John Butt

I am most delighted to see the proposal regarding the move of St Mary’s Music School. This is an extremely exciting and timely project which would give the school a home that is at least as good if not entirely better than any in the UK. It will do much to raise the profile of classical music (and other musics involving a disciplined curriculum) in Scotland, particularly at a time when arts funding is being cut and when instrumental teaching in schools is sinking to deplorable levels of support. It will greatly complement the professional companies active in Scotland, the higher education institutions (including RCS), and the visiting companies and artists who make Scotland a regular port of call. In short, it will both consolidate Scotland’s remarkable strength in musical talent, at a time when the entire infrastructure of music education is under such heavy threat.

John Butt, OBE, FBA, FRSE, Gardiner Professor of Music, University of Glasgow; Musical Director, Dunedin Consort; Principal Artist, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment