The Birmingham Music Service has been a beacon for music education
through performance for over 50 years. Collaboration between educators
and top-flight musicians has nurtured new talent and opened doors for
all children to experience the joy and discipline of music. "They found
and sang their songs," says Sir Tim Brighouse in his foreword to the
book.
Improvising on a Theme tells the story of the Birmingham Music Service
from its embryonic beginnings in the 1930s to the present day. Drawing
on interviews with managers, teachers and students, and on the author's
experiences within the organization, it describes the huge impact of the
service on children's music in Birmingham. Analysis of developing
pedagogy reveals how collaborative group work increasingly replaced
one-to-one teaching, while more diverse musical styles and wider access
arrangements resulted in greater equality of provision. Key leadership
figures stride through the book, their styles dictatorial or collegiate,
but all of them shaping the service as they went. Concluding with
thoughts on how the UK's dramatically changing political landscape is
shaping music education across the country, this is a unique case study
of the genesis, management, delivery, evolution and future of an English
local authority education service.
