Page 112 - RPS Awards 2023 Coverage Book

The Royal Opera House’s current production of Rossini’s Barber of Seville, conducted by
Rafael Payare, who only came to music aged 14. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

A coordinated plan for live classical music and music education from government, led
by each of the nations’ artistic funders, is long overdue. Classical music policy and
strategy are confused and all over the place – but our amazing resources and talents
could work wonders if properly harnessed.

In the pandemic, everyone recognised and endorsed the remarkable, uplifting effects of
music for people of all ages and backgrounds. From that, the industry has begun to
construct a new narrative to embrace great artistic expression from everyone.

We should work with all funders to recognise that no artist is formed in a vacuum. It
takes a community to build and develop a musician, and we often neglect to
acknowledge our own humble influences. My personal gateway to classical music was
the Limerick church choir I joined as a child. These early experiences are so formative.
If we lose focus on those crucial school years, there is little hope for meeting any
diversity target 10 or 20 years down the line. It simply won’t happen, and the pressure
is placed on classical music charities to fix what is essentially a problem in the
classroom. Venezuelan conductor Rafael Payare’s triumph last month with the Royal
Opera’s Barber of Seville reminded me that he only discovered music as a 14-year-old.
We have to create opportunities at each and every stage of people’s lives. We reach
hundreds and thousands of children as an industry, but millions more are
disenfranchised simply because of a lack of joined-up thinking.

This is an edited extract of a speech given by John Gilhooly, chairman of the Royal
Philharmonic Society and chief executive of Wigmore Hall, at the 2023 RPS awards on 1
March. BBC Radio 3 will broadcast an RPS awards programme at 7pm on 6 March and
the ceremony will be available to watch on the RPS website from 9 March.