Famous names sign open letter in support of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s Junior Depa
Following a proposal by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), the weekly Young RWCMD courses are to be discontinued at the end of this academic year. This will affect over 300 students, six permanent members of staff and a further 118 people on variable hours.
Other notable signatories include Michael Fitzhardinge Berkeley, Joanna Clare MacGregor CBE, Mark Wigglesworth, Charlotte Page, Suhayla El-Bushra, Richard Baker, Steven Isserlis CBE, Murray McLachlan and Maimuna Enya Memon.
Read the open letter to RWCMD below
We, the undersigned, are extremely concerned about the plans of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) to close Young RWCMD.
This would mean that the weekly sessions of the Junior Conservatoire and the Young Actors Studio would cease at the end of this academic year. It is the only measure of its kind in Wales and would affect over 300 current students.
Parents have been informed that the changes will affect the school year beginning in September, according to RWCMD. There is not enough time to look for alternative models and/or funding sources or to conduct meaningful consultation with the 118 affected staff members. And what are current and future students to do?
As signatories of this letter, we believe in:
- Access to high-quality music education and opportunities for all
- Celebrating artistic tradition
- Creating opportunities for and supporting new and diverse voices
- Bringing Welsh culture to the world stage.
We call on RWCMD to:
- Continue Young RWCMD for the next academic year as long as alternative models and/or funding sources can be found
- Engage in meaningful joint consultations on proposals to close Young RWCMD with the staff affected by this process and their representative bodies, including the Musicians’ Union.
Full list of signatories:
- Brett Alderton-Green
- Georgina L
- James Blair, Member of the British Treasury
- John Evanson
- Alison Balfour-Paul
- Susan Bullock CBE
- Sera Baines LRWCMD PDip RAM LRAM
- David Hill
- Anne Lovett
- Martin Pyne
- Tim Garrard
- Ian Skelly
- Stuart Whatmore, Director of the Tri-Borough Music Hub
- Emilija Karaliute
- Tim Lloyd
- Katy Ambrose
- Richard Ireland
- Miranda Francis
- Michael Berkeley
- Joanna MacGregor
- Rosie Bite
- David Adams
- Robert Marshall
- Matthew Scrivener
- Michael Roll
- Bryan Gould
- Andy Hopgood
- Adrian Wilson
- Rachel Weston
- Charlotte Page
- Alistair McGowan
- Daniel Whitehouse
- Julian Jacobson
- Juliette Bausor
- Sarah Williams
- Richard Lightman
- Howard Shelley, OBE
- Emily
- James Topp
- Emily Hultmark
- Robin Hutchinson MBE
- Claudia Ajmone-Marsan
- Tim Horton
- Abigail Fenna
- Nigel Braithwaite
- Murray McLachlan
- Kenneth Woods
- Mark Concar
- Rick Finlay
- Alex Gascoyne
- Eileen Spencer, BA, ARCM
- Alice Angliss
- Manon Eames
- Andy Gleadhill
- Matthew Whiteside
- Xenia Horne
- Katie Manasse
- Naomi Pohl
- Steven Isserlis CBE
- Daniel
- Stephen Simpson
- David Juritz
- Richard Baker
- Mark Wigglesworth
- Sonali Bhattacharyya
- Rhodri Thomas
- Cathy Newman
- Daphne James
- Jon Shave
- Maimuna Memon
- Alun Saunders
- Celia Greenwood
- James Fornara
- Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini
- Sharon Morgan
- Eva Leigh
- Jason Hughes
- Simon Harris
- Tabby Lamb
- Naomi Sheldon
- Lisa Parry
- Tom Wentworth
- Camille Curtis
- Suhayla El-Bushra
- Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
- Che Walker
The MU supports affected members
Naomi Pohl, MU General Secretary, said: “We are devastated by these proposals and are now working with RWCMD and affected members following the College’s disappointing and frustrating decision to exclude us from initial consultation meetings.
“If this closure goes ahead, RWCMD will be the only conservatory in the UK without a junior department and there will be no comparable provision in Wales, at a time when progress is being made in rebuilding music education through the National Music Service Wales.”
“We are also concerned about the impact of this closure, coupled with other issues such as the cuts to Welsh National Opera and the closure of St David’s Hall, on the work and careers of our members and the overall health of music in Wales. We will continue to support members affected by this consultation and explore alternatives to closure.”
Over 10,000 people have now signed the MU petition calling for the protection of young RWCMDs. The petition will now be put to the Senedd for debate.
We call on RWCMD to extend the consultation timeline and involve all representative bodies, including the MU, to secure the future of the Junior RWCMD Department.
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