Last week I was lucky enough to meet Errollyn Wallen, the Belize-born composer whose BBC Proms commission, This Frame is Part of the Painting, will be premiered next month at the Royal Albert Hall. We chatted about her career and the influence of artists like Howard Hodgkin on her work, before moving on to a more general discussion on the state of classical music today. Errollyn was the first black woman to have a work performed at the Proms – her Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra, televised back in 1998 – and I wanted to know how far she thought classical culture has changed since. Her response was both encouraging and unsettling: 'Things have moved in some ways – people now accept that anyone can be a composer. But I worry about young people having access … it’s becoming way less democratic.' 

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And she’s right. A Musicians Union report published in April described UK music education as being in a 'perilous state', highlighting cuts to hubs and schools as well as massive inequality in instrumental provision. This, coupled with increasing pressure on students to take the Ebacc suite of subjects – none of which include creative subjects – has meant that music is increasingly viewed as a ‘nice to have’ amongst many school children. Growing up I benefited hugely from a local Music Hub. It was under their auspices that I played in my first classical gig and discovered the feeling of invincibility that comes with being amongst a full orchestra. It was also the first opportunity I had to write music for a large instrumental ensemble, igniting a compositional fire in me that still burns today.

Read the full article on the Gramophone Blog.