Summer winds: July 2023 Editorial

We're about to reach a milestone for NPME, it's delivery and how music education is to be resourced and organised at local level. In June, Arts Council England published details of the new geographic structure for Music Hub Areas, and organisations are now submitting applications for new hub partnerships and the Music Hub Investment Programme. The starting gun, half-cocked for some months, has now fired. For some, this will be a deeply unsettling time, with organisational re-structures inevitable. But there's comfort in knowing there was consultation across the sector, more than once, while framing the bigger picture.

For this month's MT, I'd like to welcome Music Mark and its CEO Bridget Whyte as new partners for one of our regular columns. Music Mark is the UK association for music education and one of three subject-associations for music in England. Alongside the MU and ISM, on a rotating basis, Music Mark will be updating MT readers on its activities at local, regional and national level. To kick things off, Bridget shares news of how the important vocal and instrumental teaching resource A Common Approach has been refreshed.

I'm pleased to announce, too, that Youth Music will be joining this column in the coming months. It's excellent to have such strong representation across MT's pages.

This issue has a percussion focus, as you will have gathered from the spectacular cover featuring Lucy Landymore. MT's Hattie Fisk catches up with the award-winning drummer and multi-percussionist to learn of her work with Hans Zimmer and of an intercultural approach. Other pages feature percussionists Mike Simpson and Andy Gleadhill; both seasoned educators, sharing practical lesson advice. In other coverage, Adam Osmianski reviews student drum-kits (p. 46), we get a tour of a UK conservatoire (p. 27), and we hear from an orchestral principal percussionist (p. 57) and a samba group that's more than about drumming (p. 33).

For non-percussion matters, we look at the pathways and pipelines serving UK music education (p. 15), courtesy of research from BCU, and how class music at KS3 can be made more approachable (more popular?) for students with limited musical know-how. Natalie Wild from MiSST, meanwhile, discusses the potentially levelling effect of instrumental music learning (p. 41).

Elsewhere, we report from the MTA's recent conference in Loughborough and hear of a Leicestershire Music event celebrating turntablism and genre-mixing (p. 21). All this is supported with the usual round-up of news, CPD offers, and product reviews (including of a choral series for youth choirs).

Please remember that nominations for the Music & Drama Education Awards 2024 close on 11 September.

Talking of awards, I see the sun has arrived and bucket hats are starting to appear. It must be that time of year. If I don't get another chance, here's hoping, from all at MT, that you have a fantastic (and relaxing) summer break.

- Phil Croydon, editor