plainsightSOUND is a music research project, aimed at rediscovering colonial and postcolonial voices in British classical music.
Focusing on the stories of classical musicians in Britain of African and Caribbean descent, including those from former British colonies, the project explores their lives as well as their musical activity in Britain before 1970.
During lockdown the project’s founder, Uchenna Ngwe, a London-born oboist and researcher of classical music, has put together a database of over 400 (and growing) pieces of music written and recorded by composers and performers of Black African descent who were active before 1970. The focus is on music written in European classical/art music styles and related or hybrid genres.
Can you help?
Do you have any information about Black composers and performers who were active in Britain before 1970 that you think should be featured in the plainsightSOUND database? Have you found plainsightSOUND useful? If you have any feedback or would like to contribute to this research in any way, get in touch at notes@plainsightsound.com.