Announcing the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Visiting Artists Fund
Monday 27 March 2023
The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Visiting Artists Fund was generously established in December 2022 by Victoria, Lady Robey OBE HonRCM to further expand the diversity of programming and activity at the Royal College of Music.
The Royal College of Music actively promotes a rich and varied performance programme, and the new fund will enable the College to focus more clearly on the range of artists invited to work with the students.
This will include visits to the RCM, both virtual and in person, by exceptional musicians, teachers and leaders from underrepresented backgrounds, ensuring that students and audience members alike are stimulated by an environment which embraces diversity.
This builds on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Matching Fund for Scholarships and Bursaries already established by Victoria, Lady Robey, to enable talented UK students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds to join their peers in accessing excellence through the finest musical conservatoire education.
Lily Harriss, Director of Development at the Royal College of Music, commented: 'As stated in our vision, the RCM embraces the ideals of an inclusive, open and just society, supporting students from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.’
‘We are a world-leading advocate for the future of music. The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Visiting Artists Fund established by former Member of Council, Victoria, Lady Robey, will help us fulfil this goal and will ensure our work is a conduit for meaningful cultural change.'
The fund has already been used to support a number of Royal College of Music events, including the RCM Philharmonic’s Orchestral Masterworks: Spirit of America concert in January, conducted by Wayne Marshall (pictured above), and a piano masterclass with Samantha Ege in March.
Forthcoming events which will be supported with this fund are the RCM Symphony Orchestra concert at the Southbank Centre in on 23 June, which includes Hannah Kendall’s The Spark Catchers, and a Samba breaks and beats workshop for percussion students.
