Listening Salon - Sounds of the Black Atlantic

With Ruqayya Bryce and Sonita Alleyne.

This session explores the themes in the Black Atlantic through music and conversation. Using the evocative power of music and sound, the session explores memory and a sense of identity both personal and collective, while also acting as a tool for processing complex emotions.

Sonita Alleyne is the 41st Master and first woman to lead Jesus College since its foundation in 1496. Born in Bridgetown, Barbados, and brought up in Leytonstone, East London, Sonita attended a comprehensive school before going to Fitzwilliam College in Cambridge. A career in radio followed, and she founded production company Somethin' Else which she led as Chief Executive from 1991 until 2009. Sonita also worked as a journalist and broadcaster, hosting and contributing to weekly shows for Greater London Radio, BBC Four and BBC Five. Sonita has worked extensively as a non-executive Director in both the private and public sector. Board roles have included Artsline, a disability arts access charity; the Department for Culture, Media and Sport; the National Employment Panel; the London Skills and Employment Board; Chair of the Radio Sector Skills Council; a board member of the Local Radio Company as well as newspaper group Archant. She was also a member of the Court of Governors at the University of the Arts London. Sonita also founded The Yes Programme, a unique online service helping primary pupils connect what they learn in the classroom with jobs in the real world. She is Patron of the Red Hen Project, a Cambridge charity helping children to thrive at home and in school. Sonita is Chair of the Kettle’s Yard Committee, a Governor at the Museum of London, and holds a number of external and non-executive board roles. In 2020, Sonita was elected an Honorary Fellow of Fitzwilliam College and received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies. She is a Fellow of The Royal Society of the Arts and the Radio Academy, and in 2003, was awarded an OBE for services to broadcasting. Sonita won the Carlton Multicultural Achievement Award for TV and Radio in 2002.