20/06/2008
Darren Henley today praised the 'spectacular' work of music services in a speech to the FMS conference, but reminded us all that we can always strive to do better to make every child's music matter.
"I'm going to start by telling you four things that I believe," began Darren, chair of the Music Manifesto Partnership and Advocacy Group (MMPAG). "I believe in music education. And I believe that music education can change the world. And I believe that the music education world is changing.
"I also believe that many of the people who are making those changes - for the better - are sitting here in this room today."
The MMPAG leader and Classic FM managing director talked of blasting away the artificial barriers that have grown between different sectors of music education in order to work together. He made clear that there is no story of failure here, but that however good the work we're doing now is, we can always strive to do better.
There were parallels to be made between Darren's day job in radio and the challenges facing music education. In radio, the rise of listener choice and personalised services in a climate of fast-changing technology are major issues of the day, just as personalised learning and music technology are key areas of change in music education.
However, Darren's call to action centred on two things at the core of his work with the MMPAG: partnership and advocacy. He urged his audience to create and champion partnerships with other educators and with those in the broader music industry, and to advocate for change, for new ways of thinking and acting, to ensure that we can offer the best musical opportunities to every child.