Barriers and pathways: rethinking access in music education and composition

Part of the Music Research Seminar Series 2025-26

Speaker: Kirsty Devaney – Royal College of Music

Location: School of Music Lecture Theatre 2

• This will be a hybrid event. The guest speaker will be present with us in the School of Music, and colleagues and other guests are encouraged to join us there. But if you are unable to do so then please consider joining us via Teams.
• No booking is required. Those wishing to attend online should contact series convenor Dr Ellis Jones (e.n.jones@leeds.ac.uk).

Drawing on her work as a composer, educator and researcher, Dr Kirsty Devaney will discuss her work around inclusion and representation in the field of composing with a particular focus on gender and socio-economic barriers. As part of the seminar, she will share her experiences of establishing and running the Young Composers Project at Royal Birmingham conservatoire for the last 10 years (https://youngcomposersproject.com).

Kirsty Devaney is a composer, educator, and researcher whose work centres on inclusion and access in music education and composition. She founded the Young Composers Project at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, that for over a decade has supported diverse young people to develop their creative voices. Kirsty’s research investigates composing in school, barriers to participation in composing, with particular focus on gender and socio-economic inequality, and she has published widely on these issues. Her own compositions have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, shortlisted for a British Composer Award, and performed by ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Quatuor Bozzini, Orchestra of the Swan, and Orkest De Ereprijs.