Thanks, Biscuits!
My concern is that only a fraction of the teenagers on the MT pathway will make it to drama school/post grad MT diploma, even then only a tiny fraction of the talented performers on those courses will subsequently make it to the West End stage and, particularly for the young women, their performing careers will be very short.
In view of this, shouldn’t a responsible provider, like the Royal Academy of Music, offer an “all round” musical education for the Junior Academy MT kids, just like they do for the classical music stream? This could help the MT kids ace their Music GCSE and A level, opening the door to an academic Music degree, which could be followed by a post grad MT diploma for those still aiming for the bright lights of the West End.
Whilst every teenager is encouraged to “follow their dream”, and most are convinced they’ll be in the tiny group who eventually “make it”, an academic Music degree would offer a broader range of future career options (MT composer or musical director, schoolteacher, lawyer, accountant) when they finally jump off the MT carousel, whether in their 20s or later.
Break a leg to all those performing with NYMT/BYMT over the next few weeks! DD is on one of the BYMT courses, but I can’t say which or I’ll risk outing myself!