Kiri Te Kanawa Advocates Against Closure of Cardiff Music School

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa recently joined a growing list of celebrities advocating against the closure of the University of Cardiff’s School of Music. The proposed closure has been called a devastating blow to music in Wales and the UK.

What’s going on: In late January, the University of Cardiff announced its plans to cut 400 academic jobs as well as its music, nursing, and modern language programs in order to avoid financial ruin. The University cited plummeting international student enrollments as one cause of its recent deficits. Widespread condemnation has followed the University’s decision, including petitions, letters in The Times, and a large demonstration on February 22nd. The opera star Kiri Te Kanawa recently joined the list of musical luminaries speaking out against the school’s closure, which also includes Sir Simon Rattle and many prominent Welsh and British musicians.

The implications: In a recent Opinion piece in The Times Higher Education, Ian Pace argued that closing Cardiff’s School of Music forebodes the end of musical scholarship in the UK. Pace notes that in recent years, the University of Cardiff has been home to the UK’s leading scholars on Liszt, Janáček, and Stravinsky, and some of the world’s greatest scholars on historical performance, French music, popular music, and Turkish and Yoruba musical traditions.

When faced with budget cuts, the University of Cardiff has chosen to prioritize practical departments rather than more scholarly-based departments, like its School of Music. The petition to save this excellent institution now boasts 24,000 signatures; we recommend adding yours as well.

Author
Recent Posts

Sara Schabas

Sara Schabas is a Dora-nominated soprano, writer and yoga teacher. She has performed and created leading roles with companies including Vancouver Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, the Dayton Opera, and Aspen Opera, and is a former member of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists. Currently based in Montreal, she is a doctoral student at McGill University — where she recently received the Wirth Vocal Prize — and editor of Art Song Canada magazine.