Sign in

Dan Elphick

@danelphick.bsky.social
2.2K followers 939 following 542 posts

Associate Professor and head of Music at RHUL, working on Slavonic studies and analysis. Also a runner and TU organiser (@rhucu.bsky.social). Listen to Shostakovich. I wrote a book on Weinberg: tinyurl.com/5xs2h82h danielelphick.co.uk

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dan Elphick
RMA @royalmusical.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
RMA 150th Anniversary Fellowships Winner 2026 We are delighted to announce the winner of an RMA 150th Anniversary Fellowship in 2026 - Katalin Koltai, for her project "Sustainable New Lutherie: Enhanced...
rma.ac.uk
RMA 150th Anniversary Fellowships Winner 2026
We are delighted to announce the winner of an RMA 150th Anniversary Fellowship in 2026 - Katalin Koltai, for her project "Sustainable New Lutherie: Enhanced Polyphonic Expressivity through Non-Intrusive Guitar Augmentation". Warmest congratulations...
011
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Rev. Dr. Liz Gloyn @lizgloyn.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
When people ask why there's an air of nervousness around anyone currently working in higher education... this sort of thing is why.
1123
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Daniel C. Blight @danielcblight.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
***URGENT PLEASE SHARE*** University of Brighton management have announced today that they ‘give notice of termination of all collective agreements’. This is a fundamental erasure of workers' rights. Management have announced the termination of all contractual documents, which includes:
13597705
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I'm fundraising for Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity. I'm running the London Marathon but before then, I'll be joining 99 other runners to run laps around Croydon IKEA in December for the first ever IKEA Marathon! All donations warmly accepted: www.justgiving.com/page/daniel-...
justgiving.com
Dan is running IKEA (and the London Marathon) for Shelter!
Help Daniel Elphick raise money to support Shelter
031
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Josh Shepperd @joshshepperd.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The professors and instructors who turn classrooms back into spaces for reading and discussion, are going to leave the biggest legacies in this world. Everyone one else will disappear into LLM wallpaper proxies and derivatives. 
427554
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Jess Miers 🦝 @jmiers230.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Here's what I actually think these incidents reveal (instead of a rogue AI terminator situation): Much of the infra we expect to be hardened is actually being held together by glue and popsicle sticks.
221376279
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Annalisa Nicholson @apuddleofmuddle.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It's just weird isn't it when the British Museum is running a sold-out exhibition, when The Odyssey reports $1billion at the box office, when the V&A has just opened the most innovative and accessible museum model in Europe....and this is what our minister for research comes out with.
361219455
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)
You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.
4123751265
Reposted by Dan Elphick
s. e. smith @sesmith.lol · 08/09/2026
All else aside there is nothing I want or need genAI to do for me. I like reading. I like doing research. I like playing around in spreadsheets. I like interviewing people. I like writing. I like doing these things for myself because I take pleasure in the doing and they make me a better thinker.
72192541
Reposted by Dan Elphick
New-Cleckit Dominie @ncdominie.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Occasional reminded that Dr Seuss — yes, that Dr Seuss — nailed the logic of appeasing fascists back in 1941. Might be handy if your local MP hasn't yet made it beyond that level of reading comprehension.
A small man with a happy expression is surrounded by monsters with legitimate concerns. Caption: "Remember... one more lollypop, and then you all go home!"
1276
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on music and drama education: reversing elitism starts at school | Editorial
Editorial: The number of students taking creative subjects at A-level and GCSE is at a record low. The arts must not become the preserve of the most privileged
050
Reposted by Dan Elphick
RMA @royalmusical.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Attending our annual conference? Come to our PGR lunch tomorrow!
Pgr lunch poster - 29 August, 12:30-14:30, Peter Froggatt Centre Foyer.
011
Reposted by Dan Elphick
RMA @royalmusical.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Our annual conference starts tomorrow at Queen's University Belfast - see you there!
Graphic for the RMA-SMI-EADH joint conference, 29 August-1 September
011
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Rachel Pope @prehistorian.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
We need two Arday inquiries: 1) Into racist (and misogynistic) bullying by UK press and social media accounts (see also Diane Abbott); and 2) into the duty of care that HE has for its minority staff - a duty of care that in my repeated experience is reserved primarily for white male sex offenders.
519366
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Simon Morden @comrademorden.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Steal from one thesis = plagiarism Steal from every single thesis ever written, including mine = business model
18542
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Gary Younge @garyyounge
X.com
"When people talk about the need for Black Excellence I counter with an insistence on Black mediocrity: the right for black people to be as average, flawed, compromised & mistaken as any other group of people. The right, ultimately, to be human." R.I.P. Jason Arday
21:18•14/08/2026 • 226K Views
112
t, 2.6K
11K
921
124740
Reposted by Dan Elphick
NewsThump @newsthump.com · 14/08/2026
BREAKING! Nigel Farage returns to normality by refusing to turn up in Clacton.
125097
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Secretary of Defense Rock @sodrock.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Gender studies might be the most vindicated academic field of all time
3269491177
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
@boydellandbrewer.bsky.social have a 50% off sale on all ebooks, including my recent co-edited collection 'Constructing Polish Musical Identities outside Poland since 1880'. Grab a copy for less than £10! boydellandbrewer.com/book/constru...
boydellandbrewer.com
Constructing Polish Musical Identities outside Poland since 1880
Examines music's role in political and cultural images of Poland during a period in which Poland regained independence, suffered cruelly in warfare, was a member of the Soviet bloc, then overthrew com...
021
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Jonathan Potts @uccellolirico.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
BBC Radio 3 doing what it does best: in the Proms interval, a serious look into what's going on in the Shostakovich 11 that's coming up in the second half. Well done.
252
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Today marks the beginning of a brave new world, my first working day as Head of Music at Royal Holloway (technical term in our new structure: 'Section Lead') In a rather unusually busy day for August (!), I have plenty of meetings - capped off with speaking live on BBC Radio 3 at the Proms!
290
Reposted by Dan Elphick
The Mayor of Holderness @dschbax.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
OY OY, THEY LET ANYONE IN HERE THESE DAYS @danelphick.bsky.social
The reverse of the Weinberg release on Evil Penguin featuring the Cello Concertino, the Fantasy for C. and Orchestra, and the 4th Chamber SymphonyDaniel Elphick's name in the accompanying notes in this handsome book come CD case
111
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
not saying anything new, but if these folks actually believed in genAI writing, they'd disclose it, tout it, and build their own audiences elsewhere and leave others be. hiding and sneaking it to markets who want no part of it doesn't prove you're good at writing. just proves you're good at fraud.
21779523
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Alice Wickenden @awickenden.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I agree with all the takes about an attack on the humanities being an attack on critical thinking, &c. It’s also about joy, though. ‘Why bother studying that’ is always also a sneer at — why do you think you should get to do something you enjoy? Grow up and be miserable all the time!
7553169
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
First they came for the languages. In the hope that no one would have the words to say what was happening. 1/9🧵
bbc.co.uk
University of Aberdeen's plans to cut modern language degrees were 'rushed' - review
The University of Aberdeen says it accepts there were "missteps" in its process in 2023.
7314198
Reposted by Dan Elphick
WOR$T GIRL IN ACADEMIA @medievaliste.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Do people not know that there are at least ten musicologists on here who want to explain the answer to your music question to you so badly that they will drop everything to do it?
1516428
Reposted by Dan Elphick
David Higgins @davidhiggins.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I know I’m a broken record but to see universities abandon critical thinking and completely chuck out their own policies around sustainability, research ethics, academic integrity, etc in the pursuit of shiny new tech has been quite something
313248
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Dr Michele V @micheleveldsman.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
“I have done all of the things that one is supposed to do to earn a tenure-track position. And I have done approximately 85% of them by typing prompts into a large language model and then moderately editing the output.” 🤣🤣🤣 brilliant 👌🏽 open.substack.com/pub/inprepar...
open.substack.com
Opinion: I Was Not Allowed To Type Prompts Into ChatGPT During My Chalk Talk And This Is Discrimination
By Dr. Rachel Simmons, Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University
26505166
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
'About 150 academic roles are set to go at the south-west institution, which said it was targeting areas that are “no longer sustainable” or have seen changes in student demand.' History and English are name-checked. 1/3
timeshighereducation.com
University of Exeter cuts an ‘existential threat to humanities’
Russell Group institution cites changing student demand as it puts 500 staff at risk of redundancy, with 150 jobs set to go
7135118
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Dave Andress @davidandress.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Imagine a government that was helping everyone do this, instead of locked into a permanent psychodrama about how many refugees to hate this week.
213748
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
More job news: from 1st August, I'll be Head of Music at Royal Holloway. As is well known, it's a brilliant team. I'm lucky to have such wonderful colleagues and hard-working students. Looking forward to being 'captain of the ship' for a few years (and hope I can live up to the task!)
6181
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Dr Daniele Shlomit Sofer they/them @shlomitsofer.com · 15/06/2026
£3,000 each: The fellowships, open to applicants in all music sub-disciplines, will facilitate completion of a major musical research project by scholars not holding full-time, open-ended teaching and research, or full-time research-only academic posts in Higher Education.
013
Reposted by Dan Elphick
RMA @royalmusical.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
RMA Journals - move to digital default  RMA Members have long received a physical copy of the latest issue of Journal of the Royal Musical Association, released twice yearly. Owing to new contractual arrangements with...
rma.ac.uk
RMA Journals - move to digital default 
RMA Members have long received a physical copy of the latest issue of Journal of the Royal Musical Association, released twice yearly. Owing to new contractual arrangements with our publisher, Cambridge...
001
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
RIP the brilliant David Hockney www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Artist David Hockney dies aged 88
Hockney was one of Britain's most important artists of the modern era.
061
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Thomas Fuchs 🫯 @thomasfuchs.at · 10/06/2026
so if AI is so amazing, why don’t articles and books written with it have huge “proudly made with AI” banners and stickers on it we all know why
213033
Reposted by Dan Elphick
AkivaMCohen @akivamcohen.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
That's a pogrom. She's describing a pogrom
4932771072
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Pogroms.
reuters.com
Anti-immigrant violence erupts across Belfast after knife attack
Masked men burned families out of their homes in Belfast and torched a number of vehicles ​in a wave of anti-immigrant violence that followed a knife attack for which a Sudanese man appeared in court ...
3421117
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Rev. Dr. Liz Gloyn @lizgloyn.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
You lovely people have got me up to 190 responses, so I'm going to keep going to 200! If you're an academic in UK HE who's had pastoral responsibility for students in the last 5 years under any title, please take 10 mins to share your thoughts about that work. Please do share to widen the pool.
surveymonkey.com
The Role Of Interpersonal Relationships And Care In Personal Tutoring Within UK HEIS
Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.
54064
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
The Royal Holloway PLAY! Festival has started! www.royalholloway.ac.uk/about-us/eve... It's just a few days until my modest contribution for it - Dan Elphick sings Bob Dylan II: More Bob, More Dylan (featuring the brilliant Simon Watterton on piano). 9pm on Wednesday, the Packhorse.
Poster for my PLAY! festival event: 'Dan Elphick sings Bob Dylan II: More Bob, More Dylan' (featuring Simon Watteron). 10 June 2026, 9pm, The Packhorse, Egham.
051
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Andrew Levi @andrewprlevi.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Incitement to riot is a serious criminal offence (Public Order Act 1986). So are encouraging/assisting offending, causing fear/provoking immediate violence, stirring up racial hatred, & terrorism (variously under POA 1986, Serious Crime Act 2007, Terrorism Act 2006 etc). Enforce the law.
8247104
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Adam Boulton, "The family did say that they didn't want Henry Nowak's murder to be exploited politically" "As the front page of the I paper says, that plea has been ignored, particularly by Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson"
16360114
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Today, 4:30-6pm BST: online launch event for our collection, 'Constructing Polish Musical Identities Outside Poland since 1880: Sounding Polish' (ed. Stephen Downes and Daniel Elphick) Featuring three contributors and both editors, this promises to be an engaging book launch! Message me for link.
Book cover for said volume - featuring a highly stylised portrait of Paderewski.
091
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Very pleased to share that I've been promoted to Associate Professor (effective August). A warm thank you to everyone who helped with the application process and for support over the last few years.
4180
Reposted by Dan Elphick
The Verge @theverge.com · 26/05/2026
Boots Riley is resolute in his belief that AI proponents and studio heads who say that gen AI is the future of filmmaking are simply lying. Read the full interview from @charlespulliam.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/entertainmen...
Boots Riley quote: There’s a trillion dollars already invested in this technology, and a certain amount of the hype around it is just people scamming the same way we saw with NFTs.

Picture of Boots Riley with a big purple hat
482394601
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Dominic Dean @drdominicdean.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I suspect that within a year or two MPs will increasingly hear from A level students and parents finding that degree courses they want to take have vanished. Those who banked on being able to stay home for cost reasons, especially those living in areas with only one local uni, will be badly hit.
411041
Reposted by Dan Elphick
RMA @royalmusical.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
www.rma.ac.uk/2026/05/21/t... The Jerome Roche Prize for 2026 is awarded to Edwin Li for his article ‘Retranslating Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde‘, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 150/2 (2025), pp. 401-35.
rma.ac.uk
The Jerome Roche Prize 2026 – Royal Musical Association
141
Reposted by Dan Elphick
RMA @royalmusical.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
www.rma.ac.uk/2026/05/21/d... The Dent Medal 2026 is awarded to David R. M. Irving, who is an ICREA Research Professor at the Institució Milà i Fontanals de Recerca en Humanitats, CSIC, in Barcelona.
Close-up image of the RMA's Dent Medal
111
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Love Your Classical Music Geek @loveinner.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Unbelievably sad that the glorious Felicity Lott has passed. There have been many great sopranos, but few had the radiant intelligence of this extraordinary musical legend.
59123
Reposted by Dan Elphick
Rob Johnson @rjson.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Oof. Missed this the other day. By our measure Nottingham is the UK big city most reliant on the universities for local 'knowledge' jobs. One in four of all of these high skilled jobs in the city are academic and non academic staff in higher education. Could be a big blow
33124
Dan Elphick @danelphick.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
I can't help sharing my excitement that British Library online access to the EastView archive of digitised Russian/Slavic newspapers and journals is now back online! The loss of this back in 2023 was such a blow to many UK-based researchers in this field. To have it restored is a treat!
150