Report to the People
Community Music Centre
In recent times, Inverclyde has undergone major changes. The establishment of modern, high-tech and service industries is reversing the damage done by the decline of shipbuilding and the long process of urban renewal is continuing.
While I am obviously delighted to see jobs coming into the community, I sometimes feel that we are neglecting another aspect of life: our culture.
I was therefore excited when I heard that James Watt College wants to establish a Community Music Centre for Inverclyde.
Their vision is of a state of the art centre of excellence, based in the community, attractive to and supportive of young people. It would offer music and audio technology teaching alongside business start-up support and the other services that young musicians need, such as rehearsal areas, recording studios, a performance venue and a PC suite. Young people’s involvement will be ensured through partnership with the Inverclyde Youth Council.
This facility would make it much easier for young musicians to take the all-important first step into the professional music industry. Presently, the financial outlay required by a new band to put on its first gig makes the experience too much of a gamble. A ready-made performance venue and some basic business skills would undoubtedly make this leap a great deal easier, releasing more of our young talent.
I wholeheartedly support this project and will be meeting with senior college management in the New Year to discuss how I, together with my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament, can help make this vision a reality.
You may call me cynical, but I can already hear voices muttering about "layabouts" and "long hair" and "that wasn’t what you called a job in my day." Well, this project is not about pampering young people and is not a soft option.
It makes both social and economic sense.
Music is an important part of young people’s lives in Inverclyde. For many it is their main link to mainstream society and provides a safety net for those whose lives are otherwise disrupted. For young people who have turbulent personal or home lives, music can act as a stabilising factor – as a constant.
Music also offers young people many routes to personal development and equips them with essential life skills. How could you stage a live event without communication skills? Or the ability to use information technology? Financial and management skills are also nurtured, as is self-confidence and self-discipline.
A centre such as this would not only benefit the students. It would also benefit the wider community.
No one would argue that supporting culture in Glasgow has not benefited the city. It has gone from an embarrassment, a byword for urban deprivation and poverty, to a world renowned, cosmopolitan cultural centre. This, in turn, led to improvements in the city’s architecture and boosted tourism and leisure, creating new jobs and opportunities.
Can anyone suggest one reason why Greenock cannot do the same?
At this time of year, when our thoughts turn towards our hopes for the future, what better way to mark the new millennium than by making Greenock a centre of Scottish culture?
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