Decolonize classical music!

The mixed-race English conductor and composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912). Photograph: Hulton Getty

The exam board of Britain’s royal schools of music is being urged to address the legacy of its colonial origins after research found 99% of pieces on its syllabuses were by white composers” writes the Guardian in a recent article discussing the decolonization of classical music. The articles also draws on the work by CMCI researcher and PhD student Scott Craizley who argues that “the exclusion of black composers amounted to systemic racism, and the ABRSM [Associated Board of the Royal Schoolsof Music]should make its syllabuses less white if it was “committed to seeing a more racially diverse intake of students entering conservatoires”.

Read the full article here.