The official appointment of Sir Simon Rattle as the new Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra is not only wonderful for London - both musically and possibly also architecturally! - but it also provides hope for classical music in general. Classical music has suffered greatly in recent times with so many cuts in so many areas.

For 30 years, my mother was a peripatetic violin teacher in west Glamorgan, South Wales, visiting numerous schools each week and teaching the violin to hundreds of children. It is awful to think of the cuts that have happened in arts education already, and that further cuts could be imminent. These music lessons have both enriched the lives of those who have taken them, opening doors to the wonderful world of music, and at the same time also sowed seeds in young people, many of whom later in life have turned to the concert hall or opera to hear live music, thereby sustaining and perpetuating classical music’s very existence. 

In my last blog I looked at Bernstein's young people's concerts from the late 1960s. If he were still alive and could perform the same concerts today, how many children would really be able to follow them? They contain such detailed ideas. I fear that we are going backwards, not forwards, in terms of our capacity to be receptive to such ideas. All the cuts to arts education are obviously a big step in the wrong direction. That, plus the advance of social media, computers and the numerous quick excitements that are available today, is resulting in a world where receptiveness to classical music is being tested and the future is worrying.

The appointment of Rattle has brought more press coverage, to my knowledge, than any other appointment in recent years. It has generated discussions about the possibility of a new hall being built and has even had the likes of Boris Johnson and George Osborne getting involved in the process. I have yet to hear a musician say that they don't think that London needs a new hall. There is an absolutely firm consensus among musicians that we need a hall worthy of the great city that we live in and that the existing ones are no match for the likes of those in Lucerne, Berlin or Vienna. A new arts centre would have a hugely positive impact on music in the community, both in terms of a venue for world class music-making and educational work.

I feel very strongly that we all need to use this chance to seize upon the wonderful possibilities that could lie ahead when such a charismatic figure takes such a prominent role. Rattle has managed to engage politicians to actually think about the role of music in the community. By actively seeking to build a venue for 'classical music and outreach work', the ideals of arts education as a whole are given new weight, which in turn could potentially reverse the tide on the misguided perception that arts education is an elitist luxury. I am well aware that these ideas may appear both naive and idealistic but change only comes about when an impulse is both strong enough to carry weight and also happens to fall on open ears. 

Rattle seems to have his finger both firmly on the pulse of great music-making and also on the role of music in the community. How wonderful and appropriate it would be if we could carry these impulses forward, help to give them energy and sustainability, free them from unnecessary cynical criticism and even turn back the tide of the diminishing support for the arts. This really could be a very momentous appointment for London and the UK, not only musically but for the arts as a whole.

Thomas Carroll will conduct 'The Love Triangle', the next concert in Orpheus Sinfonia’s innovative series Beneath the Score, on 23rd March 23. Visit the Orpheus Sinfonia's website for futher information.