The third and final network symposium was held online on May 14, 2021. This event was rescheduled from April 2020.

Deborah Annetts, CEO of the Incorporated Society of Musicians and Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, CEO of UK Music, were guest speakers. Over 20 attendees from several academic fields and from the classical music industry discussed issues related to the network topic. Attendees prepared position statements, which are available on this blog. A reading of an excerpt from an early draft of Dzifa Benson’s new play Black Mozart, White Chevalier was presented. This was followed by a q-and-a session with the author. Benson’s play focuses in part on the relationship between Mozart and his contemporary, Joseph Boulogne.

Here is a video of the reading, shared with permission of the author. Please note that the script is a work-in-progress. The recording, a ‘scratch’ presentation, was made to give a sense of the play and to stimulate discussion.

The final network event will be held at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on April 4, 2020. The morning session will involve discussions among network participants. The afternoon session, which will be open to the public, will feature a keynote by Deborah Annetts, Chief Executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, a rehearsed reading of a work-in-progress play entitled Black Mozart, White Chevalier by Dzifa Benson, and a concluding roundtable discussion on the network’s main topics of investigation.

Participants will include:

• Toria Banks, writer and director, founder of HERA
• Dr. Leah Broad, lecturer in music, University of Oxford
• Dr. Carlo Cenciarelli, lecturer in the School of Music at the University of Cardiff
• Martin Cullingford, editor of Gramophone magazine
• Elizabeth de Brito, music radio presenter and writer
• Katie Harling-Lee, researcher and writer
• Dr. Lisa McCormick, lecturer in sociology, University of Edinburgh
• Uchenna Ngwe, performer, researcher, and educator
• Ishani O’Connor, learning and participation manager, Chineke! Foundation
• Dr. Michael Pinchbeck, reader in theatre, Manchester Metropolitan University
• Dr. Tobias Pontara, senior lecturer, University of Gothenberg
• Dr. Angela Slater, composer and founder of the Illuminate Women’s Music project

UPDATE: This event had to be cancelled because of Covid-19. If we are able to reschedule this event, or something like it, in 2021, we will.

The second network event will be a one-day symposium for network participants held at the Royal College of Music on December 16. The focus of this symposium will be on representation in the classical music industry.

The following network participants will give presentations:

• Doug Bott, Musical Director of Open Up Music
• Dr. Penny Brandt, Head of Development for the Institute for Composer Diversity
• Claudia Clarkson, Business Development Director for WildKat PR
• Dr. Lisa McCormick, Lecturer in Sociology, University of Edinburgh
• Uchenna Ngwe, Performer, researcher, and educator
• Ishani O’Connor, Learning and Participation Manager, Chineke! Foundation
• Dr. Christina Scharff, Reader in Gender, Media and Culture, King’s College London
• Dr. Angela Slater, Composer and Founder of the Illuminate Women’s Music project

The participants will prepare short, written previews of their presentations, which will be posted on this blog.