The Jerome Roche Prize is awarded annually by the RMA for a distinguished article by a scholar in the early stages of their career.

The Roche Prize for 2023 is awarded to Shaena B. Weitz (University of Bristol) for her article ‘Plagiarism and the Napoleonic Potpourri’ in Music & Letters, Vol. 103, No. 2.

In a strong field of submissions for this year’s prize, the panel commended this impressive and well-written article, which contributes not only new perspectives on nineteenth-century music through an in-depth study of potpourri as a genre, but addresses issues around musical cultures and plagiarism that remain relevant in a wider historical context. Dr Weitz is currently British Academy Newton International Fellow at the University of Bristol, having completed her PhD in musicology from the City University of New York (CUNY). She specialises in cultural studies of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century music in Europe, with specific interests in music journalism and media studies, virtuosity and celebrity, and historically informed performance and creative practices.