Upbeat: Playing on

OTHER ears will be tuned to the London Schools Symphony Orchestra, entering its third full year of survival after ILEA. Often called the flagship of London-wide music education, it is more like the tip of the iceberg: a mass of teaching takes place at the Centre for Young Musicians, just moving into new premises in Morley College. The whole operation is about to report an early achievement of its fund-raising target ( pounds 1.1 million in three years). Not so cheering is that three boroughs have to sort out how they can send pupils there in the face of more spending cuts: Greenwich, Camden and Hackney are still in discussion.

The LSSO itself has profited by sponsorship from London Electricity, currently up for a decision about renewal, which has allowed it to book soloists, plan further ahead, and even commission. For its next concert it has Nicholas Daniel playing a new oboe concerto by David Matthews. Many composers might be tempted to 'write down' for students, but skills are not an issue here. Matthews's challenge, rather, has been to write for the whole of a massive orchestra and not swamp the soloist. You can judge the results at the Barbican Hall on 18 September.