Music educator lands prestigious fellowship

A Jamaican lecturer in black music research has received special honours from a leading creative awards organisation in the United Kingdom.

Dr Mykaell Riley, director for the Black Music Research Unit (BMRU) at Westminster University, received the prestigious fellowship, from the Rockschool RSL, in recognition of his contributions to music education and the creative industries, since joining Westminster in 1994. The Jamaican joined the University after receiving an invitation from RSL Awards founder, Norton York.Riley has also been the music director for the BBC hit series Boarders. The British teen-comedy drama is centred on the lives of five young black teenagers, who earn scholarships to a prestigious boarding school.

Boarders generated credits for Westminster University music students, who worked on the soundtrack for the drama, providing them with invaluable industry experience and professional recognition.

Responding to his selection for the fellowship, Dr. Riley said: “Being awarded the RSL Fellowship is both humbling and deeply meaningful to me. Since joining the University of Westminster in 1994, I have been committed to creating authentic bridges between academia and the music industry. Seeing our students gain real-world credits on productions like Boarders exemplifies what is possible when we break down traditional educational barriers.”

RSL Awards is a leading international awarding organisation, creating qualifications in music, performing arts and creative industries. The London-based awards body operates in over 50 countries around the world, organising, assessing and certificating over 100,000 candidates annually.

Speaking exclusively to The Gleaner, the founder said: “The RSL Awards fellowship is our highest global award reserved for pioneers and innovators in music and music education. Mykaell Riley is both.”

The music education innovator and pioneer added: “His (Mykaell Riley’s) music career emerged as a breakthrough UK reggae artiste and then he became a key figure in the emergence of the British soul sound of the 1980’s and 1990’s.

“At the University of Westminster he joined my pioneering team to create the world’s first commercial music degree, and he has kept building that success as seen and heard on the brilliant BBC show Boarders.”

“Simultaneously Mykaell has led the creation of a university-based research practice that aims to locate British black music at the heart of UK creativity for generations, culminating in the amazing British Library exhibition last year.

“For all this and much more we are thrilled and honoured for Mykaell to join our RSL Awards Fellowship.”

Riley’s career started as a founding member of the British roots reggae band Steel Pulse, that went on to receive a Grammy, for their sixth album, Babylon the Bandit, in 1986.

He also formed The Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, one of Britain’s first black orchestras, in the 1980s.

Dr Mykaell Riley’s recent accomplishments include joint curating the Beyond the Bassline exhibition, the first exhibition to document the 500-year musical journey of African and Caribbean people in Britain.