Paisley Choral Festival
The final item of business is a debate on motion S2M-3148, in the name of Miss Annabel Goldie, on Paisley choral festival. All members who want to take part in the debate should press their request-to-speak buttons now. I am sorry, I should have said both members; there is scope for others to join the debate.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the recent launch by Voices in Paisley of the Paisley Choral Festival to be held between 30 September and 15 October 2005; congratulates the organisers on their commitment and vision; acknowledges the valuable support and encouragement given by Renfrewshire Council and other local bodies and organisations, and commends this initiative, not only for both harnessing and nurturing musical ability within the area, but also for being a contributor to the wider economic, social and cultural regeneration of Paisley.
It is with much pleasure that I speak to the motion in my name. As a first assurance, I give the chamber my undertaking that I will not break into song—either as a solo or in a duet—because I have no wish to prejudice the cause of Voices in Paisley.
It is often the case in life that some of our most enjoyable journeys have improbable starting points. In March last year, when I got an invitation to attend a choral evening on a Friday night in the Wynd Centre in Paisley, my interest was not immediately aroused. However, no one who underwent their primary and secondary schooling in the Renfrewshire and Inverclyde areas is unfamiliar with or immune to the pleasure of music. Both those areas have a very strong musical tradition, so I decided that I would go along to the concert; I was not disappointed, because musical talent from Paisley and the surrounding area was abundant. If that talent was exciting, no less refreshing was the enthusiasm of the participants.
At the end of the concert, I was approached by the organisers to see what I had thought of the evening. They also wanted to seek my views on a plan to have a choral festival in the following October, with a view to making that festival a cultural highlight for Paisley and putting Paisley on the cultural map of Scotland. I paused, but only momentarily, because it seemed to me that the talent and the focus and enthusiasm that I had just witnessed demonstrated that that idea was not only brilliant but sustainable.
Indeed, that first foot in the festival water in October last year made a very big splash. One of my pleasures was to attend the schools concert part of the programme that had received great support from Renfrewshire Council. Some members might remember that the Renfrewshire children's choir under Christine Badger was a star turn at an Edinburgh carol service in which MSPs participated a couple of years ago. The same indefatigable Mrs Badger was to be found at that schools concert in Paisley. The display of young musical talent was breathtaking.
Voices in Paisley had organised other impressive events for that week and, building on that strength, the group decided to try to take things forward on a more structured basis. In January this year, it was my pleasure to chair a conference on proposals for the formation of a Paisley festival company. All of us who were there were startled at just how many people attended, and the obvious feature of that attendance was the breadth of appeal that the festival seems to hold and the breadth of interest in taking it forward. That has brought us to where we are now, with the prospect of an exciting and expanded choral festival being held between 30 September and 15 October, offering a wide diversity of rich musical entertainment. Perhaps equally important, the festival offers an opportunity to people of all ages and backgrounds to participate, either musically or as audience members.
My reasons for bringing this evening's motion before the Parliament are threefold. First, I wanted to pay tribute to the spirit and determination of the musicians who created an exciting addition to the cultural calendar not just of Renfrewshire but of Scotland. It may be invidious to single out people, but the chairman of the organising committee, Tom Wright, and his lieutenant, Fred Hay, have been two doughty ambassadors.
Secondly, I wanted to acknowledge the vital support and encouragement that has been given by local organisations, led by Renfrewshire Council. The foreword in last year's programme, by Provost Ronnie Burns, said it all. It is right that we pay tribute to what local organisations have offered in support.
Thirdly, I wanted the Parliament to recognise that the festival, which had its origins in the celebration of music, has become a flagship for Paisley. We all know that Paisley has been buffeted by many challenges, and some would argue that it has had an unfair share of adversity, but the festival is providing a renaissance—a new banner of hope—and relaying a message that is positive and exciting. The festival has become bigger than a musical convention; it is putting Paisley back on the map. My message to the Parliament and those beyond is, "Let's hear it for Paisley and wish the choral festival organisers huge success in October."
I thank those MSPs who have supported the motion and those who are taking part in the debate. There is a great deal that we can do as ambassadors for the festival. I also thank the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport for attending and I ask her to note that, although I have not come with begging bowl in hand, I ask the Scottish Executive to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work that has been done by volunteers to make the festival happen. If there is any small gesture that the Executive might feel able to make to encourage a fantastic local effort, I urge her to consider that. If the minister's diary permits, I am sure that she would be very welcome at one of the festival events. I thank members for their attention and I look forward to hearing the other speeches.
I now have a much healthier five members on my screen. I call Wendy Alexander.
I begin by congratulating Annabel Goldie. In fact, I might go as far as to say that I did not disagree with a word that she said. This may be the only time for a number of years that I can make that statement and I am only sorry that I am no more competent to sing it than she suggests that she may be.
As Annabel Goldie indicated, the organisers—first Voices in Paisley and then the dedicated group that has been set up to run the choral festival—deserve congratulations and praise from all of us for their vision and ambition. It is now clear that after only one year, and on the threshold of a second festival, the festival will grow into a regular event not only in the town's calendar but across Scotland. Astonishingly, it is the only choral festival in Scotland and it is well on its way to becoming an event of national cultural significance.
In some ways it is terribly surprising that that should happen in just two short years. I recall a particularly wet Monday evening last November, when some of the diligent organisers whom Annabel Goldie mentioned came to see me saying, "Tell me what local businesses you think might be best for us to look to for sponsorship." I was impressed then, as I have been for the rest of the year, with their tenacity and willingness to cast the net widely in seeking to support Scotland's cultural life. We in the chamber sometimes rather lightly pronounce on the need for local leadership; in this case, we have seen such leadership in action.
We should acknowledge that, in only the festival's second year, public agencies have stepped in to make it happen. EventScotland, which the Executive set up a number of years ago, has used its regional budget to support the festival and the University of Paisley, Reid Kerr College, Renfrewshire Council, Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire and Making Music, the voluntary organisation for choral societies, have all done their bit. Now that the festival is established, I hope that a number of us can do our bit to attract the local business sponsorship that will be so important in the years ahead.
As for the festival itself, I have a story similar to Annabel Goldie's to relate about the experience of hearing music. About a year ago, I attended a concert of the Paisley philharmonic choir in Paisley Town Hall. On that Sunday evening in early summer, an event that I had gone to with a sinking heart, fearing that it would be another duty and wondering why I had accepted an engagement on a Sunday evening, turned out to be a complete pleasure. Since that time, I have learned a lot more about the choral tradition in Renfrewshire over many years.
I want to share with the minister and the chamber the way in which the festival—which, as I have said, is only in its second year—is attracting not only local choirs but choirs of national importance. This year, it is to be graced by the London community gospel choir. I must own up and say that I have heard the choir sing before; that was in the London Jazz Café on a Christmas eve more than a decade ago. I expect the choir to be every bit as impressive in Paisley Town Hall in a couple of weeks' time.
Looking through the festival's imaginative programme, I think that, in a week in which people's thoughts have inevitably turned so often to Louisiana and the southern states of America, the very presence of the Aberdeen chorus of Sweet Adelines International, who sing in a barber-shop style, will remind festival goers of music's place in bridging international divides and helping people through the ages to overcome pain and loss. Perhaps that is why the choral tradition is so important.
I should also bring to the chamber's attention the other highlights of the festival. An a cappella choir will sing from the works of Scotland's foremost contemporary composer, James MacMillan. Of course, as Annabel Goldie has pointed out, the backbone of the festival is the local choral tradition of the Ralston singers, the Barrhead philharmonic choir, the Paisley philharmonic choir, the Thomas Coates memorial society and many other groups.
Sometimes in the chamber there has been a bit of controversy about support for professional singers in Scotland. I think that, whatever stance we might have taken on that issue, we can unite in the fact that it becomes all the more important to support our outstanding amateur singers. After all, they are amateur only in the sense that they are unpaid; they are professional in every other aspect, especially in their love of music, their respect for the choral tradition and, frankly, the pleasure that they bring to the rest of us.
I urge everyone, particularly west of Scotland MSPs, to consider joining us at one of the festival events. The festival lasts for two weeks from Friday 30 September, which, as more observant members will have noticed, means that its second week coincides with the first week of our recess. It is all the more reason why we should look forward to seeing some members there.
First, I should apologise to the chamber, because I might have to leave before the end of the debate.
I have a connection with Paisley—I used to own a pharmacy just opposite the abbey. I do not recall whether any of the staff sang very often and most of my clients tended to be rather ill. However, I whole-heartedly encourage this sort of cultural development, particularly because of its community aspects.
For example, I recently attended the Johnshaven fish festival. I realise that Johnshaven, which is a small Aberdeenshire village, has almost nothing in common with Paisley, apart from the fact that it occasionally rains there. However, at the festival, there was an amateur Norwegian choir from a fishing port that used to send across a product for processing in the village. The whole day was wonderful, with good weather and lots of stalls and events. However, when the choir started to sing, even the open-air pub went quiet. People moved closer to hear the wonderful harmonies. The choir sang Scottish and Norwegian songs and all sorts of things. When the singers finished their session, the audience called for more and they agreed to come back and do something later on.
That example shows that there is an appeal in good, well-sung music. The human voice is a wonderful thing—although in these days of pop songs and so on one sometimes wonders whether the voice is involved at all—and there are some wonderful singers around. It is good when they can be brought together, as happened at the Aberdeen international youth festival recently, at which I was pleased to be a guest of an oil company. There were fantastic foreign choirs and choirs from different parts of the country came together, rehearsed for an hour and did three fantastic pieces in the Music Hall in Aberdeen.
Such events can happen, but someone must organise them. There must be encouragement for singers and for those who train them and encouragement at home. If the Paisley festival is to become the Eisteddfod of Scotland and be an alternative to the Mòd, I am all for that. The issue is about accessibility to the quality aspects of music as well as to the comfort and solidarity that some people feel and some communities use.
It is important that the Executive, local authorities and the enterprise agencies understand the importance of a small investment for choirs, which might be tiny. For example, it might be a hall in which they can practise for free or for only a couple of bob in the meter—although that might go up as there was an announcement recently that power prices were going up. That said, it is important that communities that manage to pull together an event as vital as the Paisley festival, in such a short time, get support.
Other issues are involved in such events. People must volunteer to give accommodation to those who have to travel to the event. Wendy Alexander referred to business sponsorship. It is amazing how many small local companies will sponsor in some kind or another. Scotland's large businesses are keen to get involved in such exercises. It comes under the term nowadays of social and whatever responsibility. The businesses willingly give money to good, productive events, often just to pump-prime them to get them started.
I congratulate Annabel Goldie on bringing this cultural note to the chamber. I was surprised that she did not try to sing, but perhaps there is a message behind that. It is important to recognise that people in communities get off their bottoms, come together and work hard to put on events such as the Paisley festival. I wish it every success.
I congratulate Annabel Goldie on securing time for the debate. Although I do not have personal experience of the festival in Paisley, it is clear from those who have participated in the events that have occurred there in the past year or so that it has been worth while.
Such festivals have an important part to play in our cultural calendar. Last year, the Enterprise and Culture Committee conducted an inquiry into arts in the community and one of the clear lessons that came out is that the vast majority of people's experience of participating in a cultural event is at a local level. That is why festivals such as the one in Paisley play an important role within communities.
Such festivals can also often bring wider communities together. We have heard that choirs from different parts of Scotland will be travelling to Paisley to participate in the event there. We only have to look at the experience of other festivals in Scotland to see how they can develop and become bigger and more important within our cultural calendar. For example, for the past six years in Falkirk, there has been the big in Falkirk event, which now attracts over 100,000 people each year. The local council estimates that the events that take place over the period of the festival inject approximately £1 million into the local economy. It has got to the point at which the festival has attracted some of the major bands that are now playing in the UK, from Snow Patrol to Bob Geldof. This year, we even had Tony Christie, who very kindly gave me his autograph.
The big in Falkirk event brings the community together not only through the council's involvement, but because commercial businesses are interested in getting involved in it. One of the biggest companies in the area—BP at Grangemouth—is now one of the festival's major sponsors. Alongside that, this year there was interest from France. A number of organisations and groups came across from France to participate in the various events that took place. Such festivals have an important part to play in giving people an opportunity to participate in cultural activities, and I wish the one in Paisley all the best. I hope that, as it develops as the big in Falkirk event has developed, it will continue to play an important part in our cultural calendar.
It is important that such festivals do not become parochial, but broaden out what they are trying to do. In doing so, they will attract more people to them, who will come along for different reasons, because they want to participate in different types of event. I hope that the festival in Paisley will seek to open up even wider, to bring in many other organisations that I am sure would like to participate in it in the years to come.
I, too, congratulate Annabel Goldie on securing the debate. It is important that we celebrate local festivals, artists and volunteers. I will follow the tradition of not singing in the debate, although I should perhaps reveal that I gained my Equity card through a contract with Scottish Opera. However, my card was secured, I think, solely because the interview did not include an audition and my interviewers did not get to hear me sing until after I joined the company. I will not comment any further on Scottish Opera, in the interests of keeping the debate consensual and focused on the local and volunteer aspects of the motion.
I will not presume to comment on any specific aspects of Paisley, as Wendy Alexander and Annabel Goldie have much greater knowledge of the area and have covered the subject very well. However, we are well aware—factually, through statistics, surveys and such studies from the 1990s as François Matarasso's "Use or ornament?"—that the arts and the voluntary arts make clearly proven contributions to confidence, self-esteem, social contact, job skills, enterprise skills and people's sense of belonging in a community. The arts benefit those who take part in them as well as their audiences and they are absolutely crucial for developing healthy, strong people and communities.
More than that, the arts are about uplifting the spirit. They feed the soul of people, which is so important in a world in which we hear so much about soulless communities. The arts, and enterprises such as the Paisley choral festival, can really make a difference. As Annabel Goldie said, such events are a flagship for the places where they take place. We need arts for art's sake, not just because of the perceived social benefits; we need arts because we are human and because art is an expression of who we are.
I very much support the call for cultural rights for all, which we have heard from our First Minister. I hope that we will see those rights put into place. We should remember that "all" includes those in old people's homes, those in hospital, particularly those in long-stay hospitals and mental patients, and those who are incarcerated in prison. That is what cultural rights for all means.
Finally, I congratulate the Voluntary Arts Network on its work. It is the body that helps and supports the hundreds and thousands of people who are involved in cultural activities in Scotland. I have organised an event on Monday as a chance for arts organisations to respond to the Cultural Commission's report. One of the keynote speakers will be from the Voluntary Arts Network. I will pass the transcript of what is said at the event to the minister, in the hope that she will keep the wishes and desires of the Voluntary Arts Network of Scotland close to her heart when she is formulating policy over the next couple of years.
The Paisley choral festival is an unusual and excellent subject for a debate and Annabel Goldie deserves credit for—
Mr Gorrie, could you lift your microphone stalk a little? It is bent down.
It is suffering from end-of-season decay. I beg your pardon.
I always enjoy visiting Paisley abbey, which is one of the finest buildings in Scotland. I am sure that it still has a good reputation, but I remember that a good many years ago—in the days of my youth—the organist George McPhee and the choir were famous. It is a great place.
Michael Matheson made a lot of the points that I wanted to make about the importance of local music festivals. I might come back to that issue briefly, but first I am proud to say that the Liberal Democrats greatly support choral singing. There are a number of reasons for that. First, choral singing mirrors a Liberal concept of life, because everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet; they all sing different tunes, but they meld together into marvellous harmony. That is a good concept of a Liberal society.
Secondly, although I am not an artistic person at all, playing in an orchestra or singing in a choir at a big choral event is the nearest that I have got to creating something artistic. When one does that, one feels a small part of the fire that Leonardo or Rabbie Burns had in abundance. Recently, I attended a do-it-yourself Verdi "Requiem" at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. I think that there were 1,300 singers, most of whom were people from choirs, like the people who will appear at the Paisley choral festival. One of the lessons that I learned—which is relevant to politics—is that although it does not much matter what note we sing, we must keep up; we must get the rhythm right or we are in big trouble, whereas in the general hubbub we can sing the wrong note and nobody will notice.
Choral societies are an important part of the fabric of society and festivals such as the Paisley choral festival are also important. I hope that the minister, in wrestling with the Cultural Commission's proposals and the things that stem from that, will discuss the matter with us and help to create a system for encouraging the festival in Paisley and other local ventures without stifling them and making things bureaucratic. We do not want a tsar for local festivals, but some people could do with help. As others have mentioned, people can learn from one another. A small group in Aberdeenshire may learn from people in Paisley how to do things better next time. We can learn from one another and create real, local, collective cultural activity.
There is a whole range of choral singing, from Verdi to barber-shop and lots more besides, so all tastes can be satisfied. Most people can sing after a fashion, whereas playing an instrument requires a skill. Perhaps we can become an all-singing nation. We are not as good at that as the Welsh or the Estonians, who sang themselves to independence. However, if we develop more Scottish singing, we will get over our inhibitions and lack of self-esteem. Organisations such as the one in Paisley are important and we should thoroughly support them. I will see whether I can get to the festival, but I do not promise.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to endorse the Paisley choral festival 2005. Like colleagues, I congratulate Annabel Goldie on securing the debate. I also congratulate her on setting the tone for the evening and putting down a marker that this would not be a participative singing event. I once chaired a debate in the chamber on Robert Burns at which members sang—it has been remarked to me on a number of occasions since that it is surprising that my enthusiasm for Burns is still as strong as ever.
Launched by Voices in Paisley, the festival will do much to support the attempts by Paisley to claim the title of Scotland's choir town and it promises to be a nationally prominent event. Paisley will resound to performances by prestigious, internationally recognised professional choirs and by local choirs with wide-ranging experience and abilities.
In Scotland today, there is a real buzz in our music industry, particularly in our traditional music. We know that we all enjoy music, whether listening to it or taking part in it. I agree with Chris Ballance that the enriching experience that we get from music makes it paramount that we provide the right atmosphere for music to flourish.
I am not quite the right person to judge whether Donald Gorrie is correct in saying that choral singing is a particularly Liberal Democrat undertaking, although I think that the writers of the "Little Red Songbook" might have had something to say about that.
An example of how we help to support singing and other musical initiatives to flourish is our youth music initiative, through which we have invested £17.5 million over three years. The core aim of the initiative is to ensure that by 2006 all schoolchildren should have had access to one year's free music tuition by the time they reach primary 6. Of course, that includes vocal tuition. The initiative is a tremendous undertaking. I am pleased to say that we have invested another £10 million a year for the next three years in youth music.
The Scottish Executive, through its funding of the Scottish Arts Council, is committed to making music accessible to all. Indeed, the SAC allocates around a third of its budget to nationally significant organisations and festivals. As the lottery distributor in Scotland for the arts, the SAC has provided funding to Voices in Paisley through the awards for all programme. As Wendy Alexander indicated, the festival has also been supported through EventScotland's regional events programme and was awarded a total of £7,750 to help it to develop and grow.
Of course, it is not just the Scottish Executive and the SAC that provide support to our musicians and artists. Local authorities and the voluntary and private sectors are also important in that respect. Indeed, it is estimated that local authorities provide more than half of public sector arts funding in Scotland. The difference that an enthusiastic and supportive local authority can make to cultural provision in its area is immense, as is demonstrated through the depth and breadth of local arts organisations in Renfrewshire. Due to extensive upgrading and an attractive townscape, Paisley now has a collection of good venues for an event such as the choral festival.
As Annabel Goldie indicated, it is important to remember that a great deal of cultural activity in Scotland is undertaken by the voluntary sector. The voluntary sector is a source of tremendous experience, energy and talent and voluntary groups such as Voices in Paisley are ideally placed to help to ensure the broadest possible access to cultural activity in Scotland.
I am pleased to note that the private sector has played a key role in the provision of business sponsorship to the Paisley choral festival. I firmly believe that a joined-up approach across the sectors and at national and local levels, providing seamless support, has to be the way forward if we are to make our mark internationally.
The Paisley choral festival is also a good example of how cultural activity can be the springboard for other activities. The Paisley Festival Company now promotes a range of concerts by visiting and local choirs, together with educational and training activities and events for community participation. The company aims to build on the strong musical tradition in the area and I am sure that it will also do much for the wider economic, social and cultural regeneration of Paisley and the surrounding area.
As Ms Goldie will know, we aim for Scotland to become a major events destination by 2015. However, we do not wish to attract just major events from outwith our shores; we also want to encourage local festivals and events to flourish. In that context it is particularly encouraging to hear that Renfrewshire Council and its partners are proposing to develop an events strategy for the region and are aiming to draw in external funding to support cultural networks.
It is important that Voices in Paisley and the Paisley Festival Company ensure that all other viable sources of funding are being utilised and that as much community engagement as possible is built into the festival. That will broaden the festival's appeal, draw in audiences and participants to the world of choral singing and, we hope, inspire young people to get involved, too.
Chris Ballance spoke about the benefits that he saw in the arts and culture; I believe that those benefits are beyond doubt. The Executive's response to the Cultural Commission's report will be underpinned by our belief in the absolute necessity of providing all our citizens with access to cultural provision and by a commitment to recognise and nurture excellence. We and our partners in local government and the voluntary and private sectors all need to work together to support our festivals as they face the challenge of adapting to the future cultural needs of our country.
Scotland is now world renowned as a country of festivals and I am delighted that the Paisley choral festival will continue to contribute to our blossoming festival reputation at home and abroad. We should all take every opportunity to thank and congratulate those performers who raise the profile of Scotland around the world and contribute to the richness of our musical life. Indeed, I look forward to having the opportunity to thank the Paisley choral festival organisers when I attend the celestial voices concert on 9 October. Like Ms Goldie, I hope to see many members on that or other evenings.
Meeting closed at 17:37.