Britain: The Guerrilla Orchestra and the struggle to defend the arts

Heather Bird, a Manchester-based classical double bassist, created the “Guerrilla Orchestra” in response to the savage cuts being made in music performance and education.

Inspired by the Dutch Radio Orchestra’s impromptu performance in The Hague Railway station, Heather has been involved in protest performances in Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. Heather, who has taught and played jazz and classical music all over the UK in quintets, chamber and large orchestras, explained, “Music education has been massively undervalued. We’re going to have a situation where only extremely rich people will be able to afford to learn music in higher education.”

Heather aims to stage musical event protests on a global scale, including transatlantic collaborations. She has been in contact with members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO), currently on strike in the United States. Her latest effort is to develop work with the “Youth Music” project, making music more accessible to disadvantaged children and young people.

We spoke to her recently...

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/guer-j25.shtml