Page 121 - Final_RPS Awards 2020 Media Coverage Book

whose history stretches back into less enlightened eras. Black performers were once shut out of

leading concert halls - but in direct response, the extraordinary power of Marian Anderson's
performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial became a pivotal moment in the hard-fought

history for racial equality. It's powerful to reflect that, faced with such prejudice, it was a
courageous musician, and music itself, that changed minds, hearts and the world around them.

That was in 1939. Today's classical musicians do not face such appalling and blatant segregation,
but there is always more that can be done, and the musical world has responded in a number of

different ways to recent events. From organising a blackout on social media last Tuesday to
encourage people to step back and reflect, to looking at the number of BME composers featured

(or more accurately not) in concert programmes and study syllabuses, there is a general desire
that more can, and should, be done to make sure our world is one of open and understood

equality.

So what can I, an Editor of a magazine about classical music recording do? Firstly, and most

importantly perhaps, promise that all those working to address racism and overcome prejudice
have the support of my colleagues and me. But secondly, I can do what I have always done every

time when, over these past few years particularly, societies have felt fractured, their fault-lines
exposed. I can encourage people to listen. To open your ears and hearts to what music and

musicians might have to say, particularly through the voices of unfamiliar composers.

One doesn’t have to look far. The Chineke! Foundation, Britain's first majority BME orchestra, has

been inspirational in the UK in introducing many to classical music who felt excluded, and
introducing audiences to new composers that might once simply have not been heard. When it

won the inaugural Gamechanger Award at last year's Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, its
founder, double bass player Chi-chi Nwanoku, spoke passionately of all that is gained by 'creating

greater diversity, inclusion, and ultimately belonging'. The Chineke! Orchestra's recent recording
on NMC, Spark Catchers, showcasing six recently premiered works by BME composers, is a listen
both compelling and moving in turns. And another example: later this month the pianist Rebeca

Omordia offers an online version of her African Concert Series, promising an inspiring insight into
the rich musical diversity of the continent's art music. Learning of that, this morning I returned to

her fascinating album from last year, Ekele, an exploration of classical music from Nigeria by
composers largely unknown to the West, and enjoyed its explorations afresh.

Composers from the 20th and 21st centuries, given passionate advocacy by first-class musicians.
That's what our pages of course carry month after month, but if the only difference here is one of

race, then let that be an encouragement to explore, enjoy, and to render such observations
irrelevant for audiences yet to come. If I've journeyed in this article from the pain of prejudice,

towards hope and life, then that's not meant as a denial of the darkness of the moment. It's
because I genuinely trust and believe that music can indeed enrich and change lives, and even

the world. Let us listen, and, as the old hymn has it, let there be light.