BMC BLACK VOICES PROGRAMME BOOK - Book - Page 5
We live in a challenging world where hate is on
the rise and diûerence, instead of being
celebrated, is too often weaponised. Classical
music has not been immune to the eûects of
institutional racism.
Yet the roots of what we call ‘classical music’
are rich and diverse. The modes, chants, and
rhythms that shaped Western music travelled
westward from the Far East, through India,
Africa, and Spain to the beginnings of what has
become the hegemony of so-called ‘Western
art music’.
For too long, the contributions of Black
composers and performers were overlooked.
Many classically trained musicians were denied
opportunities—Nina Simone, trained at Julliard,
famously turned to jazz when classical doors
were closed to her. Only in recent decades has
the classical canon begun to expand,
embracing the extraordinary talent and
heritage of Black artists.
Our festival, in a modest way, seeks to
celebrate these Black Voices.
There are notable figures who have been
leading the way, not least the inspirational Leon
Bosch, who will perform his profound
arrangements of spirituals for bass and piano
with Beatrice Nicholas. Hundreds of primary
school children, many of whom have never
sung in choirs before, will also share this
repertoire along with Master of the King’s
Music, Errolyn Wallen’s, spiritually uplifting
