“But it lasted about two seconds flat because I love music and I’m stubborn about following the career path I started when I began learning aged four. “Of course I have thought about leaving,” Pipkin responded when asked if these cuts alongside the economy had made him consider abandoning the industry. Read more: English National Opera to receive 91 percent of original Arts Council funding – but for only one yearĪlongside audiences, Pipkin says it was “really hard” to watch institutions like the English National Opera and the Britten Sinfonia experience cuts, as he and other aspiring musicians had hoped to be employed by one of these, or similar establishments in the future. The oboist added: “Classical music is often seen as elitist but can you blame people for thinking this when schemes to go and see and experience it are removed with such force?”.

The English National Opera was one of many music institutions hit by funding cuts during the Arts Council funding announcement last November. The English National Opera for example provides so much outreach work and free tickets for a younger age bracket, and yet they’ve had 100 percent of their funding removed – what happens if the cuts continue at their current rates?” “I’m most worried that future generations won’t have the opportunities I had as a child growing up. But at some point money has to be a factor. “ it’s more about making and sharing music with people, indulging in our cultural past and making lifelong friends along the way. “I’m not bothered about earning a lot of money,” Pipkin elaborated. With degrees from both the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music, Pipkin told Classic FM that the cost of living crisis and ever-rising inflation in his industry has made life “excruciatingly difficult”.

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