A reader has highlighted class as the overlooked factor in classical music, responding to Symeon Brown's argument that class is the 'elephant in the room' in conversations about race. The reader, whose name and address were supplied, points out that celebrated black classical musicians are often solidly middle class, benefiting from parents who could afford instruments, tuition, exam fees, and travel.
Working-class musicians left behind
The reader's son, who is white and working class, received free school meals until age 12 and still lives in one of England's most deprived areas. He won a scholarship to a specialist music school and later attended a top conservatoire. His closest friend, a black working-class classical musician, followed a similar path. Both were deemed too privileged for widening-participation support at master's level because they had attended independent schools, despite relying on bursaries and having families unable to fund exam entries or postgraduate fees.
Venues refuse to pay performers
The reader also criticizes many UK recital venues for insisting on conservatoire-trained performers while refusing to pay them, even declining to share retiring collections. This practice, they argue, excludes anyone who must work for a living.
Diversity schemes that ignore class will continue to mistake a few border-crossers for structural change, leaving the poorest musicians of every colour stranded, the reader concludes.
