Wales and music: a conversation with Huw Stephens

Find out more about The Open University’s music courses 

Dr Martin V. Clarke and Dr Helen Barlow sit down to talk with radio DJ and TV presenter Huw Stephens about the idea of Wales as a ‘musical nation’.

This discussion took place on 28 November 2022, following the OU / BBC TV series Wales: Music Nation, presented by Huw Stephens. Read more about the OU experts who took part below.

Dr Martin V. Clarke

Head of Discipline (Music), Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
The Open University

Martin Clarke's primary research interests lie in the relationships between music, theology and religious practice, and the history of music in Wales. His work on music, theology and religion has been principally focused on music and religious practice in Britain since the eighteenth century, and in the Methodist movement more widely. 

Dr Helen Barlow

Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
The Open University

Dr Helen Barlow researches into the social and cultural history of music in Britain and particularly Wales in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and into music iconography. She is most at home with an interdisciplinary approach, and finds that her background in literature and art history offers different perspectives on music history.

Wales: Music Nation TV series

Co-produced by BBC Cymru Wales and The Open University, Wales: Music Nation with Huw Stephens follows presenter, DJ and music fanatic Huw Stephens as he delves deep into the surprising and varied story of music in Wales.

Discover more free learning resources inspired by the series: