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Home > Vanessa Reed, Daniel Miller and Alexis Petridis honoured with Leeds College of Music Fellowship

Vanessa Reed, Daniel Miller and Alexis Petridis honoured with Leeds College of Music Fellowship

  • The Fellowship honours outstanding individuals who are playing a vital role in supporting and championing artists in the music industry
  • Vanessa Reed to make a speech to graduands at today’s graduation ceremony in Leeds Town Hall

Leeds College of Music announces today (Friday 28 July 2017) that it will honour Vanessa Reed, Daniel Miller and Alexis Petridis with a Fellowship.  All three will accept the Fellowship during the graduation ceremony for the current cohort of graduands at Leeds Town Hall.

Each of the three Fellows is being honoured for playing a vital role in supporting and championing artists across the industry and shaping the future of music in the UK.

Vanessa Reed, Chief Executive of PRS Foundation, the UK’s leading funder of new music and talent development, has played a fundamental role in supporting artists and songwriters,  has campaigned to increase the visibility of women in music and is committed to the arts and creative industries in other voluntary roles such as her Board position with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Daniel Miller, Founder of Mute Records, has kept artist integrity at the heart of his business, ensuring that decisions are driven by the artists on his label, rather than the marketplace. Alexis Petridis writes on a wide range of music from mainstream to underground, championing artistic excellence irrespective of genre.

In her speech at the ceremony today, Vanessa Reed encourages those students graduating to forge ahead with a career in the music industry saying,
Follow your passion. Follow your instinct and don’t let anything get in the way of your future career in music. It’s not always easy– it’s hard work, long hours and if you’re a woman or if you’re from anything other than a white, middle class background, you may have more challenges than others. But please don’t be put off by that. Make those challenges the things that you rise to and overcome. Whether you’re an entrepreneur or an artist, we’re counting on you, the next generation, to be the change that our rapidly evolving industry will always need.”

On receiving her fellowship Vanessa said: “I’m delighted to receive a Fellowship from Leeds College of Music. I’m aware of the vibrant music scene in Leeds and the talented musicians graduating from the conservatoire as many of the artists from the City have come to the Foundation for support. I look forward to extending this relationship and finding other ways to help the conservatoire’s Graduates with the next stage in their career.”

Daniel Miller, Founder of Mute Records said, “I’m very honoured to be awarded the fellowship at Leeds College of Music. The conservatoire is an exceptional place for music education and I look forward to a long and fruitful association.

Alexis Petridis, Head Rock & Pop Critic for The Guardian, said “I’m stunned and delighted to receive a Fellowship from the Leeds College Of Music – it’s really not the kind of recognition you would expect to get as a rock critic. I’m very proud of my West Yorkshire roots, so I’m pleased to be associated with such a prestigious local institution, and I’m looking forward to hearing some of the Leeds students actually perform.

Principal and Managing Director of Leeds College of Music, Gerry Godley said,

At the inaugural graduation from our Music Business Pathway, we are delighted to honour three Fellows who play a vital role in supporting and championing artistic development within the music industry.  We carefully select Fellows whose artistic and professional values match those of the conservatoire, and Vanessa Reed, Daniel Miller and Alexis Petridis all have a passion for creativity that reflects that of the community here at Leeds College of Music. They display an integrity and entrepreneurship that we encourage our students to aspire to as they embark upon their career in the music industry.

Leeds College of Music Fellowships are awarded to persons of high musical standing, or those who have made a distinguished academic or musical contribution to the work of Leeds College of Music. 2017 sees the first year of graduation from the conservatoire’s Music Business Pathway, and have specifically selected Fellows working in different roles across the industry, whose professional practice aligns with the ethos of the conservatoire.

Previous Fellowship awards include Marc Almond, Nick Hodgson, Terry and Liz Bramall, Johnny Kalsi, Philip Meaden, Amy Pearce and Fiona Cunningham. You can find a full list of the Leeds College of Music Fellows, here.