BBC Radio 3 and AHRC to celebrate classical composers from diverse ethnic backgrounds

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

The radio station's output will be informed by new research into these historical composers

Composer Margaret Bonds, research into whose music has been given funding
Composer Margaret Bonds, research into whose music has been given funding

Carl Van Vechten / US Library of Congress

BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have named the seven successful researchers who have received funding to celebrate and give recognition to historical classical composers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. 

Launched in Autumn 2020, the scheme aims to expand the breadth and diversity of what is accepted as belonging to the classical music canon.

The successful researchers were selected with the support of an expert advisory panel of academics and musicians, chaired by Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, founder and director of the Chineke! Foundation.

The studies of the selected researchers will help inform performances and broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 by the BBC Orchestras and Choirs including a special concert later in 2021 which will showcase works of the composers featured in the research.

Alan Davey, BBC Radio 3 Controller said: 'Radio 3’s collaboration with the Arts and Humanities Research Council is crucial at a time when we want to inspire listeners by shining a light on unfairly forgotten areas of Western classical music. Hopefully this inspiration will draw in listeners from a wide range of backgrounds and with a wide range of musical interests.'

The selected research programmes are:

  • Musicologist and pianist Dr Samantha Ege, Lord Crewe Junior Research Fellow in Music at Lincoln College, University of Oxford, on American composer and pianist Margaret Bonds (1913 – 1972).

  • Professor of Music at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Christopher Dingle on French composer, violin virtuoso and conductor Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745 – 1799).

  • Musicologist and violinist Dr Maiko Kawabata, Lecturer in Music at the Royal College of Music, on Japanese composer Kikuko Kanai (1906 – 1986).

  • Conductor and PhD candidate Dwight Pile-Gray on Canadian American composer, organist, pianist, choir director and music professor Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882 – 1943).

  • PhD student at Bath Spa University and multi-instrumentalist and ethnomusicologist Ahmed Abdul Rahman on Sudanese composer Ali Osman (1958 – 2017).

  • Royal Northern College of Music Principal Study Vocal Tutor Michael Harper on American composer Julia Perry (1924 -1979);

  • Pianist, musicologist, and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Edinburgh Dr Phil Alexander on Scottish Jewish composer Isaac Hirshow (1883 – 1956)