Leah Broad is a British writer, broadcaster, and researcher at Christ Church, Oxford.[1] She was awarded the 2015 Observer/Anthony Burgess prize for contemporary British arts journalism[2] and was a BBC New Generation Thinker in 2016[3] She is a trustee of the William Alwyn Foundation.[4] Her writing focuses on the history of women in the arts.[5] Her group biography, Quartet, published by Faber and Faber, was awarded a Kirkus star.[6]

Leah Broad
Occupation
  • Author
  • Radio and television presenter
  • Researcher
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
SubjectMusic history, Women's history
Website
leahbroad.com

Early life and education edit

Broad completed an undergraduate degree in Music at Christ Church, Oxford, where she ran the Christ Church Music Society[7] and founded and edited the Oxford Culture Review.[8] She holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford on Swedish and Finnish theatre music.[9]

Writing and presenting edit

Broad's debut group biography, Quartet, covers the lives of women composers Ethel Smyth, Rebecca Clarke, Doreen Carwithen, and Dorothy Howell.[10][11][12][13][14][15] The book argues that women have had important influences on classical composition, but that this progress is not linear and can be erased and forgotten.[16] Broad has discussed the book at festivals including the Hay Festival[17] and Edinburgh International Book Festival.[18] Alongside violinist Fenella Humphreys and pianist Nicola Eimer, Broad presented performances of works by the composers covered in the book at venues including the Barbican Centre.[19] She has a second book under contract with Faber and Faber.[20]

Broad has presented for BBC Radio 3 including appearances on Record Review, Composer of the Week, Music Matters, the Sunday Feature, and the BBC Proms.[21][22][23][24][25]

Broad's journalistic work covering music and the arts has featured in newspapers including The Guardian, the Financial Times, and the London Review of Books.[26][27][28]

Broad's academic work has been published in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Music & Letters, Tempo, and Music and the Moving Image as well as collected volumes from the Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, and Boydell and Brewer.[29]

References edit

  1. ^ "Leah Broad". Faber and Faber. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  2. ^ Robert McCrum (2016-02-28). "2015 Observer/Anthony Burgess prize-winner announced". The Observer. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  3. ^ "New Generation Thinkers 2016". BBC. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  4. ^ "The William Alwyn Foundation". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  5. ^ Leah Broad. "People: Dr. Leah Broad". Christ Church, University of Oxford. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  6. ^ "Quartet - A stellar work of social and music history sprinkled with emotional dashes of love, sex, and politics". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  7. ^ Terence Handley MacMath. "Interview: Leah Broad, music lecturer, Oxford". Church Times. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  8. ^ "Contributors". The Oxford Culture Review. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  9. ^ Leah Broad (2017). Nordic incidental music: between modernity and modernism (Thesis). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  10. ^ George B. Stauffer (2023-10-05). "Where Are the Women Composers?". The New York Review. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  11. ^ Flora Willson (2023-03-10). "The Muses at a football match". Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  12. ^ Ivan Hewett (2023-02-27). "Did these four female composers really change music history?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  13. ^ Annalena McAfee (2023-02-21). "Quartet: How Four Women Changed the Musical World". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  14. ^ Alexandra Cochlan (2023-02-05). "Quartet by Leah Broad: The four female composers that history forgot". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  15. ^ Erica Jeal (2023-03-01). "Quartet by Leah Broad review - Britain's great female composers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  16. ^ "Interview Q&A with Leah Broad Author of Quartet". The London Magazine.
  17. ^ "Leah Broad and Alice Farnham talk to Gavin Plumley". Hay Festival. 2023-06-04. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  18. ^ "Leah Broad: Singing Women's Praises". Edinburgh International Book Festival. 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  19. ^ "Fenella Humphreys & Leah Broad Quartet: How Four Women Changed the Musical World". The Barbican. 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  20. ^ Ruth Comerford (2022-12-02). "Faber bags feminist history of trailblazing composers". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  21. ^ Copland's Clarinet Concerto with Mark Simpson and Andrew McGregor. BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  22. ^ Composer of the Week: Doreen Carwithen. BBC Radio 3. 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  23. ^ International Women's Day Celebrations. BBC Radio 3. 2023-03-04. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  24. ^ Hidden Women and Silenced Scores. BBC Radio 3. 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  25. ^ BBC Proms 2022 - Prom 13: Ethel Smyth's The Wreckers. BBC Radio 3. 2022-07-24. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  26. ^ Leah Broad (2022-04-19). "Fashion, fabrics and fishtails – why we need to talk about what female classical performers wear". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  27. ^ "Leah Broad". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  28. ^ "Leah Broad". London Review of Books. Retrieved 2023-11-19.
  29. ^ "Leah Broad: Quartet". Hidden Notes. 2023-09-24. Retrieved 2023-11-19.

External links edit