What would the world be like without music – any sort of music? Much duller and less interesting, certainly. Silence only has its impact if there is a contrast; music is therapeutic when silence is too empty to bear; it unlocks the imagination and drives the emotions in ways little understood; yet it is a given that it will and does. Everyone deserves a chance to sample and savour its mysterious delights.
Music making in a group can also be therapy and it is completely affordable and inclusive. Being potentially a socially inclusive activity, it can open doors to opportunity. This was an underlying message in David Lammy’s (MP for Tottenham) address to the SJDK congregation and Boys’ choir recently. Lammy had won a scholarship to the King’s School as a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral. He calls it his ‘X Factor’ moment in his book “Out of the Ashes” – it was his ‘opportunity to rise above the canopy that was life back home.’ This opportunity is now available to the boys and girls of the SJDK children’s choirs.