“It is important that we continue to ask ourselves the hard questions. If we do, we can all be agents of change.”
Meditations On: Arts Venues as Agents of Change
Recorded Live at the ISPA Congress 2023, New York
PUBLIC SPEAKING
“As leaders we have a tremendous responsibility to constantly look to the future… so that we are not simply adapting to tomorrow but are actively shaping tomorrow.”
From What can orchestras do to shape out tomorrow?
at the 46th Nordic Orchestra Conference, Helsinki
What can orchestras do to shape out tomorrow?
46th Nordic Orchestra Conference, Helsinki
(Wednesday 11 October 2023)
Keynote speaker at the 46th Nordic Orchestra Conference: Shaping Out Tomorrow, discussing what orchestras can do to actively shape the future.
Podcast – Meditations On:
Arts Venues as Agents of Change
2023 International Society for the Performing Arts Congress, New York
(Thursday 12 January 2023)
Guest speaker on a 30-minute episode as part of the third season of ISPA’s Podcast, Meditations On, discussing how arts venues can be agents of change. Recording in front of a live studio audience at the 2023 International Society for the Performing Arts Congress (New York)
AMA Conference: The Future of Hybrid
(Thursday 21 October 2021)
Facilitator for a panel discussion on the future of how we approach work in the digital age, with a panel featuring Jon Gilchrist (Executive Director, HOME), Julia Samuels (Co-Artistic Director, 20 Stories High), and Mandy Smith (Executive Producer & Joint Chief Executive, Pilot Theatre)
Turl Street Arts Festival: Virtual Music
University of Oxford
(Thursday 6 May 2021)
Panel discussion on the value and future of virtual performance in a post-COVID world, including Tom Hodgson (Ethnomusicologist and Lecturer at University of Oxford) and Sholto Kynoch (Pianist and Founder & Artistic Director of the Oxford Lieder Festival)
Incorporated Society of Musicians Conference: Building for the Future
(Saturday 24 April 2021)
Conversation with double bass player, Founder of the Chineke! Foundation, academic and broadcaster Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, exploring her career development from performer to entrepreneur, plus her thoughts on the future of the music sector in terms of diversity and inclusion, programming, auditioning and live performance
“Digital art does not have the same emotional power as live art. How can it? We’ve spent over 400 years investing in the art of live performance… in order for us to reach anywhere near the point where digital is as emotionally powerful as live, do we need to spend the next 400 years investing in the art of digital?”
From What is the Value of Digital Art?
The Future of Governance:
Future Boards – What innovations; which priorities; & who decides?
Clore Leadership and the Cultural Governance Alliance
(Thursday 26 November 2020)
Solo provocation as part of a series of provocations from the next generation of trustees, including Matt Wilde (Blaze Arts) and Tatum Swithenbank (Host, Producer and Roundhouse Trustee)
What is the Value of Digital Art?
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
(Friday 2 October 2020)
Panel discussion on the value of digital art, including percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, Lord Ed Vaizey (UK Government Culture and Digital Minister 2010 – 2016), music director and keyboard player Steven Devine, and chaired by arts consultant David Taylor
“What we’re talking about is a fundamental change in how we do what we do. So when you’re thinking about innovating, or you’re thinking about changing your business model and you need new creative solutions to the problem that we find ourselves in, then of course you need the most creative people around the table that have the ability to think in a different way. And that does not necessarily mean that our traditional organisational hierarchies are the best way to unlock that creative thinking.”
From BBC Radio 3’s Music Matters with Tom Service
How is music programming impacting on our artists and audiences?
Tŷ Cerdd in collaboration with The Privilege Cafe
(Tuesday 18 August 2020)
Solo presentation exploring the people making the programming decisions (based on blog post Are the right people contributing to the conversation about the arts?) and the approach we take to programming
Music Matters with Tom Service
BBC Radio 3
(Saturday 5 August 2020)
Solo interview with Tom Service about how the classical music industry needs to adapt and innovate in order to survive
What innovations do the classical music industry need to make to survive?
European Festivals Association
(Wednesday 10 June 2020)
Solo presentation on the post-COVID-19 future of classical music (based on blog post Does the classical music industry need to innovate to survive?) and the role of festivals within it
The Narratives of the Next Generation
2019 International Society for the Performing Arts Congress, Guadalajara, Mexico
(Wednesday 29 May 2019)
Solo presentation on Attracting New Audiences and Young People as Decision Makers, followed by a group discussion including Elisa Carrillo (Prima Ballerina, Berlin State Ballet), Mario Galeano (Musician, Composer, and Producer, Colombia), Leslie McCue (Artist, Canada), and chaired by David Gaitan (Playwright and Director, Magnifico Entertainment, Mexico)
ABO Conference 2018 – Collaboration, Cardiff – Us vs Everyone
(Friday 26 January 2018)
Group presentation with fellow ABO Find Your Way Leadership Programme Cohort 2017/18 (Claire Bayliss, Helen Dunne, Simon Fairclough, Nick Jackman, and Annie Lydford) exploring ways that collaboration could help address some of the challenges that we face; Can we work with the commercial sector (Us vs All Of Them)? Can we collaborate with our peers (Us vs The Others)? And can we work better within our own companies? (Us vs Us)
Record Review with Andrew McGregor
BBC Radio 3
(Saturday 29 April 2017)
Discussion with Andrew McGregor to review recent releases of twentieth-century repertoire
ABO Conference 2016, Birmingham – The Audience
(Friday 22 January 2016)
Panel discussion on how arts organisations can better attract younger audiences, including Liam Dryden (YouTube sensation), and Ruth Bertram (former CBSO Youth Chorus member), and chaired by Anne-Marie Minhall (Classic FM)
LECTURES & SEMINARS
Curating Diversity Course
(as part of Time of Music Festival, Finland)
(Thursday 7 to Sunday 9 July 2022)
Guest lecturer for the Curating Diversity Course for emerging curators (as part of Time of Music Festival, Finland), alongside Du Yun (composer and performer), Julia Gerlach (curator and producer), Vigdis Jakobsdottir (Artistic Director and CEO of Reykjavik Arts Festival). Key highlights included:
- Solo one-hour lecture titled Are venues a curatorial challenge or ultimate opportunity?, exploring the role and responsibility of a curator in the world that we live in today, and how this can be achieved as a curator in a venue context (including references to my own curatorial approach); followed by a Q&A
- Curatorial Clinic individually working with a small group of students, providing a space for students to discuss/present their own projects, discuss challenges, and receive advice and feedback
- Group workshop, in collaboration with other guest lectures, guiding students through the creation of a curatorial manifesto for the future
- Group panel discussion, in collaboration with other guest lectures, hosted by Johan Tallgren (Artistic Director, Time of Music Festival) exploring curation and diversity in the new music field today
The Complex World of Artistic Planning
Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (MA Arts Management)
(Tuesday 30 November 2021)
Solo lecture for the MA Arts Management course on The Complex World of Artistic Planning, exploring:
- The Planning Process
- Good Programming
- The Complex Role of a Programmer
- Working with Agents
- Developing the Artistic Experience
- The Ultimate Decision-maker
- Working with Artistic Personalities
- Repertoire Planning
Duration: 2 hours
Commissioning New Works
Royal College of Music (Wednesday 10 March 2021)
Solo presentation on how to build a profile as a contemporary music ensemble, the importance of collaboration, the relationship between performer and composer, and how to integrate contemporary works within programmes; followed by a Q&A
Duration: 1 hour
Royal Academy of Music (Tuesday 5 January 2021)
- Artist Development: Creative Programming for the 21st Century Artist
Solo presentation and panel discussion on alternative approaches to programming, including Adam Szabo (CEO, Manchester Collective) - Music without Borders
Panel discussion for graduating students, including Sir Clive Gillinson (Executive and Artistic Director, Carnegie Hall), Joanna McGregor CBE (Head of Piano, Royal Academy of Music), Tom McKinney (guitarist and BBC Radio 3 presenter)
Music Careers
City University of London (Wednesday 25 November 2020)
Panel discussion on music careers, including Bengi Ünsal (Head of Contemporary Music, Southbank Centre) and Martel Ollerenshaw (Art&Parts)