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Music education is powerful, yet its provision is frail | Letters

The Guardian UK Tuesday 15 September 2026, 15:49 UTC By Guardian Staff 1 min read
Key Points

Elizabeth Williams and Luke Madams respond to an article by Robert Ames in which he argues that doors are closing for working-class musiciansFurther to Robert Ames’s article (I co-founded an orchestra 18 years ago. Since then, I’ve seen doors close for working-class musicians, 9 September), I have seen first-hand both the transformative power of music education and the fragility of its provision. I am the chair of trustees of Making Music, Changing Lives (MMCL), a Cardiff-based charity...

Elizabeth Williams and Luke Madams respond to an article by Robert Ames in which he argues that doors are closing for working-class musicians

Further to Robert Ames’s article (I co-founded an orchestra 18 years ago. Since then, I’ve seen doors close for working-class musicians, 9 September), I have seen first-hand both the transformative power of music education and the fragility of its provision.

I am the chair of trustees of Making Music, Changing Lives (MMCL), a Cardiff-based charity established in 2009 to provide musical opportunities for children and young people in the low-income communities of Ely and Caerau. Around 40 young people are loaned instruments for free and they receive free or heavily subsidised weekly tuition from highly-qualified teachers, and the opportunity to play and perform in an orchestra. We also organise school holiday projects, concerts for local schools, and free tickets to professional concerts.

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Elizabeth Williams (PERSON) Luke Madams (PERSON) Robert Ames (PERSON) Robert Ames’s (PERSON) Making Music (ORG) MMCL (ORG) Cardiff (LOCATION) Ely (LOCATION) Caerau (ORG)
Originally published by The Guardian UK Read original →

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