Report to the People
21st March 2005
Music of Life
It’s always perilous for a politician
to try to look trendy. As William
Hague’s infamous baseball cap proved, a desire to appear “down with the
kids” will, more often than not, backfire spectacularly.
It
was with some trepidation, then, that I rose to speak in last week’s debate on
the music industry. But, as it
offered an ideal opportunity to highlight the great work being done in the brand
new music centre at our own James Watt College, I decided it was worth the risk.
Much
of the debate concentrated on the question of how we can support and develop the
undoubted raft of raw talent we have here in Scotland.
If they wanted answers, I argued, then MSPs and Culture Minister,
Patricia Ferguson, could do a lot worse than visit the college for themselves.
They
could see, for example, how it makes it easier for young musicians to take the
all-important first step into the professional music industry by providing them
with performance facilities and some basic business skills.
And they could see how the college helps students develop, not just their
musical skills, but the essential life skills without which their careers are
destined to be short and unfulfilled.
And
I must have hit the right note. In
closing the debate, the Minister said she would be delighted to come and see the
music centre for herself.
Who knows. Perhaps, after ships and skilled craftsmen, music and musicians will be Greenock’s next world-wide export.
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