An orchestra in every school

luis dias
An orchestra in 
every school
Published on

I have internet radio on at my desktop while working. Earlier this month, I heard breaking news that warmed the cockles of my heart.

Amid all the doom and gloom about the governmental and bureaucratic cavalier treatment of music education in the United Kingdom, the ABO (Association of British Orchestras) announced on 5 February 2025 a new #AnOrchestraInEverySchool initiative at its annual conference.

The initiative highlights “the transformative power and value of a high-quality music education for all young people.”

It is part of the ABO’s #MusicThatMovesYou public campaign, which celebrates the impact of UK orchestras in our everyday lives, cultural heritage, communities and economy.

The launch was accompanied by a photocall of Conference delegates who lead some of the world’s most renowned orchestras and make the UK classical music sector a global success.

Judith Webster, ABO CEO said: “Our aspiration is for every school in the UK to either have an orchestra of its own - however they define that - or access to an orchestra. #AnOrchestraInEverySchool celebrates the work of the whole music education ecosystem – schools, teachers, Music Hubs, the plethora of music education providers who offer quality music education to young people, and the substantial existing contribution of UK orchestras working in partnership with them. We need to work together to achieve this ambition – in the belief that active music-making changes lives.”

This is exciting news for the UK. It also offers hope and inspiration to other nations, including our own.

One of my fondest school memories in the 1970s and 1980s is the Don Bosco school marching band led by Mestre Santana Cota. How he single-handedly got a rag-tag bunch quite unruly (I know, because many were my classmates) boarder boys to play so many woodwind, brass and percussion instruments, not just play, but play them well, often while marching, never ceases to amaze me. Those countless hours and years of individual and group practice shaped those boys into the fine men and pillars of society they are today, wherever life took them.

I’m not sure whether Mestre Cota retired or passed away while still teaching, but the Don Bosco marching band initiative evaporated after he was out of the picture.

Even that was not really a school-wide initiative, as its ranks were drawn almost exclusively from the boarders, but it offered a tantalising taste of what could be achieved if instruction in instrument-playing (and very importantly, ensemble playing) could be made available to each and every schoolchild.

When my wife Chryselle and I began the music education charity Child’s Play India Foundation in 2009, alongside working in children’s shelters like Hamara School, initiatives in schools were always just as important, and we did begin them in Caranzalem and Carona-Aldona using local teachers.

As we grew, we were able to recruit overseas teachers for disciplines that needed strengthening in Goa. In those years, we focused on viola and cello; a woodwind or brass instrument project would be a much costlier consideration as the instruments are so much more expensive.

The Coronavirus pandemic put an end to our hiring of overseas music teachers and we haven’t yet resumed, and I’ll explain why.

Government of India regulations stipulate that foreign passport-holding music teachers must be paid a minimum of INR 16 lakh a year; it therefore made economic sense to use their services to the fullest, having committed to the expense. But the biggest challenge we faced when we employed overseas music teachers being paid such a salary was to fill their morning slots while the children were at school.

So, I’d like to again make a public appeal to all people invested in mainstream school education, especially those working with the underprivileged or lesser-privileged children, but not necessarily restricted to that sector: principals, headmasters, headmistresses, teachers, people on school administration boards. If you are even mildly interested in exploring the idea of having an orchestra and/or music education in your institution, please do get in touch. Our handle for all social media is @childsplayindia.

Our focus is orchestra and choir. Marie Bejstam, the experienced choral leader and trainer from Sweden who has worked with children in Goa for two consecutive years (and this year with adults as well) is keen to form a durable partnership with interested schools, so do get in touch for this too.

All we need is one enthusiastic (preferably more than one, but one will do for a start) partner in a school who is willing to go the distance, long-term, in investing in an in-school children’s music education programme. If there is a reasonable commitment for this, then the sponsorship for teacher salaries and purchasing instruments can be raised. The fund-raising is not as much a hurdle as the will and commitment to make this dream a reality.

We Goans get so complacent with self-praise that we become blind to both, our lacunae and to possibilities. Let’s face it: we don’t really have a grass-roots widespread youth orchestra initiative in the true sense, offering high-quality instruction in all orchestral disciplines, (upper and lower strings, all the woodwind and brass instruments) either in Goa and much less elsewhere in India. It follows therefore that we don’t have a National Youth Orchestra in the sense and of the calibre accepted as standard in the rest of the world.

The reason is obvious: we just haven’t invested comprehensively, sufficiently or sincerely (as yet) in the basic concept of music education. But we can start now, and Goa is the perfect place for this.

The extra-musical benefits of music education in young people are well-documented: improved cognitive skills like memory and problem-solving, enhanced creativity, increased confidence, better social skills through teamwork, and even positive impacts on language development and overall well-being.

Orchestras in schools would be hands-on instruction in these values: teamwork, discipline, practice makes perfect; hard work pays off; and creating literal and figurative harmony in that beautiful microcosm of society: the orchestra.

(Dr. Luis Dias is a

physician, musician, writer and founder of Child’s Play

India Foundation. He blogs at luisdias.wordpress.com)

Herald Goa
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