Post-colonial Perspectives: Rethinking the Music Curriculum

Post-colonial Perspectives: Rethinking the Music Curriculum | 4th February 2021 | 7PM

Location: Zoom

THIS EVENT IS FULL (DUE TO ZOOM CAPACITY) BUT WE ARE ANTICIPATING SOME NO-SHOWS, SO PLEASE EMAIL US AT INFO@YPIA.CO.UK TO JOIN THE WAITING LIST!

The academic pursuit of music is at risk, and itâ€™s the responsibility of educational institutions to prevent it from becoming an afterthought of formal education. At the same time, much work is necessary to create a truly inclusive curriculum that represents the diversity of the pupils taking this subject.

Join us for a free one-hour panel discussion with leading industry thinkers on how the current GCSE and A-Level Music curriculums could be revised to incorporate a multicultural approach, problematize the musical canon and confront historic issues of institutional discrimination and racism within the music industry. Our panellists will talk about the problems facing school music, current educational policy, the impact of recent changes and more. There will also be an opportunity for Q&A.

We are thrilled to have the following panellists joining us for the event:

Rachael Adediran, Associate Assistant Principal, Head of Music, and Diversity & Inclusion lead at Skinners' Academy in Hackney
Nate Holder, musician, author, speaker and music education consultant
Ishani Oâ€™Connor, Learning and Participation Manager for the Chineke! Foundation (chair)

The event is free, and all you need to do is register for a ticket. The Zoom link will be sent out on the day of the event.

Rachael Adediran (LLB, MA, SSAT Lead Practitioner) is Associate Assistant Principal, Head of Music, and Equality Diversity & Inclusion lead at Skinners' Academy in Hackney. She has spent the last 14 years leading secondary music departments in the East Midlands and London and has a deep conviction of the importance of access to high quality music for all young people. Rachael came to music education through a personal love of music and a childhood spent learning Steel Pans and the flute. She completed a PGCE in Music at Birmingham City University and went on to teach secondary aged pupils in Nottingham, Derbyshire and Hackney. Rachael has worked with trainee and Newly Qualified Teachers throughout her career and her commitment to equality of access to education has brought her to her current role.

Nate Holder BA (Hons), MMus is a musician, author, speaker and music education consultant based in London. He is an advocate for decolonising music education and has been speaking, writing and consulting on the subject internationally for the past few years. Nate brings his passion and skill in public speaking into leading CPD training and workshops for schools, hubs and universities; helping address bias, underrepresentation in music classrooms, departments, hubs and boards internationally.

Ishani Oâ€™Connor (BA, MA) believes deeply in the power of the arts to create social change. For the past 3 years, she has been the Learning and Participation Manager for the Chineke! Foundation, where she manages two core education programmes: the Chineke! Junior Orchestra, a majority Black, Asian and ethnically diverse youth orchestra of exceptional young musicians aged 11-22yrs and delivering a programme of music workshops led by Chineke! Orchestra professional musicians for schools and community spaces, in partnership with music hubs and venues across the UK. In 2017 she helped to establish a new charity for the residents of the Draper Estate in London and as Community Outreach Manager there, she was a fundraiser and coordinated events such as cultural festivals, concerts, filmmaking workshops and theatre. Ishani has an MA in Arts Administration and Cultural Policy from Goldsmiths College, University of London, has played piano, organ and violin for over 30 years and is a Trustee of the Dulwich Symphony Orchestra. She previously worked for BBC TV Arts as a Researcher and as an independent TV Producer making educational films.

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