The Redress of Music: Music, Mediation, and Parity of Esteem

Abstract

The nature of a keynote address is to reflect upon issues of concern to the gathered assembly—to kickstart and enrich debates and to stimulate new ideas and perspectives. This address, presented at the beginning of the 44th World Conference of the International Council of Traditional Music, held in Limerick, Ireland, 12–14 July 2017, is very much grounded in my own experiences across a number of domains. I offer it as a subjective view of the potential of music and dance to act as powerful forces of cultural mediation, redressing social—and musical—inequalities.