Cydonie Banting

Cydonie Banting is a composer and ethnomusicologist affiliated with the Royal Academy of Music, University of London. Her work bridges Ugandan musical traditions with contemporary concert music, emphasizing community collaboration and ethical research practices. She studied composition at Worcester College, Oxford, with Robert Saxton and at the Royal Academy of Music under Gary Carpenter.

• PhD research (funded by LAHP at King’s College London) explores composing as a methodological tool for ethnographic fieldwork in Kanjobe, Uganda.
• Notable compositions include The Gate of Dawn (Presteigne Festival), Through a Glass, Darkly (Barbican), and Introit (choir & organ), alongside her violin duet Crane Songs, which won the 2017 Robert M Stevenson Prize.
• She held a Kluge Fellowship (2019) at the Library of Congress and contributed to EDI research projects at King’s (2021).
• Currently serves as Research Manager at the Royal Academy of Music (appointed 2023), after roles as Composition and Contemporary Music Administrator (2021).