Dr Felicity Laurence is a British Jewish music educator, composer, social activist and scholar. Born and raised in New Zealand, she has lived in Norway and Germany and is now settled in the UK. She has worked internationally for many decades as a children’s singing specialist, advocating for social justice and intercultural dialogue through music. Among her children’s choral works for children, the oratorio African Madonna (CUP 1990) has been performed countless times in many countries across the world. She is retired from Newcastle University, where she founded the MA in Music Education.
Her research centers on music as a medium for “empathy,” exploring whether, and if so, how collaborative creation and singing can help individuals—especially children—transcend prejudice and build deep psychological connections. She has facilitated music projects in many countries, including in conflict zones such as Palestine and Israel, providing spaces for children to express themselves outside the narratives of violence that define their lives. Her academic work on music and empathy is seminal in the field.
In her current home of Hastings, she is a founding member of “Hastings Jews for Justice,” a community group dedicated to education and to solidarity with the people of Palestine, showcasing the diverse Jewish voices against racism and occupation. As a steadfast member of Jewish Voice for Liberation (JVL), she combats the labeling of pro-Palestine advocacy as antisemitism, asserting that defending truth is central to Jewish ethics. She actively protests the “chilling effect” and de-platforming of pro-Palestine artists, calling for the protection of art as a space for free expression and dissent.
Laurence maintains that in a shrinking artistic space, telling the truth is an act of art itself. She has argued: “Different voices are so important – to say, ‘It’s not antisemitic to criticise a fascist government’ – but in the arts world where I am, so many doors are being closed, so much is being shut down. We have to keep protesting and explaining why.”