Royal College of Music students offered course on ‘whiteness and racism’

Royal College of Music students can take a course on the “whiteness and racism” of classical music.

The conservatoire offers an elective module titled “Music and Racism”, which aims to address a “Eurocentric” view of musical education and performance.

Students taking the course are taught about critical race theory and the “whiteness” of classical music.

They are further educated on the whiteness and “heteronormativity” expected of classical musicians.

The module is one of a diverse suite of courses introduced in recent years on themes including “Music and Power” and “Music and Empire”

It is taught outside the Royal College by academic Marko Kölbl, who works with the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

In an introductory video, Mr Kölbl explains that classical music is dominated by “white, male, European” figures, who influence how the artform is perceived.

A course outline states that teaching material will “address racist and Eurocentric structures” and “the hegemonic position of Western classical art music”, bringing in themes of “colonialism, racism and the oppression of musical expressions”.

‘Oppression of expression’

One part of the module will teach students about the “whiteness, heteronormativity and class position” of musical education itself, and how this influences perceptions both of themselves as future performers, and of classical music in general.

The “whiteliness” of music scholarship is also taught, in order to address the “perceived “innocence” of academic musical study.

Course outcomes for the limited number of students able to take the module include being able to be “anti-racist”, to think of music and dance in relation to “geopolitical hegemonies”, and to have an awareness of how race, gender and sexuality will influence their careers.

The course is run as part of the Global Conservatoire, an international project in which different musical institutions provide modules which can be opted into by students at partner organisations. It is one of more than 100 electives offered by the Royal College of Music.

Student numbers from the Royal College have been capped at around 5 per term for the module, with aspiring musicians from other conservatoires in the US, Denmark, and the Netherlands filling out places.

The offer of the module comes after the Royal College of Music joined a number of conservatoires in releasing a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020, and established a Diversity Action Group to steer future policy.

The conservatoire in South Kensington, central London, offers a range of courses which seek to broaden out music education, including a long-standing module on “Women in Music”, and new courses “African-American Music History” and “The Harlem Renaissance”.

The initial roll-out of the module in 2021 followed a number of debates in the issue of racism and classical music following BLM protests in 2020, including the alleged “colonialist” nature of Western musical notation claimed by one Oxford academic in 2021.

Welsh National Opera ran an educational course alongside its performance of Madama Butterfly in 2021 in order to explain how classical music was influenced by the “long arm of imperialism”.

In 2022, the Royal Opera House was accused of “whitewashing” Madama Butterfly despite a year-long consultation to ensure that Puccini’s 1904 opera, about a Japanese geisha exploited by an American officer, was as inoffensive and non-stereotyping as possible.

The following year, the same venue was accused of whitewashing its production of Turandot, set in China, by casting a white star in what campaigners called a “non-white role”.

Dr Diana Salazar, director of programmes at the college, said: “The Royal College of Music’s core curriculum blends tradition and innovation, enabling students to develop expertise in the traditions and repertoire of Western classical music while engaging with the musical ideas, debates, and technologies of today.

“The college’s portfolio of over 100 electives includes contextual subjects and optional modules delivered by our global partners. The RCM’s curriculum is designed to develop versatile, critically engaged artists.”