Hundreds of musicians protest ‘shock’ Cardiff University music school closure

25 February 2025, 12:37

Renowned composer Sir Karl Jenkins said Cardiff University’s school of music, where he graduated in the 1960s, may be saved, “if enough people make a fuss”.

Hundreds of musicians from across the UK descended on Cardiff to protest a proposal to shut the university’s prestigious School of Music.

On Saturday afternoon, the Cardiff University Salvation Symphony Orchestra, joined by Cardiff University Brass Band and other ensembles, performed the Welsh national anthem, the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus from Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 and Sir Karl Jenkins’ Adiemus and Palladio.

The Welsh multi-instrumentalist, who earned a BA degree in music from Cardiff in 1966, voiced his support for his much-loved alma mater in an interview with The Times.

“The school needs to be saved … Cardiff has been a beacon, so what will happen, I don’t know,” Sir Karl said. “But if enough people make a fuss, maybe something will come of it.”

Protestors called on Cardiff University to reverse its decision to close the school of music, after the university announced last month it could axe 400 academic jobs as well as shutting the school of nursing, music and modern foreign languages to contend with a deficit of £31 million.

Read more: Outrage as Cardiff university announces plans to axe music department

The music was preceded by a rally and march, where protesters including students, lecturers and sympathisers walked in unity from Museum Avenue to Gorsedd Gardens.

Third-year composition student Wilf Dingle, who is also president of the university’s music society, said: “Today has shown that the support for the cause is strong and lots of people really care about this. We have a lot of support across the music world. Lots of people have reached out to us and have taken action. Our petition has now been signed by more than 20,000 and is going up all the time.

“There is a determination to fight this every step and to make sure this doesn’t happen. While there has been shock and outrage and also confusion for what may happen in the future for younger students, there is a real sense of the community of the department coming together with determination and optimism that we can stop this.

“The music department isn’t just for music students. It brings together students from across the university with our ensembles and concerts because simply people want to do music and music is so important to so many. Many of them say they wouldn’t have come here if there wasn’t a music department. For many of them it is the light at the end of the tunnel after a long week of lectures and seminars.”

Read more: GCSE Music exam entries drop by 12.5 percent in decade-long decline

A Cardiff University spokesperson assured there will be “no immediate impact” on music students, but did not retract the proposed cuts.

“It’s important to stress that these are proposals – the views and ideas of our community, including staff, students and external stakeholders, will shape the proposals,” a spokeperson said. “In the short term there will be no immediate impact on music students nor their ability to complete their studies.

“We will also accept students onto the music degree programmes in 2025. We want to work with a range of external partners on the provision of music within Wales and will be working hard to collaborate on a sustainable approach to music education.”