A FLASH mob took place outside the East Ayrshire Council building to protest the potential privatisation of music education in the area.

It comprised 10 brass musicians performing and was supported by members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS).

The flash mob kicked off at 9.30am and was organised by solicitor Ralph Riddiough.

The protest was arranged in hope that the council will change the recommendation in a new report to remove the Instrumental Music Service from education.

East Ayrshire Council are proposing that, due to a lack of funding available, the Instrumental Music Service should be outsourced to EA Leisure.

A vote will take place on Thursday to decide whether or not the privatisation will go ahead.

The flash mob performed at 9:30am on London Road (Image: Newsquest) He said: “I think decision makers need to realise how strongly people feel about music education.

"Every year it seems the councils need to find savings and I understand that but every year they seem to pick on instrumental music.

“If people understood that teaching children how to play musical instruments is part of school education, they might be slower to make cuts to education.

“Politicians don’t want to make cuts to education so they must think that teaching children to play musical instruments somehow isn’t education and they’re wrong.”The Instrumental Music Service could be outsourced to EA Leisure 

Alan Scott, EIS area officer, said: “This means that East Ayrshire’s children will have a much lower access to educational provisions.

"The members are skilled teachers yet they’ve been removed out into a trust. They’ll lose access to provisional supports and the children will lose access to well qualified instrumental music teachers.

“The decision that they're making goes against government policy, our government policy is that they should be embedding it into the curriculum rather than removing it from the educational service.”

All of the participating musicians play in various bands across the country (Image: Newsquest) The flash mob played ‘Change the Tune’ by Sandy Coffin, which begins with Chopin’s Death March and moves into Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.

This piece of music was chosen to represent their sadness over the cuts, which could be ‘fatal’ to instrumental music education, and the happiness they would feel if they chose not to privatise.

There were representatives from Kilmarnock Concert Brass Band, Dunaskin Doon Band, Dalmellington Band, Scottish Opera and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.