Black History Month at Morley College London

Black History Month honours the invaluable contributions and innovations black people have made in the UK and around the world throughout history. A time of celebration and commemoration, every October offers us a particularly special opportunity to learn as we continue working towards equality.

Morley College London is proud to support and promote content that celebrates our diversity and in particular the contributions, successes, and challenges of black communities across the world. Read on for the projects we’re working on throughout October…

The Master Composer: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

Music

11 October 2022 – 1pm at the Waterloo Centre:

Lunchtime concert: A Tribute to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: advanced pianists and other instrumentalists present works by Coleridge-Taylor. Tickets are free; just turn up on the day.

Tickets are free to just turn up on the day

20 October 2022 – 7.30pm at the Waterloo Centre:

Orchestra concert: this concert celebrated all things Coleridge-Taylor, including two of his early works for orchestra and a soloist – the Ballad in D minor op. 4 and Zara’s earrings op. 7.

4 November 2022 – 7.30pm at the Waterloo Centre:

Songs of Sun and Shade: an evening of vocal and piano solo music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, featuring the song cycles Songs of Sun and Shade, Six Sorrow Songs, Six Songs op.37, and the Three-Fours Valse-Suite for Piano.

More information and tickets are available here

Art

5 to 27 October 2022 – in collaboration with Learning with the Arts, at Morley Gallery:

Celebrating the life and works of the accomplished nineteenth century composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. In collaboration with Learning Through the Arts.

This exhibition recaptures the extraordinary life of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 -1912) as we commemorate the 110th anniversary of his death, this year, 2022.

The opening event will take place on Thursday 6 September, 6 to 8pm. To attend, please RSVP to gallery@morleycollege.ac.uk

Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour

On 20 October we revealed the winner of the inaugural Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour, which was presented in collaboration with literary agency Rachel Mills Literary.

Morley Radio

To celebrate this year’s Black History Month, we have commissioned a series, episodes of podcasts, shows and playlists – keep up to date at www.morleyradio.co.uk

In this podcast, Florence interviews Kate Cheka, winner of last year’s Morley Prize. We find out about her experiences of entering literary competitions and discuss her next steps.

From the Romans to Windrush: A podcast series about the lives and achievements of key figures of Black British History: presented by Simone Adams, a retired lawyer, lecturer, podcaster and former Morley College student. This week focuses on the story of Lucius Septimius Severus, the Black Roman Emperor.

Genealogies of Rock Against Racism is a musical journey, a tracing of moments in the lines of descent and dissent that lead to, and exceed, the formation of Rock Against Racism, whose locations are the interrelated spaces of the plantation, the death camp, and the urban spaces of post war Afro Asian settlement and struggle, whose themes are mimesis and ambivalence, and whose wide-ranging musical selection tells stories of deep listening and also gives sonance to a critical silence in the sound of RAR. Presented live at the Barbican on 26 July 2022

From the Romans to Windrush: A podcast series about the lives and achievements of key figures of Black British History: presented by Simone Adams, a retired lawyer, lecturer, podcaster and former Morley College student. This podcast focuses on the story of Queen Philippa of Hainault, the medieval queen who has captured the imagination of the Black British community.