5 Podcasts about Black Classical Musicians
For people on the never-ending quest for their new favourite podcast, here are five about diversity within the classical music industry. If you enjoy our content - cool! Please consider supporting us on Ko-fi, where anyone who feels like it can bung us a few quid with no strings attached. Thank you.
Ellie and Ben, music students at Royal Holloway, are on a voyage of discovery to learn about the Western classical composers they don’t know so well. At the end of each episode they swipe left or right, deciding whether they should be included in a brand-spanking new canon. “Join us as we sift through a whole host of incredible musicians and show that classical music is a lot more than just Caucasian men from the 18th century.”
Performer, conductor and academic Dwight Pile-Gray hosts a series of short podcast episodes to introduce Black classical composers and their works in small bite-sized chunks. Each episode is 5-10 minutes, and just gives the listener enough information about a specific project, piece or composers so that they can then go and find out some more if they want to.
BAME/BIPOC opera industry personnel share their stories about the charm, challenges and changes they would like to see within the industry. The host is Clinton Fung, a Malaysian-New Zealand baritone studying at the Wales International Academy of Voice. This podcast has been paused for now, but there are six episodes to jump into with a variety of performers from different backgrounds.
This award-winning podcast from Classical Music Indy (producer of classical music radio programmes in Indiana) shines a spotlight on musical works composed by, for, and about Black people. Melanated Moments is hosted by opera singer Angela Brown and music sociologist Joshua Thompson. Angela and Joshua’s chemistry is electric, balancing fun, lively commentary with no-nonsense straight talk. Telling history like it is, Angela and Joshua share a deep commitment to be a voice for Black artists, as Black artists.
See the world of classical music through the eyes of Dalanie and Katie, two Black American classical musicians who are keen to be visible and show that their voices matter. Classically Black Podcast centres black voices and challenges ideas of what the field of classical music looks like. The podcast includes humour and references to popular culture with the aim of making classical music more approachable to listeners who are not classically trained.
Hannah Fiddy is a creative entrepreneur, developing new audiences for classical music. She has created and promoted numerous concerts outside of traditional spaces, including warehouses, pubs, clubs, museums, hospitals, prisons and even in Primark. Hannah is also an interviewer, writer and guest lecturer, and runs the Avon Chamber Choir in Bristol. In a past life she founded London Flashmob, producing quirky events from wedding proposals to cultural pranks for up to 1,000 people.
Follow Hannah on Twitter @Hannah_Fiddy.