Black History Month celebrations and resources
Hattie Fisk
Monday, October 11, 2021
Black History Month runs from 1 to 31 October, celebrating the lives and stories of the Black community.
Adobe Stock / tiagozr
To celebrate Black History Month this October, we're revisiting some of our articles that champion Black music educators and their work, and also articles that highlight the need for more to be done in music education to make Black history more widely accessible for students.
1) Q&A: Nate Holder
Professor and international chair of music education at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Nate Holder is also an author, writer, speaker and professional saxophonist. Holder publicly strives for more diversity in music education and is now a member of the advisory board for Music Teacher magazine.
Read the Q&A here.
Read Nate Holder’s blog #DecoloniseMusicEd here.
2) Quiet strength: Sheku Kanneh-Mason
MT’s editor meets 22-year-old role model Sheku Kanneh-Mason following the publication of his new collection of cello music. The cellist discusses everything from creativity, playing for enjoyment, to Brexit, music education and luck.
Read the article here.
3) A paucity of colour: Black Lives in Music Report
Ahead of publication of the first Black Lives in Music Report, Harriet Clifford speaks to director of operations Roger Wilson about what the survey results reveal about racial inequalities in music education.
Read the article here.
4) Q&A: Samantha Stimpson
With 20 years of experience in arts and music education behind her, Samantha Stimpson’s recent research for Music Mark addresses the question of how Music Education Hubs (MEHs) can instigate change to become more inclusive, diverse and representative. Find out more in this Q&A.
Read the Q&A here.
5) The problem with lists: Using the MMC's Musical Traditions list
How should teachers go about using the repertoire lists in the Model Music Curriculum? Kay Charlton from the Bollywood Brass Band takes a look at the MMC's Musical Traditions list, clears up a few confusions, and suggests a plan of action to ensure each music genre is addressed fairly and equally in the classroom.
Read the article here.
Black History Month resources
- The Black History Month magazine 2021
- Black educators' thoughts on Black History Month programmes article
- Chineke! Foundation
- ISM’s BHM playlist
- ISM’s celebration of Black composers playlist
- Black History Month resource pack from I Can Compose
If you have any further resources to add to this list, email hattie.fisk@markallengroup.com.
