The cellist Julian Lloyd Webber has called for classical academies and conservatoires to end all one-to-one music teaching.
Webber’s comments came after the news that a senior professor at London's Royal College of Music (RCM), head of strings Mark Messenger, has been suspended following allegations of misconduct. Opened in 1883, the RCM counts Gustav Holst, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Benjamin Britten among its alumni.
'There is no need for one-to-one tuition to continue,' said Lloyd Webber, who studied at the college in Kensington as a boy, as did his older brother Andrew. The boys’ father, the composer William Lloyd Webber, also taught at the college for many years. 'I personally think groups of three are the best size now for any lesson,' Lloyd Webber continued. 'It would mean there was much more openness and accountability.'
Mark Messenger has served as head of strings at the RCM for 20 years, but was suspended on Friday 6 October following 'complaints received', as first reported on the classical music blog Slipped Disc.
Messenger, who also conducts and plays violin professionally, has a key role in the teaching of stringed instruments at the college. As well as overseeing the selection of students, he also recommends the most talented players for roles in some of Britain’s top orchestras.
Since stepping back from a successful concert career, Lloyd Webber has himself moved into teaching. He served as principal of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire from 2015 to 2020, and still does some teaching there. Speaking to The Guardian, he questioned the traditional notion that one-to-one teaching is always the best way for students to learn.
'Often students can learn from watching each other gradually improve, as well as from their teachers,' he said. 'It is certainly not a disadvantage for anyone and I urge institutions to impose this rule of having at least three students together for a lesson,' he said.
It is understood that Mark Messenger denies the claims made against him, but has as yet made no public comment.
Royal College of Music pic: Chris Christodolou
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