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