Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey
Originally from Alaska, Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey is a UK-based academic and conductor committed to fostering social justice and environmental sustainability both within, and through, orchestral music. With a focus on artistic co-production and creative collaboration, her orchestral projects are designed to amplify voices and raise awareness around pressing social and environmental issues. Cayenna’s research is focused on the social-psychological and socio-political aspects of orchestral music-making—from the intricacies of co-performer communication in modern and historically informed contexts, to the politics of participation and orchestras' geo-political significance. Cayenna is Associate Conductor of the Orchestra of St John’s, Director of Performance at St Catherine’s College (University of Oxford), Director of Research for the Oxford Conducting Institute and a postdoctoral researcher on the AHRC-funded Transforming 19th-Century HIP project at the University of Oxford. Her work has been funded by Arts Council England, British Council, Leverhulme Trust and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities.