Nicola Benedetti CBE has always dedicated herself to inspiring young people to make music. As she establishes a new foundation to empower more young people nationwide, her speech movingly reflects on her own musical experience and shares her convictions for why music education is fundamental to our future.

The speech – lasting 40 minutes – is now available for a short time for everybody to enjoy below. You can also find the film on the Classic FM website and a written extract of it on The Guardian website.

We hope you’ll be inspired by all that she has to say.

RPS Members are able to watch all our talks and events in our Members Area online. If you’d like to find out more about becoming an RPS Member and all the benefits in brings, like being the first to book for events like Nicky’s speech, you can find out more here.