York St John Professor made patron of world-renowned orchestra

Professor Lee Higgins, Director of the International Centre for Community Music (ICCM) which is based at York St John University, has been made Patron of Community Music Initiatives for the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.

As part of the celebrations for their new conductor, Valery Gergiev, the organisation is hosting a international community music conference in Munich this week.

The ICCM is involved in the conference and Professor Higgins will give a keynote speech today (Friday 13 November).

Professor Higgins said: “It is honour for me to be made a patron of such an esteemed, creative institution. I intend to use my role to offer support for the work they are doing and to further broker the relationship they have with the ICCM.

“It’s an exciting development because we now have a world orchestra embracing Community Music. This is a new venture for the orchestra, which will enrich their existing work in music education. Community music offers opportunity for critique and dialogue into traditional approaches to teaching and learning music, for that reason the orchestra, and those players involved in the current projects, have stepped out of their comfort zone. This is a brave move and something to commend."

Community music is non-formal music education and community musicians work in locations such as hospitals, prisons, schools and community centres.

Professor Higgins joined York St John University in 2014 from Boston University, Massachusetts, where he will continue to work as an Associate Professor in Music Education until 2016. As Director of the ICCM, he aims to draw on his experiences and continue to work collaboratively with academics, practitioners, educators and policy makers to create to support the development of community music.