Rethinking Music

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What does the crisis in music education today mean for musical life in the UK?

Soweto Kinch explores the crisis in music education today and what it means for musical life in the UK in the 21st century

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Rethinking Music: Sounding the Future

Sounding the Future

BBC Radio 4 - Rethinking Music, Sounding the Future

In the final part of the series, Soweto Kinch looks at how to keep music education relevant to today's world and tomorrow's musicians.

What could the future of music education in the UK look like?  In the final part of the series Soweto Kinch looks at how to keep music education relevant to today's world and tomorrow's musicians.

How are we going to ensure that systemic barriers to music are reduced?  We visit Tomorrow’s Warriors, a jazz scheme in London that has diversity at its core, and is building bridges with conservatoires and the industry. The charity Youth Music argues that the curriculum could better cater to the young people of today by reflecting their passions and making it more relevant to today’s world. Ben Turner, a former classroom music teacher, tells us how his cohort of students completely changed his approach to education, and how a lunchtime Rap Club ended up forging a path for them into the industry. At DJ School UK in Leeds, we dig into the inclusivity of technology, and reconsider the way music is taught.  Soweto asks how access to music and the way we teach it could change the cultural landscape of Britain.

Soweto Kinch looks at music education across the UK and assesses how cutbacks and policy changes over the years are playing out. What impact is decades of underfunding going to have on our economy, culture, and children's development? How are new National Plans for Music announced last year going to address the situation across the UK?  Reflecting on his own route to music, Soweto asks what music education could look like, and how much it matters if we don't get it right.  Contributors include Nicola Benedetti, Anna Meredith, Nubya Garcia, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and a range of music professionals and providers across the UK.

Produced by Megan Jones and Amelia Parker

Photo: Tomorrow's Warriors (credit Graeme Miall)

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