London orchestra in new revolt at conductor sacking

Six months ago, we reported uproar at the London Schools Symphony Orchestra over the dismissal of its conductor Peter Ash. No reason has ever been given for his removal.

Now, parents of the musicians are telling Jonathan Vaughan, Interim Principal of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, that standards at the orchestra have gone dramatically downhill and that concerts are being cancelled.

The Guildhall, which has responsibility for the orchestra, is behaving like a pre-glasnost Kremlin.

Here’s the letter (you read it here first):

Dear Jonathan,
This is a letter from members of the LSSO community, including parents, students, alumni and donors, to voice our concern.

Since our last correspondence in November 2021, the London Schools Symphony Orchestra has seemed to be in a state of chaos. Under your leadership, numerous plans have been cancelled, and the organisation of the orchestra has been described by current parents as an ‘omni-shambles’.

We were of course devastated at the abrupt and still unexplained dismissal of Peter Ash, Artistic Director of the LSSO for 20 years, whom we note is still employed by CYM. We described him as the LSSO’s greatest asset, and his artistic vision and educational gifts are irreplaceable. However, in your last letter, you gave us your ‘assurance that the artistic and financial future of the LSSO is secure, and is of utmost priority to us going forward’.

Despite these assurances, the January concert, organised by Peter Ash to be an ambitious celebration of 70 years of the LSSO, was first dramatically reduced in artistic scope, and then postponed. The rescheduled concert saw the LSSO’s usual 20 first violins reduced to just six, and received little publicity. This week we can only react with dismay to the news that, having already abandoned Peter Ash’s 2022 edition of his international summer tour and replaced it with two UK concerts, you have now had to cancel these concerts, too. The reasons given by Geoff Harniess in his letter to LSSO parents are simply unacceptable, and are clear markers of the organisational and
artistic ineptitude that seem to be characteristics of the LSSO under the leadership of you, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Geoff Harniess.

We suggest that something needs to change. We demand a full explanation, both of this year’s catalogue of failures on your part, and of how things will improve.
Yours faithfully,
Members of the LSSO community

See also: The LSO drops a children’s conductor