Lorraine Lionheart

Lorraine Lionheart is a PhD researcher in Music (Ethnomusicology) at SOAS University of London. Her research explores the music, cultural practices, and political expression of San communities in Botswana, with particular focus on youth engagement, performance, and questions of cultural labour and self-determination.  

Her work examines how San youth use musical performance as a form of cultural capital to navigate socio-economic marginalisation, articulate political voice, and create pathways for economic sustainability. Engaging closely with community-led musical practices, her research highlights the role of music as both a livelihood strategy and a site of cultural continuity, negotiation, and resistance.  Methodologically, her project adopts an ethnographic and practice-based approach, incorporating long-term fieldwork, participant observation, and collaborative audiovisual production. A central component of her doctoral research is a six-episode ethnographic film series, which presents her findings through audiovisual storytelling, combining interviews, performance, and archival materials. 

This work reflects her broader commitment to multimodal and decolonial research methodologies that centre indigenous knowledge systems and lived experience.  Working across multiple languages, including Setswana and several San languages, she engages with the complexities of translation, representation, and voice within ethnographic research. Her work contributes to ongoing discussions in ethnomusicology, indigenous studies, and African studies, particularly in relation to cultural rights, youth agency, and creative economies.  

Lorraine holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Technology and Management and a Master of Arts in Music Production from Staffordshire University. Alongside her academic research, she is an established cultural musician, educator, and digital content creator. Her work spans international performance, conference and panel participation, and the facilitation of workshops centred on African music and cultural expression. She performs in 17 languages, including 14 African languages, reflecting her deep engagement with linguistic and cultural diversity. 

Lorraine has performed at high-profile events including the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, several Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings events, and engagements linked to the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla. Through both live and digital platforms, she engages a large global audience and has extensive experience in community-based cultural work.  Her work bridges academic research and creative practice, positioning music as both scholarship and lived experience, and contributing to broader conversations on the role of the arts in social transformation and indigenous self-representation.

San musical futures and youth-led performance in Botswana Cultural labour and economic agency through music Music, marginalisation, and political expression Indigenous knowledge systems and decolonial methodologies Ethnographic film and audiovisual storytelling Multilingual research practices (Setswana and San languages) Cultural heritage, preservation, and innovation