While it’s admirable that Chi-chi Nwanoku is forming an orchestra of all-black classically trained players (G2, 3 June), it is not – as your article suggests – the first attempt to create such an organisation. In the late 80s, former Steel Pulse member Mykaell Riley established the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra on exactly the same principles. They recorded three albums for Island Records and were widely used as session players. I had the privilege of directing a documentary featuring them as part of a campaign to bring back classical musical training to schools in Jamaica, which was shown on Channel 4 in 1990. The sad part is that, 25 years on, the issues for black classical players don’t appear to have changed very much.
Mick Sawyer
Brighton
