As you may know, Mr Douglas is widely regarded as a cultural ambassador for Belfast and for Ireland in general.

As a musician, he is able to hold a unique unprejudiced position in the hearts of the people and this is one of the reasons why he was chosen to open Belfast’s new Pounds 32.3 million Waterfront Concert Hall in January.

It was therefore greatly distressing for him to read Susan Thomas’s interview quoting him as saying “I went to the Protestant school in Belfast called the Methodist College”.

In fact, Mr Douglas did not and would never refer to his school as “Protestant”.

He feels strongly that religion is irrelevant to his status as a professional concert pianist, and he is therefore careful to avoid assumptions.

While recognising the necessity for The TES to be specific about the education of interviewees, we are left wondering whether the term “Protestant” would have been applied to a school founded by Methodists in England, Wales or Scotland.

ROSEMARY ROGERS Macbeth Rogers International Press and Public Relations 25 Richmond Crescent London N1