![]() That can be delivered in all sorts of ways and with any style of music. ![]() The challenges today are the same as they have been for decades – how do we engage the majority of pupils at school who love music outside the classroom with the music education that schools offer? At RSL Awards we believe this can and should be done by engaging pupils in learning about the music they know and love, most likely some form of current pop and rock music, probably using qualifications like our Level 2 and 3 vocational qualifications. Where do you think the current challenges in music education stem from? Not bad for a group of young musicians whose talent wasn’t recognised by the established exam boards! From those first students, we can now celebrate the success of Fraser T Smith, producer of Dave and Stormzy’s award winning albums, the 5 albums on Sony created by the rock band Reef, the amazing Mercury nominated jazz from Denys Baptiste, the drumming and DJing of Nathan ‘Tugg’ Curran for Basement Jaxx, Elton John and others, and the music education leadership of Martin Wright, principal of BIMM Brighton, amongst many more. So I set up Rockschool back then, now RSL Awards, to right that wrong. ![]() Those students were brilliant young musicians who were denied access to public funding to come on this new course because they didn’t have a grade 8, not because they weren’t capable of achieving it, but because it didn’t exist. At the time it also impacted directly students who applied to a pioneering pop music two year course I set up at the time with the precursors of ICMP and the London campus of BIMM. Back then if you played electric guitar, bass or drums no university or music exam board recognised either your instrument or the rock and pop music you played on it. What prompted you to set-up RSL Awards in the first place? Matt has been speaking with Norton about the current situation, how MIA members can be part of the future and a memorable musical experience involving Nelson Mandela. Norton York, founder of RSL Awards, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Music & Drama Education Expo last week, in recognition of the huge contribution he has made to music education.
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