Serendipity kicks off Black History Month with symposium and concert

LEICESTER, England

The Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage will launch UK Black History Month on October 1 with a symposium and concert examining the place of black artistes and composers within classical music.

The Black Classics Symposium will begin at 2 p.m. at the institute’s headquarters on Bowling Green Street in Leicester. The event will bring together composers, artistic directors, scholars and musicians to discuss how the classical music canon has been shaped, whom it serves ,and who has been excluded from it.

Organisers say the symposium will place black-led artistic practice at the centre of the conversation, highlighting its role in redefining the field rather than being treated as an addition to existing traditions.

Leading the panel will be Antonio Cuyler, professor of music entrepreneurship and leadership at the University of Michigan. Cuyler is the author of several publications on diversity and inclusion in the arts, including Access, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cultural Organisations: Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Colour in the US. He has worked with numerous cultural organisations to advance equity in the arts, and served as Lyric Opera of Chicago’s inaugural scholar-in-residence with Lyric Unlimited during the 2024-25 season.

Joining him will be Alison Buchanan, artistic director of Pegasus Opera Company and an internationally acclaimed soprano. Buchanan has performed around the world with renowned artistes including André Previn, Dame Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo, Franco Zeffirelli, Luciano Pavarotti and Sir Willard White. She is the only black woman to lead a European opera company and was featured in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Also participating is award-winning composer, arranger and orchestrator Philip Herbert, whose works include Elegy, Ballare: To Dance and Silent Aria. His compositions have been performed by leading ensembles and organisations, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra and the BBC.

According to organisers, Black Classics seeks to confront structural inequities within classical music, challenge traditional notions of cultural value and promote a fuller understanding of the genre’s history and future

The symposium will be followed by Black Classics in Concert at Leicester Cathedral at 7:30 p.m. Featuring Buchanan and guest performers, the concert will showcase opera, art songs, spirituals and compositions that broaden conventional definitions of what is considered a classical work.

Organisers say the programme is designed to celebrate music that often falls outside traditional classifications while affirming a more inclusive vision of artistic excellence.

The concert repertoire will include works by Akin Euba, Jacqueline Hairston, William Grant Still, Scott Joplin, Dominique Le Gendre, Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Florence Price, all of whom have made significant contributions to the evolution of classical music.

Tickets for both events are available through the Serendipity Arts website.