Catherine Tackley

Professor Catherine Tackley (née Parsonage) was appointed at the University of Liverpool in August 2016 as Head of the Department of Music, a position she held for six years. During this time, she oversaw the expansion of the Department including the development of new facilities, most notably the Tung Auditorium in the Yoko Ono Lennon Centre which opened in 2022. She was winner of ‘Inspirational Leader of the Year’ at the University of Liverpool Staff Awards in 2022.
Catherine completed a PhD on early jazz in Britain at City University London and began her academic career at Leeds College of Music, latterly in the role of Head of the Centre for Jazz Studies UK. Catherine joined The Open University as Lecturer in Music in July 2008, was appointed Senior Lecturer in February 2011 and Professor in April 2016. Catherine was Head of the Music Department at the OU in 2014-2016, following several years as Director of Research for Music. She also served as Interim Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Arts. She is now a Visiting Professor at the OU.
Catherine’s research interests include historical and critical musicology with particular reference to jazz and popular music, early and European jazz, recording, jazz influenced music, and performance practice. She has written two books – The Evolution of Jazz in Britain: c.1880-1935 and Benny Goodman’s Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert – and co-edited Black British Jazz: Routes, Ownership and Performance. In 2018, Catherine curated Rhythm and Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain for The Arts Society, an acclaimed exhibition in London based on her research. In recognition of this and her work with many other organisations, Catherine won ‘Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement’ in the University of Liverpool’s Staff Awards in 2019. She currently holds a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust for the project ‘The British Dance Band: Music and Musicians in the Mainstream’.