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Big regrets: One in three adults wish they’d kept going with music, as A-level Music entries continue to fall

  • New research finds 34% of UK adults wish they had continued making or studying music when they were younger — rising to 45% among 25–34-year-olds
  • Final figures show 4,555 A-level Music entries in England in 2026, down 6.1% year on year and 51.9% since 2008
  • Just 3% wished they had kept going with subjects including law, engineering or accountancy

One in three UK adults — the equivalent of almost 19 million people — wish they had kept going with music when they were younger, according to new research released as A-level Music entries continue their long-term decline.

The nationally representative survey of 2,000 UK adults, commissioned by chamber orchestra London Concertante, and conducted by OnePoll, found that 34% said they wished they had continued with at least one form of music, whether learning an instrument, singing, studying music as a subject, being in a choir or playing in a band, orchestra or ensemble.

Respondents were asked: “What, if anything, do you most regret giving up when you were younger? Select all that apply.”

By contrast, just 3% said they wished they had kept going with engineering, accounting or finance, economics, business studies or law.

The findings come as final figures published today show just 4,555 entries for A-level Music in England in 2026, down 6.1% from 4,849 last year, even as A-level entries overall increased by 2.7%. Music entries have more than halved since 2008, when there were 9,465.

Among adults overall, 21% wished they had kept learning a musical instrument, while 9% wished they had kept singing, 7% studying music as a subject, 7% being in a choir and 6% playing in a band, orchestra or ensemble.

Nearly half of young adults already wish they’d kept going with music

The research suggested the feeling was particularly strong among younger adults. 43% of 18–24-year-olds and 45% of 25–34-year-olds said they wished they had kept going with some form of music.

Among 18–24-year-olds specifically, 14% said they wished they had continued studying music as a subject, twice the national average of 7%.

There were also significant regional differences. Londoners were the most likely to wish they had kept going with music, at 45%, followed by people in Scotland at 41%.

Chris Grist, Artistic Director of London Concertante, said: “These results show a huge contradiction in society. Music is increasingly undervalued in education, yet it is also the number one thing people look back and regret giving up. People really do value music — it holds an incredibly important place in their lives. For years, we’ve placed enormous emphasis on STEM subjects. Of course they matter, but so do the arts.

“The whole ecosystem of classical music — the players and singers on stage, everyone working behind the scenes, and the audiences who come to listen — is built on foundations that are partly laid down at school. We need brilliant teachers and schools that give young people the chance to discover music in the first place.

“The Government has promised change, but after years of decline, what matters is whether that ambition actually translates into more young people studying and making music. This is an existential issue for our industry, and we urge the new Prime Minister and his Government to treat it with the seriousness it deserves.

“But it doesn’t end when you leave school. We see thousands of adults coming to London Concertante concerts in their forties and fifties who have never been to a classical concert before. Our mission is to give people a route back in — through music they already know and love, performed by world-class musicians. Nothing beats hearing great music performed live.”

The Music NET comprises respondents selecting at least one of the following: learning a musical instrument; singing; studying music as a subject; being in a choir; or playing in a band, orchestra or ensemble. As respondents could select more than one answer, individual categories should not be added together.

A-level Music entries in England have more than halved since 2008

Final JCQ figures published on 13 August 2026 show 4,555 A-level Music entries in England, compared with 4,849 in 2025, a year-on-year decline of 6.1%. Across all subjects, A-level entries increased by 2.7% in 2026.

Music entries have fallen from 9,465 in 2008 to 4,555 in 2026 — a decline of 51.9%.

Source: Joint Council for Qualifications, A level by subject, age, sex and country, 2026 (Table 1); Ofqual, A-level outcomes in England historical data.

JCQ results: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exam-results/

Accessed 13 August 2026.

Population estimate

The around 19 million figure extrapolates the 34% survey result to the UK adult population using ONS population estimates.

Source: ONS, Population estimates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates

London Concertante tours extensively across the UK and Ireland, performing in cathedrals, churches and historic venues, with programmes built around music audiences want to hear. Its audience-led approach is designed to make classical music feel less like a closed world and more like something people can return to at any point in their lives.

Source: press release

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Chamber Music Weymouth (formerly Weymouth Lunchtime Chamber Concerts) has received the Arts award from Weymouth Civic Society in recognition of the contribution the concert series makes to the cultural life of Weymouth and Portland. The award was presented at a special event at Nothe Fort in Weymouth, attended by the Mayors of Weymouth and Portland, and by members of the civic society and other award winners (find full details here.

Founded in 2002 by concert pianist, pedagogue and Weymouth resident Duncan Honeybourne, the series presents monthly lunchtime concerts in the attractive, historic church of St Mary’s in the heart of Weymouth. Over the years, the series has attracted leading musicians, including pianists Margaret Fingerhut, Joseph Tong, piano duo John Humphreys and Allan Schiller, Penelope Roskell, James Lisney, and most recently Graham Caskie (who gave a spellbinding performance of the Bach-Busoni Chaconne at the June concert); cellist Joseph Spooner; violinist Catrin Win Morgan; and bass-baritone Timothy Dickinson. In keeping with the series’ mission to support and nurture young talent, recent seasons have seen performances by the Woolf String Quartet, pianists Lewis Kingsley Peart, Nina Savicevic, and Siqian Li, violinists Leora Cohen and Rose Gosney, and cellist Hoda Jahanpour. During the 25/26 season in addition to a wide variety of chamber music, the series also presented a special concert exploring the music Jane Austen would have known and played, performed by soprano Penelope Appleyard and pianist Jonathan Delbridge (playing an Austen-era square piano) to coincide with the author’s bicentenary in 2025.

CMW Concert at St Mary’s Church (photo by Jon Jacob)

The Weymouth Civic Society award comes at a significant moment as the series celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2027. This is also the bicentenary of the birth of Beethoven and the centenary of the birth of composer John Joubert, whom Duncan Honeybourne knew. These anniversaries will be reflected in the programming for the series.

Despite the challenge of Covid and the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, the series goes from strength to strength, enjoying record audiences, who praise the series for its variety of repertoire and artists, and for the low ticket price. Another important aspect to the series’ popularity is the pre-concert refreshments, served by a duo of loyal volunteers. Alongside this, both Duncan Honeybourne and concerts manager Frances Wilson (AKA The Cross-Eyed Pianist) strive to ensure the concerts are friendly and welcoming, while presenting world-class classical music in the heart of Weymouth.

The 2026/27 25th Anniversary season of Chamber Music Weymouth begins on Wednesday 23rd September, with a solo performance by Duncan Honeybourne.

Find out more here

Frances Wilson (Concerts Manager) & Duncan Honeybourne (CMW Artistic Director)
St Mary’s Church, Weymouth

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For over seven decades, a powerful piece of British musical heritage has sat in the shadows. But this July, the all-female vocal ensemble Corra Sound is set to change that. In a landmark project, the choir will perform and produce the world-first professional recording of Ruth Gipps’ dramatic cantata, Goblin Market.

The concert will take place on Friday, 3rd July at Holy Trinity Church, Guildford. A pre-concert conversation with Gipps’s daughter-in-law Dr Victoria Rowe and prominent writer and critic Jessica Duchen, offering a rare glimpse into the life of a composer who was once a “formidable force” in a male-dominated industry. The musical programme will also feature settings of Christina Rossetti’s poetry by other notable 20th-century composers, celebrating a threefold celebration of female creativity.

BOOK TICKETS

The landmark recording, partnering with the Great Little Orchestra and Convivium Records, will take place on Saturday 11th July with a release date scheduled for early 2027. Corra Sound has launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the production costs of the performance and recording, inviting the public to contribute to the project, helping to bring this important work to a global audience.

SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

This venture marks the historic and long-awaited world premiere recording of this powerful masterpiece, rich in themes of temptation, sisterhood, and female solidarity, and will be only the second UK performance of the work in 70 years. The project stands as a threefold celebration of female creativity bringing together the iconic poetry of Christina Rossetti, the masterful and long-overlooked choral writing of Ruth Gipps, and the voices of Corra Sound – an upper voice ensemble dedicated to bringing the works of female composers out of the shadows.

Ruth Gipps was a child prodigy and a prolific composer of five symphonies and numerous concertos, yet she faced significant institutional resistance throughout her career.

“Ruth Gipps was a formidable force – a composer, conductor, and advocate who carved out space for women in a profession that frequently excluded them,” says Dr Amy Bebbington, Corra Sound Founder and Director. “By performing and recording this work, we are highlighting a lineage of female creativity that has been side-lined for too long. Goblin Market is brimming with colour and emotional intensity and demands to be heard.”

“Corra Sound is an outstanding ensemble, brilliantly led,” says Neil Ferris, Director of the BBC Symphony Chorus. “This project forms an important part of their pioneering mission to uncover new repertoire and celebrate the works of often little-known female composers. The work they do is both ground-breaking and utterly essential to our choral music landscape.”

Dr Leah Broad, award-winning British musicologist says: “Gipps was prodigiously gifted and fearlessly determined and yet her impact on British music as both conductor and composer is still yet to be fully realised. This vital project by Corra Sound is a much-needed step towards redressing some of this historical imbalance, and bringing to light an important work in our musical heritage.”

Ruth Gipps’ Daughter-in-law, Dr Victoria Rowe, says “We are so grateful to Corra Sound for their vital role in preserving and championing Gipps’ musical legacy, bringing her work to a wider audience and ensuring that she finally gets the recognition she deserves.”

This ambitious undertaking is a grassroots effort to preserve a musical legacy. Corra Sound has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help cover the production costs of this historic recording.

About Goblin Market
Composed in 1953, Goblin Market is a cantata for two soprano soloists, three-part female chorus, and string orchestra. Based on Christina Rossetti’s 1862 sensuous poem, the work is noted for its lush, late-Romantic harmonies and dramatic storytelling. Despite its exceptional quality, following its premiere in the mid-20th century, Goblin Market fell into obscurity. This is the first time Goblin Market has been performed in the UK for 70 years.

About Ruth Gipps (1921–1999)
A child prodigy who performed at the Wigmore Hall at the age of eight, Ruth Gipps was one of the most prolific British composers of the 20th century. She composed five symphonies, numerous concertos, and choral works and even founded her own orchestra so that her works could be performed. Despite her brilliance, she faced significant gender discrimination throughout her career, particularly as a female conductor and composer in a male-dominated classical music world. While a recognized prodigy, her career was marked by missed opportunities, institutional resistance, and critical marginalization.

    Ruth Gipps composing at her Steinway piano
    Goblin Market score
    Ruth Gipps
    Corra Sound
    Amy Bebbington

    (source: press release)

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    “one of the most brilliant performers of his era anywhere in the world”

    Professor Colin Lawson CBE, Director Emeritus, Royal College of Music

    Gervase de Peyer as I Knew Him is an intimate portrait of renowned classical clarinettist Gervase de Peyer by his wife and partner of forty years, published to mark the centenary of his birth. A musician’s musician, Gervase was admired by his peers for extending the range of the clarinet as a solo instrument, inspiring many acclaimed classical composers to write with his tone in mind, and for the musical brilliance and flair that spurred his international career, including as principal clarinet of the London Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

    Praise for Gervase de Peyer:

    “It’s a real delight to have within these pages so many fascinating insights into the life of one of the most distinguished alumni of the Royal College of Music. Gervase de Peyer was an inspiration to many generations of clarinettists and his influence extended well beyond his own instrument as one of the most brilliant performers of his era anywhere in the world.”

    Professor Colin Lawson CBE, Director Emeritus, Royal College of Music

    “We’ve lost the man who gave us this utterly sublime clarinet tone….” Classic FM

    “Clarinettist who had Aaron Copland, Paul Hindemith and Francis Poulenc queuing up to have their works performed by him.” The Times

    “…an outstanding soloist and chamber musician…[who] inspired several composers to write new works….” The Guardian

    “Acclaimed as the most recorded clarinet soloist in the world….” The Independent

    Review copies (PDF and physical book) available on request

    For further press information, please contact Frances Wilson frances_wilson66@live.com

    GERVASE DE PEYER As I Knew Him is published in the UK by Kahn & Averill. Find out more