In conjunction with the Institute of Cultural Innovation we invite you to join us for an informal conversation about community music in York

Hosted by Lee Higgins and Emily Crossland, the event will begin by offering a snapshot of how the field is growing nationally and globally.

Following this, we would like to hear about the types of projects currently happening in the York area. As a network event, we thought it would be good to know who's doing what, where, and with whom. What are the strengths and challenges of working in York?

The International Centre for Community Music (ICCM) is a research-oriented centre, and we would like to discuss how research might support your activities.

Wine and nibbles will be served!

Date: 6 October 2026

Time: 6-8pm

Venue: York St John University, Dining Room Extension

Biographies

Lee Higgins is a professor at York St John University, UK and the Director of the International Centre for Community Music. His Ph.D. is from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, Limerick, Ireland. As a presenter and guest speaker, he has worked on four continents in university, school and NGO settings and was the President of the International Society of Music Education from 2016 to 2018. He was the senior editor for the International Journal of Community Music (2007-2021), author of Community Music: In Theory and in Practice (2012, OUP), co-author of Engagement in Community Music (2017, Routledge) and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Community Music (2018).

Emily Crossland is a community musician, composer and gamelan player based in York UK, working primarily in mental health settings, prisons, theatres, leisure-time ensembles, and education institutions. She currently leads the MA in Community Music at the University of York, and is working towards her PhD - exploring the co-creative community uses of gamelan in the UK - at the University of Sheffield, supported by the White Rose College of the Arts & Humanities. Emily is a member of the International Society for Music Education, and a current board member for Sound Sense - the UK's professional body for community musicians.

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