Beyond Coltrane Symposium

Join panel members Dr Trish Clowes, Dr John O'Gallagher, Piera Onacko and Professor Tony Whyton to explore the impact of John Coltrane's music on ideas of freedom in jazz, experimentalism, the avant-garde, composition, contemporary performance practices, fandom, and politics.

Saxophonist and composer Dr Trish Clowes has been described as “an improviser to be reckoned with” (Downbeat Magazine) and “one of the brightest stars to have emerged during the so-called British jazz boom” (The Irish Times).

Dr John O'Gallagher is an internationally known saxophonist and composer who’s performed along side some of the most renowned musicians in jazz including Joe Henderson, Kenny Wheeler, Maria Schneider and many more.

Piera Onacko is a PRS Women Make Music and Take Five 2026 awardee, which has contributed to the development of her band un.procedure’s upcoming debut album. Outside of performing, Piera is Deputy Course Leader for Popular Music Performance at BIMM University and co-owns a grassroots music and arts venue Pan-Pan.

Professor Tony Whyton is Professor of Jazz Studies at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His critically acclaimed books (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and (Oxford University Press, 2013) have sought to develop cross-disciplinary methods of musical enquiry.

The Beyond Coltrane Symposium is part of the regular RBC Jazz Research Cluster seminar series.