Further to Robert Ames’s article (I co-founded an orchestra 18 years ago. Since then, I’ve seen doors close for working-class musicians, 9 September), I have seen first-hand both the transformative power of music education and the fragility of its provision.
I am the chair of trustees of Making Music, Changing Lives (MMCL), a Cardiff-based charity established in 2009 to provide musical opportunities for children and young people in the low-income communities of Ely and Caerau. Around 40 young people are loaned instruments for free and they receive free or heavily subsidised weekly tuition from highly-qualified teachers, and the opportunity to play and perform in an orchestra. We also organise school holiday projects, concerts for local schools, and free tickets to professional concerts.
