recommending an instrument to a prospective pupil on the grounds of cost will be able to do so with confidence. Additionally, we have set aside funds to keep these instruments in good working order with a rolling service programme so that they can remain with their keepers for the first three years of their instrumental studies. The question you might ask yourself is, “What is in for St Mary’s Music School?” and the answer is simple, all we ask is that the instrument is returned to us after Year 3 and during that period it is hoped that the pupil and their teacher would accept our regular invitations to sample a workshop perhaps, a masterclass, concert or performance class and take up the opportunity of playing in our ensembles from time to time. The option to extend the loan if the instrument is not required elsewhere will be made available.
If we don’t help to foster interest and nourish potential in the early years, we cannot reasonably expect the next generation of budding players to knock on our door as promising double-reed players or trombone and tuba players looking to specialise. For that to happen, we need healthy grass-roots initiatives, motivated peripatetic teachers teaching to their specialism, working with the best tools and, with support, emboldened to create inspirational programmes within their own schools with the confidence and freedom to deliver them.
Written by John Cameron, Director of Music, St Mary's Music School