Tag Archives: Opera

Arts Council England’s “Ambition for Excellence Fund” and a twenty five year vision

In the Guardian on the 28th May 2015 “Arts Council boss promises more of a two way street”. The new CEO of the Arts Council Darren Henley was at the Parliamentary Jazz Awards at the House of Commons on the 10th March 2015 when I made an acceptance speech. I drew attention to the appallingly […]

Rattlemania

There was more Rattlemania in the Guardian on the 4th March 2014, with coverage of Simon Rattle and the Leader column exclaiming “Simon Rattle’s return can be good for music, for London and the national status of the arts”. Rattlemania egged on by a self-interested cultural mafia has got out of hand. The problem with […]

Arts Council England axes Jazz Services and provides a sweetener to English National Opera

In the recent Arts Council funding round Jazz Services did not secure funding. To put the cut in context it is always useful for people to look at the work Jazz Services has undertaken by visiting the last Annual Report – a labour intensive exercise with two more are on the way http://www.jazzservices.org.uk/index.php/jazz-services-resources-reports/item/773 Jazz Services […]

What goes around comes around – and around again

The Guardian reported on the 17th January 2013 that English National Opera had made a loss of £2.2 million for the financial year 2011/2012. Opera is an expensive form of music to put on and it would be easy to snipe away about under represented musics at the expense of opera. How ever there are musicians livelihoods at stake and the financial loss […]