Page 95 - Aldeburgh Festival 2022 FINAL COVERAGE BOOK

every school,’ she says. Magic isn't necessary in Scotland – the budget announced at the end of
2021 included £12m to remove instrumental tuition costs in Scottish schools. Here in England,
though, this kind of financial commitment from the powers that be seems some way off.

Group singing in every school seems more attainable, although requires interest and support from
headteachers, as well as potential financial investment depending on the school's current set-up. ‘I
bang on about this the whole time,’ says Lapwood, ‘but every school should be doing singing with
their kids. I feel that particularly strongly given the last two years.’ She talks anecdotally about
noticing young people's attention spans reducing during the pandemic because of ‘constant
overstimulation’, caused by ‘online teaching, flashing imagery, and often having two screens on the
go at the same time’. ‘Some of the girls in my Girls’ Choir say that they can no longer watch a film
because they don't have the attention span, so they just watch TV episodes; and some of the others
said that they watch things in double speed.’

‘How are they going to read a book, or study for their exams?’ Lapwood asks. ‘Music, I feel, is the one
thing that can actually reverse the process [of reduced attention span], because you can't
concentrate on something else when you're trying to sing in tune with everyone else.’ This is also a
concern for future concert audiences because, as Lapwood exclaims, ‘You can't put a concert on
double speed!’

Anna Lapwood at Leeds Town Hall © TOM ABER