Caithness children 'discriminated against' over lack of musical rehearsal space
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Caithness children who want to play music together are being "discriminated against" because of the lack of available rehearsal space, it has been claimed.
Susie Dingle and Katrina Gordon of Thurso-based caithnessmusic.com say group music-making remains "a casualty of the pandemic" and they are urging Highland Council to allow indoor venues to open up now that restrictions across Scotland have eased.
In an email to Caithness and north Sutherland councillors, they say: "The last remaining barrier which is still preventing our orchestras, choirs and bands from rehearsing indoors is a lack of availability of indoor venues willing to accommodate our groups. This problem is fuelled by an ongoing delay in policy decision-making by Highland Council."
Mrs Dingle, who is the conductor of the Caithness Orchestra, warned that the future of some local groups could be at risk unless they can find rehearsal spaces that are both affordable and large enough.
Caithnessmusic.com is a social enterprise that promotes health and wellbeing through group music-making in the county.
Committee members of the Caithness Orchestra had asked about the availability of the Ross Institute in Halkirk, the Drill Hall in Castletown and Watten village hall for rehearsing.
"They have all come back to us saying, 'We're not allowed to take bookings, we're waiting for permission from Highland Council to reopen,'" Mrs Dingle explained this week.
"So my latest question to the councillors is, 'Why is it that Kinlochbervie hall [in Sutherland], which presumably operates under the same rules as the village halls in Caithness, is happily taking bookings and the halls in Caithness are under the impression that they have to get permission from Highland Council to reopen?'
"Those are the halls that we have asked about because we know that we could fit into them.
"We know that either of those halls would allow us to operate the adult orchestra. They're not a solution for the junior orchestra, and the Caithness Junior Orchestra is the only opportunity for children in Caithness to play together in an orchestra.
"We saw a post [on Tuesday night] from High Life Highland saying that you now don't need to book to use any of their facilities, so there are no restrictions on using sports facilities, swimming pools... But because of the council policy of not allowing lets, these children that want to participate in arts activities are effectively being discriminated against.
"As we've been progressing towards level zero I've been asking the council lets department since May, as we knew we were heading in the right direction, what was going to be their policy and they kept saying, 'Oh, we'll tell you in a couple of days, we'll tell you in a couple of days.'
"Now this is not the fault of the very lovely lady on the end of the phone at the lets department. I suspect she is getting hassle left, right and centre.
"She said, 'I've got an email ready to go out to all the people who have always had lets in the past but I'm not allowed to send it yet because the council officers haven't decided how they're going to manage it.'"
Points made by Mrs Dingle and Mrs Gordon in their email to councillors dated July 30 include:
- "Since the beginning of the pandemic, community music groups serving the population of Caithness and north Sutherland have been unable to meet. While other activities have gradually been enabled through the easing of restrictions, group music-making remains a casualty of the pandemic.
- "The last remaining barrier which is still preventing our orchestras, choirs and bands from rehearsing indoors is a lack of availability of indoor venues willing to accommodate our groups. This problem is fuelled by an ongoing delay in policy decision-making by Highland Council.
- "Not only are council venues currently unavailable to book for indoor lets but the vast majority of village halls are also 'waiting for permission from Highland Council' before they say they can open. This situation makes it impossible for many of our groups to restart."
Wick Choral Society, the Caithness Big Band, the Caithness Handbell Ringers, the Health Choir and the Caithness Junior Orchestra have all been unable to restart, they point out.
Some members of Pentland Brass Band have been performing outdoors for 15 minutes every Sunday afternoon with Hymns in the Garden, live-streamed on Facebook, but have been unable to rehearse inside.
Pentland Brass Band juniors are now practising weekly outdoors in a car park, while the Caithness Orchestra has met in recent weeks in the Halkirk indoor riding school but this venue is unheated "and will become unsuitable as the days get shorter".
The email added: "We need big halls to be open and available in order to facilitate social distancing and rehearse safely. We are not (yet) even considering performances or inviting audiences as we are genuinely struggling to be able to get our groups together to even rehearse.
"Highland Council holds the keys to many of the suitable venues and councillors hold the key to unlocking this impasse.
"We need Highland Council to take a lead in facilitating the government's intention to enable community group music-making. The thriving amateur music scene in our area is an extraordinary and unparalleled asset which, in the current climate, we must take every care not to lose."
The Sunday Night Band has secured a booking for weekly rehearsals to restart from August 22 in the rugby club in Thurso.
Mrs Dingle emphasised this week that group music-making brings a range of benefits.
"We run the Caithness Junior Orchestra for children within Caithness to come and play, age eight and above," she said. "It's completely inclusive, it's for everybody, so that they all get that experience of making music together which is proven to be good for your mental health but also really good for retention when it comes to kids continuing lessons.
"There is so much research about how valuable group music-making is developmentally. It's good for your physical health, it's good for your mental wellbeing, and educationally in terms of helping academic achievement. But also, as people get older, there's a lot of research which shows how musicians are less likely to develop dementia and music has a connection for people who already have dementia."
It is understood that Councillor Raymond Bremner (Wick and East Caithness) arranged a meeting with chief executive Donna Manson and council leader Margaret Davidson at the start of last week to discuss the concerns raised by Mrs Dingle and Mrs Gordon. Councillor Bremner is himself the musical director and leader of two national competition choirs, as well as music tutor of two school choirs.
A spokesperson for Highland Council said: "The council is currently working on plans for the reintroduction of lets to certain venues. More details will be announced when we are ready for applications.
"All Highland Council school lets, both internal and external, are at present suspended. We will be in contact once we have any further information."
Highland Council has its own procedures for facilities bookings which can be seen here.
