Mr Rowlands was responding to a short debate in the Senedd on ‘Creating a musical Wales for the 21st century: access, well-being and opportunity’.
He said:
“Music to me is really, really important. I remember the first instrument I learnt was the recorder. After that I moved on to the clarinet as I got more proficient playing the recorder. In my GCSEs, on the drums and then, my A-level music on the guitar, and I've loved music through all my life.
“Music is important to our culture, but the importance of music to mental well-being is what I want to highlight and it can also be great for families. My daughters are having piano lessons.
“I would also like to highlight the great work being carried out by charities, co-operatives, and those in educational settings in improving access to music because of the exceptional benefits it can bring.
“A great example of this is the Denbighshire and Wrexham music co-operative who I had the pleasure of meeting in September, they provide a live stream performance to local schools, showing children a range of instruments, and actually allowing them to have access to instruments and music which they may not usually experience.
“This type of support and contribution by charities and co-operatives should be encouraged and supported.”
