Winds of change: Fraser Gordon at RAM

Fraser Gordon has taken an unconventional path to this position. Having grown up in a working-class family in Edinburgh, started college as a violinist (and even worked as a Suzuki violin teacher) before being appointed principal contrabassoon of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) in 2011, he brings an unusually diverse set of experiences to the table.

Gordon's teaching journey at RAM started with his appointment as a part-time contrabassoon teacher five years ago: ‘When I first walked into the Academy, I was very worried because it had this amazing reputation. Yet the atmosphere I was met with was just super friendly.

‘During my time as a contra teacher I was involved more than was perhaps expected. I did a lot of ferrying round of instruments for repair, which is a massive access and participation issue, with students borrowing amazing instruments that they wouldn't have the chance to own. I think that kind of above-and-beyond thing for students is part of being a teacher.’

Ethos of positivity

Gordon's approach to contrabassoon teaching has been forged from his own circuitous educational path: ‘I was a violinist at music college first time round, and at that point I did the Suzuki teacher training course for two years.

‘I was teaching violin and viola in order to pay my rent, and paying £100 a month towards my first bassoon. I only stopped doing it because it was a weekend course – I started getting gigs and I just needed the cash from the gigs. So, I said: OK, I'll stop the course and maybe come back to it.’

Coming back to it 20 years on is exactly what Gordon has been doing over the last two years, fitting weekend courses around his work with the RPO and bassoon teaching commitments.

‘The amount of coaching that you get on the Suzuki courses is really good. We're really taught how to focus on one thing that you think is going to help that child going forward, rather than bombarding them.’

This ethos of positivity and simplicity with beginner violinists has fed into Gordon's approach with advanced bassoon students: ‘It's really not that different. I think perhaps conservatoire students can take more onboard, but there are many similarities.

‘Sometimes when I'm teaching contra, it's a bit like teaching beginner violin. There are a lot of problems with posture because a lot of students have never played this instrument before, it's this big unwieldy thing, and there are a lot of different things to sort out as well as just blowing into the thing and trying to get a good sound.’

Teaching during a pandemic presents unique challenges, but Gordon seems upbeat about the future. With staff and students having navigated the steep learning curve of setting up high quality audio to get the most out of online tuition, he is now looking into continuing with some online provision once face-to-face teaching resumes:

‘Some students are still studying remotely, so in order to include them we can try to have Zoom set up in the corner of the class, so that at least those students can observe.

‘There are amazing people we can connect with all around the world, and the Academy started taking advantage of that idea in the autumn term, when they had six students in a class and the professor on Zoom on a big screen in the room. It saves money to do that kind of thing with visiting professors online, so I can probably do more of it by saving on travel costs.’

‘She challenged me’

Moving from being a part time instrumental teacher to a head of department involves taking on an extra level of responsibility for student welfare. Around the time of Gordon's appointment as Head of Woodwind, RAM was under a safeguarding review.

‘I've been asked to be part of a committee that deals with anonymous complaints from staff or students. They'll review things and categorise them into to what needs actioning or what needs observing. It's a new thing that's come out as a result of the safeguarding review, which is great. The problem historically has been putting teachers on pedestals and being afraid to approach them, challenge them or speak out against them.’

RAM has also been engaging with social justice issues by employing external consultants, prompting Gordon to re-evaluate some aspects of the curriculum: ‘We've all been interviewed about our opinions and feelings on equality, diversity and inclusion. I had a really engaging discussion with the consultant and she challenged me, which was great.

‘She asked me what I was going to do in terms of trying to decolonise the syllabus. Some aspects of what we talked about I'd already done. Some aspects I hadn't thought about.

‘I need to start diversifying the programmes that we put on and the repertoire that we learn, while trying to uphold the existing repertoire. I could quite easily say that until professional orchestras start programming more works by female and black composers then I can't necessarily agree to have that repertoire in our sessions all the time, but there are different aspects of the profession and not everybody's going to come out wanting to be the principal of a major orchestra.’

He continues: ‘A lot of the students are more on top of this than I am. In terms of their own chamber programming, most of them are already hot on including a wide variety of music by living and dead composers, female and male composers, black and white composers.

‘One of the things I think is important is that these conversations are being had. Sometimes problems with unconscious bias and racism can be formed from people's unwillingness to admit they have a problem with it, or unwillingness to even speak about it because they're afraid of getting it wrong. Perhaps these steps should have been made a long time ago, but they are happening now, which is good.’

Personal experience

Gordon's own working-class roots have given him a keen awareness of the issues faced by students from less socioeconomically privileged backgrounds: ‘The teaching provision that I had through my school, which was all free – including regional ensembles – was one of the most important things in inspiring me to go and do music.

‘That stuff is so in danger of being lost these days. It's super important for those who excel in their instruments to have ensemble playing at regional level which is free.

‘The larger, more difficult one to explain is the feeling of trying to fit into the business, needing to conform to having excellent grammar, just to take one example of where I've felt uncomfortable with my colleagues. I sound very posh compared to my parents now because I've adjusted how I speak. The amount of fitting in I've subconsciously done, in terms of how I speak and how I behave, is super interesting.’

Gordon continues: ‘When I joined the RPO, the number of people that were surprised that I hadn't studied in London was in the hundreds. The number of people that were surprised I didn't go to music school before college, probably even more. The fact that I managed to land a job in a good orchestra without having had a background like that seemed really surprising to people.

‘The problem in trying to deal with these things, as with all inequality issues, is that people don't want to think about it because it's almost too hard to think about it. Admitting you've had privilege is difficult, and that's the same in every walk of privilege that we have.

‘Everybody should be given the same chance. That seems like the most obvious thing to say, but I mean it.’

At this point, I'm wondering how such good intentions might play out in real life. Supposing I were a teacher in an underfunded comprehensive school and I had a gifted clarinet student who might want to apply to music college, what advice would Gordon give me?

‘Make sure that the family knows that you don't have to go to music school to be able to apply to conservatoires. There is definitely a perception – and I have fielded this question within the last couple of weeks from a worried prospective applicant – that the big music colleges in London are only really for kids who have come out of specialist music schools. That is a myth.’

Gordon is also at pains to highlight his willingness to engage in dialogue with prospective applicants: ‘Get in touch. If you're worried about something, don't worry that your question is stupid. Dealing with questions about how the Academy and its woodwind department works is my job. So, ask away!’

www.ram.ac.uk/study/departments/woodwind