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So far, so good - I was very happy On one of the courses, at the end of Such despicable mean-spirited acts
to be playing and sharing music in the final run-through, one player was have no place in a hugely difficult
this way, and much of the music in tears - an overwhelming expression global situation where mutual
from the series is now in a set of of joy, the live playing meant so much. support and cooperation is needed
compilation programmes, still free more than ever before.
of charge and on the same webpage Each course took a huge amount of
www.laurenceperkins.com/inspiration time and effort to organise - far longer At the time of writing, I have two more
These programmes will remain there than normal because of the significant courses lined up for 2020 plus several
until the end of the year. This wasn’t health requirements and a possibility in 2021, and it very gratifying to see
enough, though - what about all the of last-minute changes - but it was more more courses starting up again around
amateur players, and all my than worth it, because they were such the U.K. - more joy for more players!
professional colleagues with as little special events for everyone.
work as I have? There is also the plight of school-age
The only fly in the ointment was woodwind and brass players, many of
It’s now well known that amateur an anonymous caller to a County whom have no opportunities to play
music making has been one of my big Council Health and Safety Officer, together in groups at schools and in
involvements for the last twenty years reporting “a course that does not music centres, again largely because of
through ‘Wind Serenades’ courses, meet Government regulations”. confusing and inadequate information.
which now has a big following. It’s vital that these players have the
Amateur players have had a truly This information was totally false. opportunities to take part in events - if
dreadful year, not helped by some That person hadno way of knowing they are left on their own, we will lose
highly inappropriate Government the meticulous preparations and a whole generation of wind players.
decisions which initially discriminated precautions that had been put in So, in response to this, I ran a special
against amateur wind and brass place - it was clearly a malicious act on-line project based on the traditional
players (as well as singers) - fortunately motivated by reasons other than health Northumbrian folk tune “Blow the
they eventually saw the errors of their and safety. Within minutes, that H&S Wind Southerly”, where players
ways, and the situation is now somewhat Officer received my Risk Assessment, could record themselves and contribute
better. DCMS commissioned the which was instantly approved and the to a nationwide on-line ensemble
much-vaulted Costello ‘PERFORM’ course was cleared to go ahead, which performance. It was released on
report, due for release in July, but this is it did without further incident. YouTube in December 2020.
still not generally available. This needs
to be properly published, to ensure that
we are dealing with real issues in a
responsible way, rather than knee-jerk
over-reactions based on inadequate Details of the project are at
information. laurenceperkins.com/blowthewindsoutherly

Happily, I managed to keep all of my
live courses going. At a time when
everything was cancelled, I managed
to run two live courses in late summer,
which conformed to Government
health and safety requirements, and
provided players with opportunities to
do what meant so much to them and
had been denied for several months.
The social distancing (meticulously
followed in all sessions) was not a
musical problem - wind instruments
can be clearly heard at a distance,
and it’s good practice for listening
in an ensemble! Speaking live to Katie Derham, 31st March 2020 on BBC Radio 3 ‘In Tune’

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