Anyone with doubts about the transformative power of music could not have have come across the work of the Venezuelan Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra or the work done with music education in Soweto, South Africa. It is enough to listen and watch a little of the music made by children, many of whom come from deprived backgrounds to see that this could not happen without serious personal engagement on the part of the young musicians.

Music is a part of virtually everyone’s life and often a major part. It is ubiquitous. Any given individual may spend days without reading a book, looking at a painting or listening to poetry. But music, well that would be hard to exclude. The ubiquity of music has its downside. Often it is used and even created for purely commercial reasons. Powerful commercial interests in the music business, advertising and venues regulate a great deal of the music that is made, although fortunately their tentacles do not reach every form of expression – I can enjoy some pretty good music-making in my local pub along with others keen to give their attention to what the musicians have to offer. Continue reading →