I would like to thank Richard Holloway for his reply (December 8) regarding whether "El Sistema" will happen in Scotland or not.
Mr Holloway said we have money to cover our first operational year, with the promise of more to come, and we are poised to begin a major fund-raising campaign in the new year. Poised, I am afraid, is not good enough. Venezuela has financed El Sistema for 30 years and the last figure I saw was for £23m in the year 2005. That is real finance, real commitment. Without government's long-term guarantee of funding, this scheme will not work, no matter how well-meaning all the people involved are. Far from misunderstanding what is wished to be achieved with the initiative, I have been part of a team that did achieve. It was primarily a music programme which also achieved social change, not the other way round.
Some 30 years ago, around the time El Sistema was born, I was a founder member of one of the most successful music schemes in Scotland, if not Britain. It took place in my home area of Pollok in Glasgow, in Bellarmine Seconday School. One inspired music teacher, the late Winnie Dean, saw the potential that existed in an area that had been, to a large extent, ignored.
The result over the next 15 years was nothing short of miraculous. At no time did we seek to change people's lives but simply to show them an alternative way. That is why it was such a success. There was never any patronising. It has produced some of the best musicians in Scotland and beyond, as well as people who have a lifelong skill that enhances many other parts of their lives. As I teach now, I often meet people who were part of that revolution. They are not professional musicians, but everyday members of our society. They have children who are learning musical instruments in schools throughout the country and so the legacy goes on.
Unfortunately, owing to petty jealousy and an ignorance of what could be achieved under such a scheme, government funding was not forthcoming, despite the best effort of people such as Janey Buchan and Tony Benn. That left a massive void in the community and one that has never really been replaced.
Bellarmine Arts Centre should have been held as the model for music education and social change in Scotland as far back as 30 years ago; instead, it was allowed to die much the same way as, I believe, El Sistema will.
Fred Parry, 48 Duncan Avenue, Scotstoun
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article