College cancels concert praising 'Palestinian resistance' following outcry

An adult education college in London cancelled a classical music concert themed around Palestinian resistance after admitting the event “slipped through the net” of its processes.

Morley College London was due to host the concert, called ‘The World Stands With Palestine: Compositions for the Palestinian struggle’, on November 15 at its Waterloo Centre for Adult Education on Westminster Bridge Road, with tickets costing £10.

The concert, organised by The Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust (CCCT), was to feature new music written “in response to the struggle of the Palestinian people”, including piano, violin and electric mandolin compositions entitled Salute to the Resistance and Blood United Us.

Flyers advertising the concert contained an image with hands holding a placard that read “Stand with Palestine!! Stand with the Resistance!!”.

The Principal of Morley College, Andrew Gower, swiftly cancelled the event following a complaint from the UK Lawyers for Israel, admitting that the concert promoted a “one-sided political view”.

“Regrettably on this occasion, the proposed event slipped through the net of our editorial processes,” he wrote in a letter addressed to UKLFI, seen by the JC.

Due to the concert’s potentially controversial nature, he explained that a written request for permission should have been submitted to the college, but that this wasn’t done.

A spokesperson from Morley College London told the JC: “We sincerely regret the offence caused by the proposed Corneluis Cardew Concert Trust (CCCT) concert that had been due to take place [last] Friday on Morley College London premises.

“Morley is a politically neutral organisation, and the college has a proud record of inclusivity for all dating back to its foundation in 1889. Advancing diversity is a strongly held value.

“Morley College London hosts many events each year. Unfortunately, our approval process for events was not followed in this case. Had the proposal to host the CCCT concert been effectively reviewed per our standard procedure, the decision to host would never have been approved, given the political nature of the concert’s title, programming and graphic produced by CCCT.”

The spokesperson added that as soon as the issue was raised with senior management, the unequivocal decision was taken to withdraw their support as host, leading to the cancellation of the concert.

"As a result of this situation, we are strengthening our editorial processes, and will be delivering refresher training on the effective application of our Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression policy to college managers within the next two weeks.”

Morley College has a history of collaborating with the CCCT, which was founded to encourage concerts of the music of Cornelius Cardew – an experimental composer and former music tutor at the college who died in a hit-and-run car crash in 1981.

The JC approached the Cornelius Cardew Concerts Trust for comment.