BACKUK Government announces £85m funding for music in schools, hopes children leave “able to read and write music”
State school Music Education Hubs will be supported throughout 2020/21 so children have the “opportunity to learn an instrument or perform in a choir or a band”.
The Government has announced new funding for music lessons in schools.
£85 million has been pledged to fund school Music Education Hubs, which will provide opportunities for pupils to learn an instrument, perform in a choir or form a band.
The government-funded hubs will receive a total of £80 million through 2020-21, with a further £4 million announced for cultural education programmes – focused on dance, theatre, design and film – and £1 million pledged for charities dedicated to music education.
„Wir müssen international denken – auch in der Oper“
Die Geschichte der Prager Staatsoper verbindet Deutschland und Tschechien. Nun öffnet die Spielstätte nach fast dreijähriger Sanierung wieder ihre Türen. Ihr neuer Musikdirektor Karl-Heinz Steffens will ein international angesehenes Haus schaffen.
Genau vor 132 Jahren, am 5. Januar 1888, war die heutige Prager Staatsoper als Neues Deutsches Theater eröffnet worden. Nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg wurde das Haus in Smetana-Theater umbenannt. Es habe quasi einen „Kulturkampf zwischen Tschechen und Deutschen“ gegeben, der schon Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts begann, so Karl-Heinz Steffens, der seit August 2019 neuer Musikdirektor der Staatsoper in Prag ist.
„Und in diesem Haus spiegelt sich die goldene Zeit, aber auch die abgründige Zeit unglaublich wider. Das repräsentieren wir auch im Programm natürlich. Heute ist es so, dass man eigentlich diese Diversität auch irgendwie wieder zulässt.“
“We must think internationally – even in the opera”
The history of the Prague State Opera connects Germany and the Czech Republic. Now, after almost three years of renovation, the venue is opening its doors again. The new music director Karl-Heinz Steffens wants to create an internationally renowned house.
Exactly 132 years ago, on January 5, 1888, Prague State Opera opened as the New German Theater. After the Second World War the house was renamed Smetana Theater. There was a kind of “cultural struggle between Czechs and Germans” that started at the end of the 19th century, says Karl-Heinz Steffens, who has been the music director of the State Opera in Prague since August 2019.
“And in this house, the golden age, but also the abyss, is incredibly reflected. We also represent that in the program, of course. Today, it is actually possible to somehow allow this diversity again.”
Comédie Française et Opéra de Paris font affiche commune contre la retraite
La grève se poursuit à l’Opéra de Paris comme à la Comédie Française, deux institutions mobilisées contre la réforme des retraites depuis le début du mouvement. Musiciens, danseurs, techniciens veulent sauvegarder leur régime spécifique, au prix d’un blocage historique des représentations. À la Comédie française, le mouvement entamé début décembre n’a pas faibli : les représentations ont repris le 1er janvier dernier, mais avec un nouveau préavis de grève déposé pour ce jeudi 9 janvier par la CGT- spectacle. Au cœur de l’Opéra de Paris, le personnel de chaque corporation reste mobilisé, et les musiciens ont même donné un concert sur les marches de l’Opéra Bastille le 31 décembre. Pourtant, avec près de 63 représentations annulées à ce jour, l’Opéra de Paris connait le pire blocage de son histoire : selon la direction, le bilan de cette grève s’élèverait à plus de 12 millions d’euros de perte. Cette semaine , les syndicats ont donc eux aussi rendez -vous avec la direction et le ministère de la culture pour évoquer une sortie de crise.
Comédie Française and Opéra de Paris join forces against retirement
The strike continues at the Paris Opera and the Comédie Française, two institutions mobilized against pension reform since the beginning of the movement. Musicians, dancers and technicians want to safeguard their specific regime, at the cost of a historic freeze on performances. At the Comédie Française, the movement that began at the beginning of December has not wavered: performances resumed on 1 January, but with a new strike notice filed for this Thursday 9 January by the CGT- spectacle. At the heart of the Paris Opera, the staff of each corporation remained mobilized, and the musicians even gave a concert on the steps of the Opéra Bastille on 31 December. However, with nearly 63 performances cancelled to date, the Paris Opera is experiencing the worst blockage in its history: according to the management, the outcome of this strike would amount to a loss of more than 12 million euros. This week, the unions are also meeting with the management and the Ministry of Culture to discuss a way out of the crisis.