HEartS Summit 2024
The Future of Creative Health and the Creative Workforce
Friday, 6th September 2024 10am –Saturday, 7th September 2024 4:00pm
Royal College of Music
Prince Consort Road, South
Kensington London SW7 2BS
Keynote Speakers
Biographies
Nicola Solomon
Creators’ Rights Alliance
Nicola Solomon is the Chair of the Creators Rights Alliance. Until April 2024 she was the Chief Executive of the Society of Authors. Nicola is a solicitor and an expert in all issues relating to creators and authors and has been at the forefront of advocating for their needs, policy and wellbeing. She is also a Deputy District Judge and sits on the board of the International Authors’ Forum and the British Copyright Council.
Zoë Armfield
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic’s mission is to “Enhance & Transform Lives through Music”. Now in her 16th year at the organisation, Zoë leads the music education, talent development, social action and health programmes, reaching over 60,000 people each year. Zoë is passionate about the power of music to improve wellbeing, encourage recovery, and improve life chances, with diversity and inclusion central to all programmes. Zoe works closely with NHS Trusts, schools, higher education institutions, community groups, artists, arts organisations, donors and funders, delivering award-winning, impactful and long-term partnerships, that are redefining the role of an arts organisation within its community.
Workshop Speaker
Biography
Sylvan Baker
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Dr Sylvan Baker, FRSA, is a care leaver, neurodivergent researcher and Senior Lecturer, Community Performance Applied Theatre, at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He is an Associate Artist of the Arts and Health initiative, Performing Medicine & was Associate Director of the Arts and Social Justice research centre, People’s Palace Projects. He has been working across Arts, Health and related socially engaged interventions over the past 30 years. His practice research explores innovative methods to evoke co-creation and agency amongst marginalized communities. Sylvan is Co-Founder/Investigator of the award winning, The Verbatim Formula, he uses performance with care-experienced young people to stimulate improvements to their care. As Deputy-Principal Investigator of the Re-star project, he supports Neuro-diverse young people in the creation of resources to combat depression.
Performers Biographies
Libro Levi Bridgeman
Writer
Libro Levi Bridgeman is based in London. Previously,they have written for BBC Radio 4 and they wrote the sell- out theatre show The Butch Monologues that toured for 10 years. Short stories include For Ezra, (Queer Life, Queer Love 2, Muswell Press) that is currently being made into a stop motion film Grand Dandy directed by The Campbells. They co-run hotpencil press with Serge Nicholson. Publications include Letter To My Little Queer Self. Libro Levi is featured in the documentary Private View, of the making of their portrait by the artist Sadie Lee. They are currently working on 2 screenplays. Parker Parker has been optioned by Creators Inc. Libro Levi has a Ph.D from UEA and has taught Creative Writing in Imperial College, Birkbeck, Brunel and Queen Mary Universities, LAMDA and Guildhall drama schools and 5 UK prisons.
Tal Walker
Pianist
Young Steinway Artist Tal Walker is a pianist currently pursuing a PhD in piano performance at RCM. Supported by the RCM Doctoral Bursary, his research focuses on the performance practice of early 20th-century French piano Préludes and is supervised by Professor Richard Langham Smith and Dr Christina Guillaumier. Tal won the bronze medal at the Osaka International Music Competition. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras in Poland, Italy, and Belgium and was invited to artist residencies in Italy and Canada. Tal's debut album received acclaim from critics such as ‘International Piano Magazine’ and ‘France Musique’. He performed in notable venues, including Salle Cortot in Paris and Steinway Hall in London. Tal has graduated from conservatoires in the Netherlands and Belgium and attended the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he specialised in French music. He is the founder and the artistic director of ‘Monsieur Croche’ concert series
Performers Biographies
Gita Ralleigh Writer
Gita Ralleigh is a poet, writer and doctor born to Indian immigrant parents in London. She teaches creative writing to undergraduates at Imperial College and has an MA in Creative Writing and an MSc in Medical Humanities. Her poetry books are A Terrible Thing (Bad Betty Press, 2020) and Siren (Broken Sleep Books, 2022). Her children’s novels, The Destiny of Minou Moonshine and The Voyage of Sam Singh are published by Zephyr/Bloomsbury. She is a trustee of literary charity Spread The Word. You can find her on Twitter as @storyvilled and on Instagram as @gita_ralleigh
Performance Programme
Day 1 Tal Walker
Claude Debussy
– Selected works in Préludes, Book I
Libro Levi Bridgeman
Screening of Private View documentary
Day 2
Gita Ralleigh
Selected readings
RCM Student Performers
W. A. Mozart
– Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat Major, K452