Hattie Butterworth

Podcast

“TMDTA podcast has become a place for so many unsaid subjects to finally be aired. The bravery and commitment of Hattie and Becca to bring to the surface difficult conversations in a supportive and gentle way is to be highly commended.” Rakhi Singh

“Through Thing Musicians Don’t Talk About, Hattie and Becca have shone lights, given hope and started new and important conversations. Their work and dedication to this cause is so impressive and their reach is rightly spreading throughout institutions, broadcasters and other platforms in our industry.” Anne Denholm-Blair

Our lives as musicians can feel lonely

We are part of a wonderful profession of innovation and change, alongside tradition. We bring creativity and joy to the lives of many people, but often our own lives feel hidden. Issues we may be facing with motivation, money, mental health and injury are too often kept inside. We are scared of what might happen if we share our struggles as well as our music.

Things Musicians Don’t Talk About tells musicians’ stories. Our community aims to create a safe space to open up discussion and share our experiences in order to raise awareness for the real issues we face.

Nothing is off limits, we will talk about anything we need to. This will always be the main aim, regardless of how uncomfortable or stigmatised the issue is.

You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and below!

105. Dr Anna Bull: class and classical music – Things Musicians Don't Talk About

Dr. Anna Bull is a Senior Lecturer in Education and Social Justice, Co-director of The 1752 Group and a former professional pianist and cellist. We return to Zoom to speak with her about class and socioeconomic issues in the classical music industry, and pick her brains about what, if anything, can be done. She also tells us about her work on sexual harassment in music conservatoires, and why the master-apprentice model has created a particularly risky environment.Anna’s monograph Class, control, and classical music was published in 2019 with Oxford University Press and in 2020 was joint winner of the British Sociological Association Philip Abrams Award.She has recently co-edited a volume calledVoices for Change in the Classical Music Profession: New Ideas for Tackling Inequalities and Exclusions, and Anna was lead author on the report Slow Train Coming: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in UK conservatoires. Her research published in 2022 for the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Music Studies network.Anna is speaking at the Class Ceiling conference on 9th December 2025. Free and discounted tickets are available.Read more of Anna's work:Bull, A., & Prince, K. (2025). Addressing harassment and sexual misconduct experienced by postgraduate researchers. The 1752 Group.https://1752group.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/harassment_pgrs.pdfRead an interview about the toolkit for addressing harassment and sexual misconduct among postgraduate researchers, and read Anna's comment piece in Nature about the toolkit.————————————————————-Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians! Follow RSM on Instagram, X and Facebook.————————————————————-Support TMDTAWant to support us on a regular basis? Consider joining our Patreon from £1 a month: https://www.patreon.com/tmdta Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
  1. 105. Dr Anna Bull: class and classical music
  2. 104. The Break Down: Depression, donors and misogyny
  3. 103. The Break Down: Saudi Arabia, Hopelessness & Activism
  4. 102. Ophelia Gordon: living though anorexia and divorce
  5. 101. Jessica Curry: when things fall apart