AMONGST all the arguments that have been made in the referendum debate, there is one which I have not heard mentioned.
It concerns the classical musical culture of Scotland.
I am a Scot, born and bred, and a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire (formerly the RSAMD). As a former full-time member of one of our orchestras, I have some knowledge of the personnel that makes up our cultural landscape.
A significant percentage of musicians in the RSNO, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Opera, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Ensemble, Scottish Ballet come from England.
Not only that, many of them fill most of the key principal positions, for example, leader, co-leader, sub-leader, and so on. They have earned these positions through the high calibre of their musicianship over some of their Scottish counterparts.
That is not to say that the English as a race are more talented than the Scots. It is about numbers. Given that England has a population of more than 50 million and Scotland only five million, it is only to be expected that England will have a higher number of outstandingly-gifted musicians than Scotland could produce on its own. Not necessarily better, but more of them. And so we all benefit. Our audiences at home hear performances of the highest calibre, and the prestige of our orchestras is recognised worldwide.
Of course this is made easy by being part of a Union which allows easy flow of talent from south to north (and also north to south, when England has the benefit of rich Scottish talent). But what would happen if Scotland became independent?
With complications of a foreign country, and international border, I suspect that this easy flow would become choked. The numbers of applicants of high quality would dwindle, and our classical musical culture weakened.
Furthermore, I suspect that this observation about classical musicians is also true in the world of academia, and medicine.
A brain drain and a talent drain? And for what? For an independence which is hardly worth the name, given that we could have a currency union where the Bank of England calls the shots.
Donald Macleod,
9 Millersneuk Avenue,
Lenzie.
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