Out of the Cask: Celebrating Julia Perry Composer
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal Northern College of Music
Department Name: Research Office
Abstract
See pdf for full statement
| Description | When the award was granted there was a very small specialist group of people who knew about Julia Perry. She had been written about by a few academics and work was stored in manuscript form in three major archives with a few scores in published form and many in archival manuscript form not in a performable state. Since the award there is more awareness of the composer within the music and broadcasting industries through conversations related to the award. There has also been a dissemination of information through the podcast on BBC Sounds and the Afternoon Concert on BBC Radio 3 with the BBC Philharmonic and Clare Hammond playing Julia Perry's Prelude for Piano and an evening concert Rediscovered Composers 19:30 Fri 4 Nov 2022 BBC Philharmonic on BBC Radio 3 presenting what was possibly the premiere of Julia Perry's Piano Concerto no. 2 with the pianist, Kunal Lahiry, and introduced by the researcher for the project,. Through the research, the researcher discovered other scholars who have been working on Julia Perry's output and her life. Together with Dr Louise Toppin of the University of Michigan School of Music and Dance, the researcher has formed the Julia Perry Working Group! to coordinate research and activity on the composer and work towards a celebration of her work and life for the centenary of her birth. The group aims to pinpoint activities related to work, collaborate to bring information and research to a central platform and coordinate scholarship and performance into an international platform of celebration. In addition to these performances, the research organised and produced a semi-staged reading of Julia Perry's opera, The Cask of Amontillado. The reading took place at the Royal Northern College of Music and was limited to students, faculty, and staff of the college. The performance was used to introduce the vocal music of Julia Perry to members of the college and to explore her particular mid-twentieth-century vocal writing and learning strategies for your young singers. There were three main parts assigned to postgraduate students and a smal chorus of five women of mixed undergraduate and postgraduate levels, a postgraduate student conductor, staff vocal coach, and a répétiteur. The research acted as director, producer, set and costume designer. There was a separate digital set backdrop designed by a professional videographer and the lighting was provided by the technical team at the Royal Northern. The opera provided the all involved their first engagement with Julia Perry, with a mid-twentieth-century modernist composer, with serial music, and with a composition by an African-heritage composer. The performers were offered coachings, and rehearsals as they would have been with any other operatic conductors. Even though scores were used in the production, there was also basic movement and some choreography. This research has also reignited scholarship already in train and joined together efforts in scholarship in performance in the UK, the United States, and Italy |
| Exploitation Route | The work to plan an international celebration of Julia Perry's work is in train. There are plans for a major celebration at one of the UK's leading conservatoires and conversations with the BBC to continue exploring this work. There are also discussions about celebrating the legacy of Julia Perry and her family. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/orchestras/events/composers/d0ca4bda-82ee-421e-9a2f-64e4e002cb31 |
| Description | The research on Julia Perry has led to an international collaboration amongst a group of academics and performers dedicated to promoting Julia Perry's work and celebrating the centenary of her birth in 2024. These celebrations will take place in various places internationally including: Manchester (Royal Northern College of Music and BBC Philharmonic), Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan), Akron, Ohio (Akron Symphony Orchestra), Lexington, Kentucky (Julia Perry's birthplace). The Royal Northern College of Music will also dedicate a week to these celebrations including a master classes, and lectures. Our research and efforts have come to fruition and resulted in Julia Perry Week curated by the researcher, Michael Harper with the Research Department and Programming Department at the Royal Northern College of Music. The week was a series of lectures, concerts, and engagement activities reaching college, local, regional and international audiences. The work and scholarship that we've done together as the Julia Perry Working will result in festivals in the US in a few weeks time and eventually more available publications of Julia Perry's works. Though this has not had a specific measurable and immediate global impact, it has offered students, faculty, and audience within the targeted institutions and audiences of the BBC and various podcasts a broader sense of what the music canon should be - that is, including more people of colour and women composers. Julia Perry fits into both of these categories. The performances have potentially reached millions of people. The work has also allowed for some examination of the societal barriers to success and recognition in classical music by underrepresented composers and provided a platform for that omission to be rectified. This exploration has and probably will continue to challenge and change policy in public organisations programming classical music in the UK. This work and similar research has certainly had an influence and impact in the academic institutions in the UK. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | Julia Perry Workig Group |
| Organisation | Royal Northern College of Music |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I provided information about my plans for Julia Perry Week with other members of the Julia Perry Week. As part of our initiative as the Julia Perry Working Group - All of the details and information about research and performances of Julia Perry's works was shared amongst group members for international dissemination. Our aim was to give Julia Perry, her work and legacy international exposure. I curated a week of lectures, discussions, concerts and master classes with the help of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) Research Department and the Programming Department. This week, Julia Perry Week, provided a platform for discussing some of the research that has been done and the work to move closer to publication of Perry's unpublished scores, making them available to scholars, musicians, and the general public. The live-streamed events made the information available potentially to millions of people. The concerts and in-house events exposed RNCM students, faculty, and staff to Julia Perry and her music. The whole event added to the international celebrations that we as a working group intended to give Julia Perry as much exposure as possible during her centenary year. |
| Collaborator Contribution | For Julia Perry Week Professor Dr Louise Toppin, University of Michigan, School of Music, Theater, and Dance - author, publisher, soprano. was contracted by us (RNCM) to deliver lectures and master classes on Julia Perry's music and her related research to preserve and publish music by Africa diaspora composers. James Blachly, Grammy Award-winning conductor, Experiential Orchestra, New York City his new recordings of Julia Perry's Violin Concerto. Dr Kathy Bullock and Whit Whitaker - their activism in Lexington, Kentucky (Perry's birthplace) to preserve the Perry family legacy. Dr Angela Hammond, - vital information about the Perry family leading to more information about rights for publication. Professor Dr Gayle Murchison - her expertise on preserving the legacies of African-heritage composers and their music. Conductor Christopher Wilkins -curation of Julia Perry celebrations in Akron, Ohio where Julia Perry grew up. Conducted interviews with local people and scholars familiar with Julia Perry, offeing an insight into her life and personality. Dr Garrett Schumann, composer and music scholar - writing articles about Julia Perry in national media outlets (NY Times and journals) offering insightful information about Perry and scholarship around her work. Interviewing others participating in celebrations for the centenary celebrations including, Connor Lyster who conducted Homunculus for the Percussion Ensemble at RNCM on Thursday, 29 March 2024. |
| Impact | The collaboration has resulted in international celebrations of Julia Perry coordinated around her birthday. Julia Perry Week at the RNCM in Manchester. with Michael Harper, Louise Toppin, Samantha Ege, Nate Holder, and Nadine Benjamin Julia Perry Festival in NYC with James Blachly and Louise Toppin, Samantha Ege, Gayle Murchison, et al. The Julia Perry Project, Christopher Wilikns and the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Louise Toppin, et al. These events came about because of the collaboration and information sharing of this group. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | BBC Philharmonic Concert, Salford Studios - Rediscovered Composers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | On Friday, 4 November 2022, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra presented a concert entitled "Rediscovered Composers" at it's Salford Studios to an invited audience (through application for tickets) and a wider radio audience (BBC Radio 3). It was presented through a collaboration between BBC Philharmonic, Radio 3 and UK Research and Innovation's (UKRI) Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The concert was the culmination of the research work done by the scholars on this scheme. The concert had been postponed due to Covid restrictions. An initial concert highlighting the same composers had been given on Wednesday, 2 February 2022. The programme included: R. Nathaniel Dett - Magnolia Suite Part Two: No 4 'Mammy'; Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges - Sinfonia concertante in B flat Op 6 No 2; Julia Perry Piano Concerto No.2; R. Nathaniel Dett -The Daybreak Charioteer; Margaret Bonds -Troubled Water; Ali Osman - From the South; Kikuko Kanai - Ryukyu where the Deigo flowers blossom; Margaret Bonds - Montgomery Variations. The purpose of the performance was to highlight composers who have made significant contributions but for one reason or another have not been included in the canon or orchestral/instrumental repertoire. For the purposes of this researcher's work that composer was Julia Perry (1924-1979), a mid-twentieth-century modernist composer. Each piece was introduced on live radio (Radio 3) by researcher representing the respective composer. They were interviewed by the present, Linton Stephens before each piece was played. It was a successful and well received recital. For this particular project, it was significant that this was likely the European, if not the world premiere of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in Two Uninterrupted Speeds ossia Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra. (Due to a need for further research on Julia Perry's later works, this has not yet been substantiated.) It was the first time for the researcher and everyone in the audience to hear the piece performed. It highlighted the skill and talent of Julia Perry as a composer in creating a soundscape, masterful orchestration, and variety of texture and colour with minimal material. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ecb6gw |
| Description | BBC Philharmonic at Bridgewater Hall Julia Perry's Stabat Mater |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This concert was a result of the original collaboration of the AHRC/BBC grant to study the works of Julia Perry, to find extant scores, and work to publish unpublished scores to the end that BBC Orchestras and Ensembles would be able to perform and record Perry's oeuvre. The performance was the Stabat Mater with full string orchestra and Jess Dandy, contralto, as opposed to the string quartet chamber version that was performed the night before at the Royal Northern College of Music. These two performances will have been the first time that Perry's Stabat Mater will have been performed in the UK since Perry's time, if ever. The researcher, Michael Harper, wrote the programme notes for the piece. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk/whats-on/bbcphil-020324/ |
| Description | Blog for Julia Perry Week on Royal Northern College of Music Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The blog was established for Julia Perry Week to disseminate knowledge about the composer and her works and to engage faculty and students, and the general public. The Research Department and the Library were particularly instrumental in creating the content. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.rncm.ac.uk/blog/ |
| Description | Concert including Julia Perry's Short Piece for Orchestra - Friday, 1 March 2024 Royal Northern College of Music Symphony Orchestra |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The concert was part of Julia Perry Week. The idea was to insert Julia Perry's work into the regular features of the college and its concert series. A Short Piece for Orchestra is one of Perry's most played pieces. We wanted to introduce her work in the context of normal repertoire in an effort to normalise her works for the canon. Michael Harper was interviewed by a student who wrote the programme notes for the event and then invited during the performance to introduce the audience to the work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.rncm.ac.uk/performance/rncm-symphony-orchestra/ |
| Description | Diversity in Music: BBC Philharmonic play music by "Forgotten" composers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On 2 February 2022, the BBC Philharmonic played pieces by underrepresented composers in their recording studio in Salford. Because the pandemic, this was the first direct in engagement with the performing forces of the BBC and the first broadcast directly related to this grant. The audience was limited in the studio, but the broader impact was significant. There were many people who listened on the BBC as the broadcast went out on the Afternoon Concert at 14.00 GMT on BBC Radio 3. s. The BBC Philharmonic played orchestral pieces by Joseph Boulogne, Margaret Bonds, and Ali Osman with solo piano pieces by Nathaniel Dett, Kikuko Kanai, and Julia Perry played by Clare Hammond. There was also some historical information and background shared by the presenters, Tom McKinney and Linton Stephens. Though the researchers were not interviewed in the broadcast, we were invited to be part of the reduced audience (20 people) for the performance in the studio. The original performance was meant to happen in public with an audience and be recorded. Though that could not happen due to the pandemic, this radio performance has already started to make an impact with many people commenting on the radio broadcast. It will also be there as long as the recorded archives last and there will be the possibility for re-broadcast and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001414g |
| Description | Flash Mob Choir singing Julia Perry's early choral works on the Concourse of the Royal Northern College of Music after the Lunchtime Concert on 29 February 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | After the Lunchtime Concert, a flashmob choir gathered to perform three of Julia Perry's early choral works to demonstrate her style in that period. The choir was formed of staff and student volunteers. The audience was comprised of people leaving the lunch-time performance and those having late lunch in the college cafe. Some faculty and staff members came out of their offices to listen on the balconies above the concourse. Students and faculty on their way to appointments also stopped to listen. The purpose of the exercise was to promote more exposure to Julia Perry's music in an informal and unexpected way. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Julia Perry Week Launch - Out of the Cask: Rediscovering Julia Perry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The event was the opening event for Julia Perry Week to introduce the students, faculty, staff at the Royal Northern College of Music and the general public to the life, music and legacy of Julia Perry. The event was livestreamed and is preserved in a Youtube recording. There was a live performances of two of Julia Perry's spiritual arrangements sung by Soprano Nadine Benjamin, MBE accompanied by pianist Rachel Fright. Professor Dr Louise Toppin, University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance, presented a short talk about Julia Perry in the context of her work in preserving the work of African-heritage composers, followed by Dr Samantha Ege, University of Southampton, discussing her work on African-heritage women composers through scholarship and performance. Professor Nate Holder discussed his introduction to Julia Perry and his subsequent children's book, Where Are All of the Black Women Composers, and Michael Harper, Principal Study Vocal Tutor Royal Northern College of Music talked about his AHRC research on Julia Perry. The session was chaired by Professor Dr Jennie Henley, Director of Programmes at the Royal Northern College of Music. The session was livestreamed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ecb6gw |
| Description | Master Class with Prof Dr Louise Toppin, University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The master class with Dr Toppin focussed on art songs and opera by African-heritage composers including Julia Perry. As well as being an expert on Julia Perry, Dr Toppin is one of the leading experts and proponents of this music. The students received top-notch pedagogical and interpretive advice through this event sponsored by the School of Vocal Studies and Opera. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Opera Reading (RNCM) The Cask of Amontillado |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The purpose of the reading of the Cask of Amontillado was to expose the students, staff, and faculty at the Royal Northern College of Music to the vocal works ofJulia Perry. The activity allowed students and staff: To explore: 1. the techniques employed in a mid-century serialist opera 2. specific methods of learning for such a piece of music 3. a different soundscapes and vocal production unfamiliar to the students. It afforded most of them a first chance to explore the works of an African-heritage woman composer. The event was attended by approximately 25 pp and we received positive feedback both from the Deputy Head for Voice, the Head of Composition, and the (former)Head of the BBC Philharmonic. The researcher produced and directed a semi-staged reading with movement, costumes, and props in order to give the students a fuller experience of performing the opera. The three students singing a principal role were given coaching by a staff coach, rehearsals with a staff répétiteur, a rehearsals with a student conductor. The five chorus members were rehearsed by the conductor and the répétiteur. A backdrop was provided by a professional designer and the lighting was provided by the RNCM technical department. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Percussion Ensemble Performance of Julia Perry's Homunculus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Through the ensembles at the Royal Northern - to expose the students, faculty and staff to different eras and genres of Julia Perry's music. Michael Burritt Fandango 13 Julia Perry Homunculus CF Danny Elfman Percussion Quartet (2nd movement) Tchiki Duo Fudo Emilio Yanez Ruiz Prism of Intuition - Tiger's Eye (world première) Simone Rebello director Connor Lyster conductor RNCM Percussion Ensemble |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.rncm.ac.uk/performance/thursday-lunchtimes-rncm-percussion-ensemble/ |
| Description | Piano lecture delivered by visiting scholar for Julia Perry Week - Samantha Ege 27 September 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | One of the visiting scholars for Julia Perry Week, Dr Samantha Ege, University of Southampton, delivered a two-hour talk to undergraduate and graduate Keyboard Studies and other students. In the interactive lecture, she shared her some of her research on black women composers of the Chicago and Harlem Renaissance, predecessors or contemporaries of Julia Perry. Our aim was to disseminate as much knowledge or related knowledge about Julia Perry as possible while our visiting scholars were present at the college. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Pre-Concert Discussion and Recital Friday, 1 March 2024 Michael Harper, Principal Study Vocal Tutor and Researcher RNCM, Molly Barker, Mezzo Soprano and String Quartet, and |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Pre-Concert Talk and Recital was intended to prepare the audience for the performance of Julia Perry's Short Piece for Orchestra with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra later that evening. Molly Barker (alumna of RNCM) performed Perry's Stabat Mater with a string quartet of advanced student players after an introduction about the piece by Michael Harper based on his research. Harper ( the lead for this research project) also introduced Chiara Lordi who played one of Perry's few piano pieces, Prelude for Piano. There was a brief Q&A at the end of the session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.rncm.ac.uk/performance/pre-concert-discussion-julia-perry-in-focus/ |
| Description | Research Forum lecture by Professor Dr Louise Toppin on Julia Perry - on preserving the legacy of Julia Perry as a composer within the context of the canon and her work to preserve, perform, and publish the works of composers of the African Diaspora. Wedesday, 28 February 2024 as part of Julia Perry Week at the Royal Northern College of Music. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The lecture was part of a research forum series, The John Manduell Research Forum Series. The purpose of the lecture was to explore Julia Perry in the context scholarship, the canon, , publishing, and performance of art music by African-heritage composers. Further attention was given to the particular issues related to preservation and publication of music by African-heritage composers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.rncm.ac.uk/performance/rncm-research-forum-louise-toppin/ |
| Description | Web Interview with BBC Sounds Arts and Ideas -New Thinking: Diverse Classical Music |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This is an interview on the BBC Sounds website. The interview was an opportunity to talk about my research on Julia Perry and discuss general aspects of her life and composition. The platform was shared with two other recipients of the AHRC/BBC award Christopher Dingle, a Professor of Music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Mai Kawabata, from the Royal College of Music, is a musicologist and violinist. The intention was to make the information of research widely available to the general public for extended period of time. We were interviewed by Christienna Fryar. The programme was produced by Amelia Parker. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0bk26w2 |