Garrett Snedeker

Trinity Laban Postgraduate Award in Music & Dance, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance - Music

I grew up in Ellensburg, WA, and received my Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance/Pedagogy from Washington State University. I come from a musical family, and my mother first taught me piano. Two years ago, I explored the life and music of Chiquinha Gonzaga (1847-1935), Brazil’s first female professional pianist. After my research, I gave presentations on how her life can inspire social change today. Her life taught me that music has the power to ignite social change and inspires me to play music to build and empower communities. In London, I will study the final Beethoven piano sonatas as examples of progressive twenty-first-century gender ideologies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, under the guidance of musicologist Dr Sophie Fuller. At the Conservatoire, I will be using music as a cultural and educational tool to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. My research falls under feminist musicology, which investigates how western music shapes and reflects our culture. In my research, I hope to make classical music more accessible to audiences through cultural connections, and to deepen listeners’ understanding of the world around them. As a Fulbright scholar, I’m thrilled to be a musical ambassador in the UK. I can’t wait to be a volunteer in musical and LGBTQ+ organisations while in London.