By 1902, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s The Song of Hiawatha cantata had become an international sensation. So it was a huge coup for the Newton Abbot Choral Society when the globally famous composer said yes to their invitation to conduct the choir in a performance of the first part, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast. As far as we know, this was his only conducting appearance anywhere in Devon or Cornwall.

In this episode, Laura and Chamion retrace Coleridge-Taylor’s train journey from London Paddington to the Devon market town of Newton Abbot. They find out about the smart new restaurant cars that were by now serving high-end meals to more affluent rail travellers, consider the challenges of quantifying Edwardian Britain’s Black and mixed race population, and learn of the “loud applause” that greeted Coleridge-Taylor’s appearance at Alexandra Hall. 

Episode 2 was recorded on location at Paddington, on the train and in Newton Abbot. Many thanks to the contributors to this episode: Oliver Betts, Caroline Bressey, Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE, Tess Walker, Richard Ward, Nick Roberts, Jo Bowery and Christopher Goddard. And thank you to Great Western Railways’ Customer and Community Improvement Fund for generously supporting this series.

Tracks of a Trailblazer is an audio project from The Mixed Museum. It was researched, written, produced and presented by Dr Chamion Caballero and Laura Smith. 

Audio production was by ⁠Front Ear Podcasts⁠.

Series artwork was by Kinga Markus.

Series art design was by Jim McCormick.

Original music was by ⁠Rob Manning⁠.

To access a full transcript of this episode and see archive imagery of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and the places he visited, head over to our interactive map at https://trailblazer.mixedmuseum.org.uk/