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Catherine Tackley

Professor Catherine Tackley
BA (Hons), PGCE, PhD

Professional Activities

Catherine is a Vice President of the Royal Musical Association, a member of the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport inaugural College of Experts and a member of the AHRC Peer Review College. She is a member of the editorial boards of the Popular Music and the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. She was co-founder and co-editor of the Jazz Research Journal (Equinox).

Catherine is recognised internationally as an expert on British jazz, contributing chapters on this subject to major publication projects on dance bands worldwide, history of jazz in the European Union, and women in European jazz funded by UNESCO. She has also curated events in partnership with museums and institutions; most notably 'Rhythm and Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain at Two Temple Place' in association with The Arts Society in 2017. She has also been interviewed for several BBC television documentaries, acted as an advisor for TV period drama and is heard regularly on BBC Radio 3 and 4. Catherine is an accredited lecturer of The Arts Society and a regular speaker at concert halls and the UK's pre-eminent jazz festivals. She won the award for Outstanding Public Engagement of the Year at the University of Liverpool Staff Awards in 2019.

Catherine was an inaugural member of the Liverpool City Region Music Board and is currently a Trustee of the Light Music Society. She is active as a conductor and instrumentalist in both classical and popular styles and is founder and Musical Director of Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats Big Band.

Editorships

  • Popular Music (Invited Editor, 2020 - present)
  • Journal of the Royal Musical Association (Invited Member of the Editorial Board, 2019 - present)

Professional Body Memberships

  • AHRC (Peer Reviewer, 2014 - present)
  • Royal Musical Association (Council Member, 2014 - present)