This paper explains how we carry out our research; who we choose to work with and how we devise our projects.
We carry out our own independent research and also collaborate with public and private archives, Musicologists, Universities and private individuals to understand why certain groups were or are underrepresented in our chosen areas of music-making.
We consider the causes and consequences of underrepresentation or marginalisation in the classical music world: these causes and consequences can be obvious, or highly complex and nuanced.
We try to understand why some historical prejudices persist in the music world, why new prejudices are created, and how to address them both in a positive way.
We find out what music teachers in the UK are being asked to teach – the content of the National Curriculum, GCSE/A Level syllabuses and other related exam syllabi – and we scrutinise the content to identify gaps in knowledge which we can fill using our Associates’ and Contractors’ particular areas of expertise.
We study concert programmes and repertoire lists to see where our work can help broaden and diversify the repertoire choices.
We network widely, to understand what is important to our Supporters (schools, churches, cathedrals, universities, music conservatoires, music teachers, performers) and Stakeholders (composers, writers, musicologists)
Working on in-copyright estates:
A great deal of the charity’s time is spent away from the ‘public-facing’ aspect of our work, as we research the sometimes surprising and varied causes and consequences of underrepresentation in the classical music world.
The charity has a particular specialism in raising up the work and life-stories of deceased 20thCentury composers whose work is still in copyright and for whom dedicated Societies or Trusts do not exist. (Copyright protects music or written work in the UK for seventy years – or sometimes more – after the death of the composer or writer).
Much of this complex work has to remain behind closed doors, especially when planning carefully with family members or friends of deceased composers how best to raise up their relative’s or friends’ work and life-story without invading personal privacies.
A substantial and vital part of our work on 20thCentury composers relates to the complex legalities around copyrights, Wills, personal property and the personal privacy of family members and others. This area of specialism is very expensive to carry out. It can take several years – and sometimes multiple lawyers sharing knowledge across diverse areas of the law - to develop enough accurate knowledge for the charity to share it with our Supporters.
At any one time our Associates might be working with one or more of the Trustees and multiple professionals and private or public archives to draw together information in our unique way. This work also involves intricate and detailed knowledge of specialist agencies such as the Performing Rights Society and Mechanical Copyright Protection Society.
It is much cheaper, easier and less intensive to raise up and publish the work and lives of composers and writers whose work is out of copyright but we know that our special projects on in-copyright composers’ and writers’ estates is filling vital gaps in knowledge not just for the general public but also for students and performers whose studies and repertoires do not fully reflect the landscape of music-making in the UK just a few generations ago.
We know that work of this kind of specialist research is generally too expensive for commercial publishers to carry out and is not commercially ‘viable’ (it doesn’t bring in more money than it costs to carry out and is heavily reliant on voluntary expertise). We believe this makes this area of work particularly important for a charity like MoV to carry out; if we don’t do it, who will?!
- Carrying out Research to understand why some communities have been underrepresented or marginalised in previous centuries (link to Research page)
- Learning how to identify the consequences of underrepresentation and marginalisation within the classical music world
- Listening to or reading about the lived experience
- Understanding what holds particular individuals or groups back
- Networking – archives, family members, Wills
Who we work with:
We work with Composers and Musicologists who belong to, represent, or have particular insight into one or more communities which have been, or still are, underrepresented in particular areas of classical music. They may be:
- Esteemed living composers who were in the tiny minority of their gender, heritage or other cultural community when they set out as professionals. These composers have insights to share with us which help us plan our own projects
- Young professionals who recognise that women, people of colour and those who belong to other marginalised groups, will only achieve equality in opportunities and in having their music performed if they support each other in creating lasting change
- Musicians who have trained or who work in other areas of the Arts who may be at the start of their composing journey and take inspiration from sharing our platform with their more experienced peers
- Musicologists and other academics with particular specialisms in areas of musical history whose work MoV can raise up to a new audience, introducing the general public to historical composers whose work might otherwise remain known only to a very small sector of the classical music world.
- Anthropologists, inclusion experts, and other professionals in social-sciences who can help us ensure that the value of our work goes beyond individual pieces of music or poems
- Project Partners who share our charitable aims and who want to work with us or for us to support our work or to share skills for mutual benefit