Page 369 - Guildhall Coverage Book 2020-21

as government funding gradually decreased, and in 2009 CYM became a division of the Guildhall
School of Music & Drama. The City of London Corporation had already been sponsoring the LSSO as
part of CYM for several years – and it continues to do so. CYM remains based at Morley College,
while its administration has since moved from Westminster to the City of London.

The Guildhall School's willingness to greatly expand its under-18 provision came partly in response
to the burgeoning sense that there were inequalities in music education that needed to be
addressed by the big institutions. These sentiments were crystallised a few years later in Darren
Henley's review, resulting in the National Plan for Music Education. Barry Ife, who was the Guildhall
School's principal at the time, not only welcomed CYM in addition to the conservatoire's own Junior
division, but also, together with former CYM director Stephen Dagg, set up four regional centres – in
Norwich, Taunton, Peterborough and Saffron Walden. It was a mutually beneficial move; the
Guildhall School was able to demonstrate that it had an extensive access scheme, independent of
its own Junior Guildhall division, and the CYM retained its identity and a certain level of funding at a
time of ever-decreasing education budgets.

At present, the CYM receives some bursary funding from the Guildhall School, some from its
affiliated charity, the Foundation for Young Musicians, and support for 75 of its students through its
status as one of the government's Music and Dance Scheme Centres for Advanced Training. But it
still has to ‘pay its way’, as Harniess puts it. ‘Around half of our students get some kind of financial
support, but of course it is limited. Raising money is always difficult, and it's going to be even more
difficult now. Our fees are just under £2,000 a year, which, relative to the other junior conservatoires,
is less expensive.’

At 50, the CYM has a proud tradition of turning out elite musicians. ‘Around a third of our leavers
each year go on to study music at conservatoires or at university,’ says Harniess. ‘That's a pretty
good figure – but it's not our primary objective. The way in which we're different to the Junior
Guildhall is that not all of our students are there because they want to become professional
musicians; many are there just to enjoy the music and to get something from it that they can take
through their lives.’

Funding is understandably an ongoing major concern for the centre, and the main new initiative,
named Young at Heart, aims to raise money for the CYM's bursary fund by shining a light on two
major anniversaries – the CYM's 50th celebrations, and the 70th birthday of its flagship ensemble,