YES

M

an has enjoyed powered flight for around a

century, which is a source of awe and wonder for me every time I fly. Yet I write this stranded in Canada, following the Icelandic volcano eruption, a colossal force whose impact has left world governments in a whirlwind of indecision, leaving thousands without

clear information and unable to get home. In the UK we’ve developed a music education system which is acknowledged as world-class and has enabled millions of children to ‘take off’, musically and developmentally. But as the new UK administration begins to settle in, it too must make difficult decisions on how to respond to a different external force, which this time is economic rather than pyroclastic. The economic volcano has already erupted and, as one, the music education community must act promptly to ensure that we don’t endure the kind of shutdown that plagued European air space in April, with the new administration making savage cuts. Yet I can’t think of a single politician who would want

to go down in history as the person who dismantled a major part of British music education. So our collective job – and the key music education bodies are poised to do this – is to inform decision makers, both locally and nationally, to ensure that future generations continue to derive the far-reaching benefits that music education can provide.

It requires individual organisations quickly to set aside any differences they may have in the detail of their own policies and focus on a common, shared big vision. I believe we have the leadership to do this.

Bill C Martin, Music education manager, Yamaha Music Europe GmbH UK

Editor Bill C Martin: bill_martin@gmx.yamaha.com Contributors Clare Stevens, Gwilym Simcock, John Witchell, Kate Halsall, Leanne Hassan, Marc Jaffrey, Mark Doffman, Murray MacLachlan, Nigel Burrows, Rory Marsden, Yshani Perinpanayagam. Thanks to DJPR Communications for news stories – www.djpr.co.uk

Yamaha Music Europe GmbH UK

Sherbourne Drive, Tilbrook, Milton Keynes MK7 8BL; tel: (0870) 444 5575; fax: (01908) 368 872; http://uk.yamaha.com

www.yamahamusiceducation.co.uk

Yes is produced for Yamaha Music Europe GmbH UK Ltd

by Impromptu Publishing, Senior designer Henrietta Creedy

Impromptu Publishing, 5th Floor Clarendon House, 81 Mosley Street, Manchester M2 3LQ; tel: (0161) 236 9526; fax: (0161) 247 7978;

www.impromptupublishing.com

Cover: Guitarist Alex Munk, a 2009 Yamaha Parliamentary Jazz winner.

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CONTENTS

News

Opinion Marc Jaffrey on helping headteachers British pianists do they reach top levels? Piano passion new top-end grand pianos Piano Circus working with new music Jazz why play it in a recession?

Keyboard orchestra in Norfolk

Unsung heroes careers in music: journalism Communication in music making Piano accompaniment YBAYA 2009 winner interview Partnerships in Portsmouth YMS Sandwell revisited Wider Opportunities the FMS impact assessment

Yamaha stage pianos the new range

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