The harmony made when research and performance collide

During my degree, learning that black women played a role in classical musical history was a turning point for me. For the first time, I saw a huge part of who I am reflected in this history. I'd never come across women of African descent in classical music before until that moment.

So, the natural next step for me was to explore this rich history by playing some of the music.

I actually became the pianist that I didn't know I was preparing to become.

I was able to tell the stories of the women that went before me, who laid the foundations for me to become the pianist I probably could never have dreamed of being.

Lift as we climb

As a performer, I play a lot of music by women, lots of 20th and 21st century music, and a lot by composers of African descent.  

But the main composer that I've championed for the longest is Florence Price, both as a performer and musicologist. She was a Black American composer born in the late 19th century, who rose to prominence in the 1930s.

She's experiencing a revival now, which is really wonderful to see.

Through my research, I learned that there was a whole network of women around Florence – a caring community – trying to lift each other up through their music.  

They developed a ‘lift as we climb’ ethos that contrasts with the traditional competitive view of classical music.

With my work, it is so important to me to immerse myself in the world of musicians I am studying. With Florence Price, I went to Chicago, Illinois, where she was from, and read the manuscripts written in her hand – I literally touched that history.

And it sparked an interest in dealing with those primary sources.

I think to be a musicologist, it is so important to learn directly from the source, to go through the archives and primary resources to get as close to your subject as possible.

And when I perform their music, I know that my fingers are going into the same configurations on the keys and enacting the same movements that their fingers did.

And there's a real personal connection that defies the way that we're supposed to think about research and scholarship, through very practical means.

Engaging with multiple audiences

Throughout my career, I've written for the New York Times twice, The Guardian twice, and the New Statesman. I've done interviews with the Washington Post and NPR, presented the BBC Proms, and been involved in lots of documentaries.

Academically, I have published books, written extensively about these musicians, and of course played their music in concerts.

It’s important to me to find these different avenues to share their music and to find different ways of communicating it as well, because that's a skill in itself.

I think my story is about being proactive, not just as a historian but by being and making the history as I go along.

There's no manual for how to do that. You must make mistakes, trust your instincts, and figure it out.

But the amazing thing is that once you start on that journey, you realise that there are other people with a similar vision willing to take that ride with you.