Violinist Greg Scott Leads Program to Involve Children in Classical Music
For anyone who’s ever played a chamber music concert to a house full of people with mostly white hair the decline of classical music is a very real concern. Many articles are filled with hand-wringing and doomsday-type predictions, and there is no denying that the world of classical music is somewhat endangered. With major orchestras folding left and right and music in the schools falling victim to economic constraints, it’s hard not to worry about the future of an art form so dear to many of our hearts.
Luckily, though, it seems that communities and community leaders are not willing to let music fall by the wayside, and there are a variety of innovative programs on the horizon to ensure that children can get involved in music. One such program is being led by British violinist Greg Scott. Scott’s career has had an unusual trajectory, beginning as a busker in the Portsmouth, UK, bus stations, and continuing now as a chart-topping violinist. Scott spoke of how a young person’s passion for music can change lives, citing his own life as an example:
Music is such an integral part of our lives and music education is so important in schools, not simply for enjoyment for also for opening up many career paths later on….My love of the violin has given me an amazing life, traveling around the world, meeting fascinating people and playing music I’m passionate about. Why not have a dream job in music that you love? That’s the message I want to send to schoolchildren.
It’s a message that he’ll be sending to schoolchildren in Portsmouth with the help of an initiative that he started, something called the Portsmouth Music Hub. It’s essentially an online resource that transcends the boundaries of normal music websites and incorporates the social media that are so important to success in today’s world–Twitter, Facebook, and similar networking sites. On this site, huge amounts of musical resources and organizations are represented and made available to the music student, and it offers a places for every organization supporting music education in the area to get involved, much like a social media site for music education. The most inspiring thing, though, is that it is being launched in anticipation of the UK’s National Music Plan, which will seek to promote music education in much the same way as this Portsmouth-based forerunner.
As Scott says, “Working together we can make a significant difference to the participation and musical learning of the whole community.”
We’d do well as a community and as a nation to take a page from this book–we can both save an art form that does so many so much good and create a stronger sense of community for all to share in.
Check out the Hub to see what incredible things they are doing!
No comments yet.