The Heads of Instrumental Teaching Scotland conference took place in Aviemore on Thursday 30th and Friday 31st January.

The conference brought together a range of stakeholders with a focus on discussing the recommendations set out in the Scottish Government commissioned report into the future and provision of music tuition throughout the country. The report can be accessed through the following link:

Instrumental Music Tuition in Scotland Report

More information can also be found on the Scottish Government website with regards taking forward the recommendations.

Music Education in Scottish schools

The conference was opened by the chair of the Instrumental Music Implementation Group, David Green, who outlined the challenges, solutions and ideas for setting a strategic direction and taking forward a dynamic and creative instrumental music service. This view was endorsed by Tim Simons from Scottish Government who has been involved with the Instrumental Music Review Group from the outset. Tim outlined the commitment of Scottish Government in supporting the implementation of the recommendations. Tim also spoke about the opportunities presented through the National Instrumental Music Conference organised by VSCS on behalf of Scottish Government and in conjunction with ADES and EIS taking place in Murrayfield on Wednesday 26th February 2014.

Discussion pieces based around the recommendations from the ‘Instrumental Music Tuition in Scotland,’ report formed the basis of the conference work, with inputs from a range of professionals and practitioners, such as Fran Hanley (Musicians Union), Lio Moscardini (Strathclyde University), Mark Traynor (EIS), Paul Woods (HITS).
The first discussion looked at generating ideas for recommendation 1:
“Music Education, including the distinctive part played by Instrumental Music Tuition, would benefit from a National Vision Statement.”
This first conversation set a very positive tone for the remainder of the conference which facilitated the sharing of ideas and put Instrumental Music Tuition in Scotland in a strong position as it moves forward.