Meet the Expo 2023 speaker: Francis Winston
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Music educator, composer, and musician Francis Winston is presenting a session on ‘The art of rap in the secondary music classroom’ on Day 1 of the Music & Drama Education Expo 2023. We meet him to find out more.
MT: How would you describe yourself in three words?
FW: Calm, creative, indigo.
MT: What will you be sharing with delegates at the Music & Drama Education Expo 2023?
FW: I will be presenting on the musicality and techniques of the art of rap and how to employ them in the modern-day classroom.
MT: Tell us a bit about your background and career.
FW: I was surrounded by a plethora of musical flavours from birth, provided by the Winston family university. I sang Latin mass in a cathedral choir before taking up the clarinet, then saxophone, before heading off to ‘real’ university to become classically trained. While there, I created a jazz quintet which grew into a 15-piece nu-funk, jazz ‘n’ hip hop band, complete with a string quartet and a DJ. I cut an album before attempting to create an indie label, decided otherwise, and then went into full-time education.
MT: If you could make one change to the UK music education system, what would it be?
FW: From the conservatoires down to primary schools, I would want rap to be recognised as a high musical art form.
MT: Other than your session, what are you looking forward to about attending the Expo?
FW: I'm looking forward to sharing ideas and learning from like-minded teachers who are driven to preserve and expand the presence and intrinsic value of music in schools.
MT: What were the key takeaways from your own music education?
FW: Never give up your instrument; doing it together is always more fun; all music has soul when created with love… so, make it, and keep listening.
MT: Who should attend your Expo session and why?
FW: All secondary, further, and higher education teachers and vocal tutors will benefit from the techniques and insight I will demonstrate from my recent publication Rappin’ the Classroom. I will be providing the answers to many long-held questions and misconceptions regarding this amazing and powerful vocal art form. Let's face it; in today's social media-driven youth culture posing as reality, educators are up against substantial miseducation engulfing our youth. Both the musicality and the message, long revered in rap, is being lost. Only through the classroom as a collective will we be able to connect the past to the present, giving students the artistic tools to redirect the future.
MT: What do you hope to see happen within music education in the next five years?
FW: What a question! I'll try to keep it short. First, the foundational understanding, implementation, and development of rap in the national music curriculum. Second, increase in governmental finance from the Department for Education for subsidised instrumental and vocal music lessons. Lastly, I think we (students and teachers) should be afforded more curriculum time. I know many of my students wish music was twice a week!
MT: In your view, what should we be talking about that isn't getting enough attention?
FW: Music continued professional development (CPD) and diversifying the KS4/5 and degree-level provision. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a multitude of musical styles and open minds as a child. I was lucky enough to benefit from some great teachers, but none of them looked like me, nor understood the musical background I'd been exposed to. Elitism and lack of diversity can kill a child's motivation. Luckily it didn't kill mine.
MT: What artist/composer are you listening to on repeat this week?
FW: Too many! Masego, Buika, and Bach. Sorry, I can't choose one!
The Music & Drama Education Expo takes place on 23 and 24 February 2023 at the Business Design Centre in London. View the 2023 programme and register for free: www.musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk
