40 songwriters and composers have been elected to members Senate at The Ivors Academy, where they will be representing members’ views.
The newly elected music creators work across a wide range of genres, including classical, grime, jazz, games, film and TV, theatre and musicals, pop, rock, sound art and electronic music.
The Academy’s Equalities plan targets have all been achieved, with 50% of the senators identifying as female (up 13% from the last election in 2018), 40% Black, Asian and minority ethnic (up 32% from 2018) and 13% declaring a disability. This is also the first time that the Academy collected details about geographic location, LGBTWI+, schooling, and religious beliefs in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of diversity on the panel.
In their roles, senators will be involved in Committees and Advisory Group, and meet four times a year to ask questions of the Board and CEO. The aim of the Members Senate is to focus on members’ views, and forms part of a set of governance reforms voted on by 83% of members at this year’s AGM.
The election has confirmed five of the 12 vacant positions on the Board and will be filling remaining roles over the coming weeks.
“We are thrilled at the outcomes of this election,” said Graham Davies, CEO of The Ivors Academy. “The level of engagement and diversity of candidates has increased significantly on past years and is the result of the commitment we made to equality, diversity and inclusion back in 2019. Our thanks to all the members who have given their time and wisdom to us over the last three years. And to every songwriter and composer that put themselves forward in this election, thank you for helping us build a stronger and more diverse Academy. Together we will continue to raise our voice and put music creators centre stage.”
Current members of the Senate:
Mat Andasun, multi-instrumental performer and media composer
Iain Archer, songwriter, composer, producer, artist and guitarist
Lorne Balfe, media composer
Justine Barker, media composer
Claire Batchelor, media composer, songwriter and musician
Fiona Bevan, songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist
Alexander Campkin, classical composer
Lloyd Coleman, composer, clarinettist and broadcaster
Catherine Anne Davies, songwriter and producer
Nainita Desai, media composer
Rebecca Ferguson, singer-songwriter
Mark Gordon, media composer
Jake Gosling, producer, songwriter, remixer, label manager and publisher
Tom Gray, songwriter, artist, composer and campaigner
Thomas Hewitt-Jones, media and classical composer
Crispin Hunt, songwriter and record producer
Marlon James-Edwards, songwriter, producer and teacher
Jin Jin, songwriter
Melpomeni Kermanidou, composer and artist
Daniel Kidane, classical composer
Anna Phoebe McElligott, composer and violinist
Anna Neale, artist, songwriter, composer, engineer and producer
Sandy Nuttgens, TV composer
Bankey Ojo, media composer and sound designer
Hannah Peel, artist, composer, producer and broadcaster
Lynne Plowman, classical composer
Karine Polwart, folk artist, spoken-word performer and theatre-maker
Ailís Ní Ríain, classical composer
Orphy Robinson MBE, composer and multi-instrumentalist
Kevin Sargent, multi-instrumentalist media composer
Emily Saunders, artist, songwriter and producer
Nitin Sawhney CBE, producer, songwriter, composer and artist
Mika Sellens, songwriter and producer
Cassell The Beatmaker, producer, songwriter and drummer
Hannah V, songwriter, producer and artist
Martyn Ware, songwriter, producer, artist and lecturer
Imogen Williams, singer-songwriter and artist
Hope Winter, singer-songwriter and musician
Ayanna Witter-Johnson, singer, songwriter and cellist
Jason Yarde, composer and saxophonist
