A lecturer from Milton Keynes College has given the keynote address for a conference at the University of the Sorbonne in Paris.  Founded in the thirteenth century, it’s one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious academic institutions.

Music lecturer, Dr Jasmine Hazel Shadrack, talked to the conference about her work around sexism within the popular music industry, specifically the world of Black Metal, a genre in which she is also a celebrated performer.

“The students at the College are just fantastic,” Dr Shadrack says, “and I have a great time teaching them the cultural study of popular music, from the Beatles onwards, looking at race, class and gender. I also teach avant-garde theory and composition to our year twos.”

“The first thing I hope students get from my teaching is joy, because I think that’s in pretty short supply these days.  However, it’s important to remember that you can make a great living in the music industry or the wider performing arts and creative industries.  The creative sector provides some of the UK’s biggest exports and are worth about £70 billion pounds to the economy every year.”

The conference was entitled the International Doctoral Congress in Musicology at Sorbonne University and aimed to highlight “key themes in global musicological research and to foster scholarly exchange.”

“Obviously, it’s a huge honour to be asked to speak at such an esteemed place,” Jaz says.  “As well as giving the keynote, I was asked to chair the next set of conference tables directly after my keynote.  The one sad part about it is that the conference had to be switched online so I couldn’t go to Paris for it.  The organisers were concerned about the current protests and asked us to speak remotely because of those safety concerns, but I’m still really thrilled.”

Those interested in studying a music course at MK College can visit Music Performance Advanced – MK College