Mixing it up: May 2021 Editorial

Sitting down to condense the last month in music education and introduce the May issue in 400 words, I now, more than ever, doff my cap to all the brave souls stepping out into the Twitter-sphere to offer up a 280-character opinion on the Model Music Curriculum. The conversation online has been lively and, at times, heated, but it has reaffirmed what I already knew about the readers of this magazine: you are fiercely passionate people (whether you have tweeted or not). Of course, you have to be – you're hardly in it for an easy ride.

We'll be covering the MMC, as well as the recent Hubs funding announcement, editorially in the June issue, so watch out for that, and you may have already seen a few opinion pieces popping up on our shiny new website.

In less divisive news, the Music & Drama Education Awards were announced online on 24 March – it was a truly inspirational event and I'm thoroughly looking forward to being more involved next year. A huge congratulations to all those who entered and, of course, the winners – if we could crown every music teacher in the country, we would. Find the list of winners on p.8 and hear from Dr Atarah Ben-Tovim MBE, our Lifetime Achievement Award winner, on p.11.

The focus of this issue is technology for composition, which, as Tim Hallas explores on p.14 and Future DJs propose on p.17, doesn't necessarily have to break the bank. Additionally, we've got conference reports from Sound Connections’ ‘Inclusive Action in Practice’ (p.12) and Guildhall's ‘Queering the Conservatoire’ (p.35), both of which raise crucial inclusivity and accessibility issues faced daily by our young people. As Fraser Gordon – the new head of woodwind at RAM – points out on p.30, admitting to our own form of privilege isn't easy, but is the first step towards positive change.

Finally, regular readers will hopefully have noticed a new face on this page. After six months as MT's assistant editor, I'm delighted to be taking a turn at the helm as permanent editor. I'd like to thank Thomas Lydon, who steered the ship with confidence and tremendous insight from day one – no mean feat at the best of times. It is also a pleasure to introduce Hattie Fisk, the magazine's brilliant new editorial assistant, who has hit the ground running in her first few weeks.

Hopefully you're feeling somewhat energised after the Easter break and have got enough chocolate to see you straight on through to half term.

Harriet Clifford, editor