Overview
In November 2011, representatives from °®¶¹ÊÓƵ (the Academic Director, Chief Examiner for Music and Head of Teacher Development for Music) travelled with a group of musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) and their Education Director to work with schools, universities, teachers and students in Thailand and Singapore to provide high-quality music performances and workshops, and to facilitate interesting round-table debates about music education, now and in the future. This programme of music and educational activity confirmed °®¶¹ÊÓƵ and the LPO as leading providers, keen to establish partnerships and links with organisations and educators in this part of the world.
Background
°®¶¹ÊÓƵ and the LPO share a core belief about the importance of access to music for teachers and pupils through high quality performance and support. The visit to Singapore and Thailand allowed representatives from these organisations to pool their resources and expertise, and to provide exciting and challenging opportunities to promote the benefits of a musical education.
The project
A programme of teacher workshops, some led by the LPO and some by °®¶¹ÊÓƵ, were augmented by exciting performance and development opportunities for pupils through working with players from the LPO. Masterclasses were run by the musicians for students from the Singapore Youth Orchestra and presentations were given by °®¶¹ÊÓƵ about our assessment process to new and existing teachers. A visit to the leading teacher training university in Bangkok established a new relationship between the two music organisations and was the venue for lively debate about music education and assessment, with a range of experts from Thailand in a discussion chaired by °®¶¹ÊÓƵ.
In addition, workshops were held at a large local school for several thousand pupils, introducing the °®¶¹ÊÓƵ exam system and support network to several groups of around 80 students.
Outcome
Many of the organisations involved continue to work closely with °®¶¹ÊÓƵ providing advice, recommendations on market opportunities and local expertise for the delivery of exams and teacher support. °®¶¹ÊÓƵ is an organisation with world class expertise in music and music education, as demonstrated by the sessions delivered, and the link with such a high-profile performance organisation as the LPO. By continuing to reach out to music professionals and practitioners around the world in positive, engaging and constructive new ways like this, °®¶¹ÊÓƵ has been able to promote the universal benefits of music to a global audience.
Return to Working in partnership
‘It was a joy to work with °®¶¹ÊÓƵ on this trip. The LPO and °®¶¹ÊÓƵ share so many common goals and through our joint workshops and concerts we were really able to inspire students, teachers and administrators about the importance of imaginative practice and thoughtful music-making and how, ultimately, these should lead to truly communicative performance.’
Patrick Bailey, Head of Education, London Philharmonic Orchestra during the project period