Lucy Pankhurst
Lecturer in Music
BMus (grad RNCM), MMus (grad RNCM), PhD
Email: [email protected]
- Music Theory: Year 2
- Music in Context 2: Brass (history and repertoire module, delivered with John Miller)
- Performance Studies: Brass (specialist tutor)
- Music Education: Individual Teaching (specialist tutor)
Lucy is a composer, educator and multi-instrumentalist from the northwest of England. As a composer, she has received many accolades for her work, most notably in 2011 when she became the first female artist to be presented with a British Composer Award in the Brass/Wind Ensemble category. This work – In Pitch Black was also the first composition for brass band to win a BCA. Lucy has subsequently been a member of the judging panel in the Brass/Wind Band and Community/Educational Music categories for the BCAs and the Ivor Novello Awards.
Much of Lucy’s work as a composer relates to heritage and storytelling, ranging from mixed media installations to illustrative instrumental solos and large-scale differentiated educational projects. Her work is included in the ABRSM brass exam syllabuses from grades 1-8, including features in the ABRSM publications ‘Shining Brass’ and ‘Brass Mix’ books.
Lucy is a performance (2004) and composition (2007) graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music. She was awarded a PhD in 2020 from the RNCM/MMU, with supervisors Professor Adam Gorb and Dr Larry Goves. Her research (Brass Bands: In and Out of Context) focussed on contemporary applications of the traditional brass band.
Current and Future Research
Dr Lucy Pankhurst’s current research is a continuation of her PhD work, with a particular interest in historic brass band repertoire and atypical compositions for the ensemble.
External Research Roles
Lucy is currently developing a follow-up educational project to ‘Puzzle Pieces’, focusing on idiomatically-appropriate flexible differentiations for string, woodwind, brass, percussion and keyboard players from first access players to grade 5+ levels. Due to its flexible content, the resource can be used in a number of different ways; for whole class music projects, solos (with backing tracks or piano accompaniment) or for ensembles.
Research Funding
- PRSF
- ACE
- RVW Trust
Undergraduate Teaching
- Brass, education and composition-focussed Academic Studies modules at the RNCM
- Developed and delivered ‘Scoring and Arranging for Brass Band and Wind Orchestra’ module at Huddersfield University
- Guest speaker/lecturer at the University of Salford, the University of Leicester, Bath Spa University
- Guest speaker and Artist-in-residence at the 2017 International Women’s Brass Conference (IWBC) in Philadelphia, USA
Research Supervision
- PhD Specialist Supervisor at Huddersfield University
Selected Outputs
PhD Thesis:
Lucy’s compositions are published by:
ABRSM:
https://www.abrsm.org/en-gb/for-learners/publications-and-audio/publications
Prima Vista Musikk:
https://www.primavistamusikk.com/artist/lucy-pankhurst
Astute Music:
Professional Activity
Notable commissions include projects for BBC Radio 3, Durham International Brass Festival, Ageas Salisbury International Arts Festival, RNCM Festival of Brass, RWCMD, BASBWE and NYBBGB, with projects supported by PRSF and ACE. Lucy’s work has been premiered and recorded by international ensembles such as the Foden’s Band (UK), Grimethorpe Band (UK), Eikanger-Bjørsvik (Norway), Athena Brass Band (USA) and the BBC Singers (UK). She has also worked with world-class soloists, including Owen Farr, Steven Mead, Katrina Marzella, Dr Jennifer Oliverio and RNCM alumna Dr Amy Schumaker Bliss.
Ghosts of Industry – commissioned by NABBA (USA) will be premiered by the Athena Brass Band at the 2025 RNCM Brass Band Festival. This work depicts the heritage of Lucy’s hometown in the UK and its changing landscape since the Industrial Revolution.
With over 18 years’ experience as a music educator, Lucy has composed extensively for educational purposes and developed and delivered whole-class programmes of music for KS2 classes. In 2020 she released a free new resource as part of an Erasmus+ educational project called Puzzle Pieces – a collection of 25 new flexible works with idiomatically tiered parts for brass, wind, strings and percussion, ranging from first access to advanced parts for each instrument.
