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 London Chamber Orchestra^[4] and the William Alwyn Foundation.^[5] Her writing focuses on the history of women in the arts.^[6] Her group biography, Quartet, published by Faber and Faber, was awarded a Kirkus star.^[7]

Early life and education

Broad completed an undergraduate degree in Music at Christ Church, Oxford where she ran the Christ Church Music Society^[8] and founded and edited the Oxford Culture Review.^[9] She holds a doctorate in musicology from the University of Oxford on Swedish and Finnish theatre music.^[10]

Writing and presenting

Broad's debut group biography, Quartet, covers the lives of women composers Ethel Smyth, Rebecca Clarke, Doreen Carwithen, and Dorothy Howell.^{[11][12][13][14][15][16]} 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.^[17] Broad has discussed the book at festivals including the Hay Festival^[18] and Edinburgh International Book Festival.^[19] 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.^[20] She has a second book under contract with Faber and Faber.^[21]

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.^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

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.^[27][28][29]

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.^[30]

References