Some of you will probably have heard my wife, soprano Noa Lachman, in a Music Box Wealden concert, or as the soloist for a local choral society. She also runs workshops teaching people how to make sourdough bread, and during a break in the class she usually sings them a couple of arias – which gives us a perfect opportunity to introduce the Music Box project.  I think that’s called ‘upselling’ in sales jargon – we prefer to think of it as a very natural and unforced way to expand our audience and get the message out!

Today we had a very interesting, but somewhat depressing chat with a lady who is settled in the UK but comes originally from Poland. She spoke very forcefully about how disappointed she was with the musical education available to her children here, in comparison to what she had experienced in Poland where, by her account, excellent instrumental, vocal and theoretical tuition was available as a matter of course, free of charge, to all children, together with orchestras, ensembles and choirs.  I was really struck by her choice of words – she said that she ‘felt ashamed’ to have been unable to afford to provide her children with a similar level of support in an area which she clearly felt to be so important to their development.

A few minutes on Google tells me that, although Poland’s economy is growing fast, average incomes in 2023 were still less than half those in the UK.  But priorities are clearly very different.  Parent after parent tells us the same story of diminishing access to music in UK schools, though no one doubts that many teachers are battling heroically against the odds.  Why are we getting this so wrong?  The benefits of participating in music-making for cognitive and motor development, social skills and confidence are clearly demonstrated in multiple studies – quite apart from the lifelong pleasure of being part of one of the greatest cultural achievements of mankind!