Music Research

Welcome

Staff and postgraduate research in music encompasses musicology, ethnomusicology, composition and practice research. Research in these areas often crosses over with disciplinary areas across the arts, humanities, social sciences and STEM, with expertise in musical communities, musical instruments, health and wellbeing, and how music is constructed for a range of purposes and peoples. Staff address research issues that have an impact on wider society, with recent work tackling subjects including music and tourism, the representation of mental health in music, and the role of music in healthcare.

The Music team are engaged in music as practitioner-researchers in performance, composition and direction. Staff have presented work in major festivals including Cambridge Folk Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Womad and Glyndebourne, as well as on the global stage at events including the Stockholm Culture Festival, ISCM World Music Days, and with international ensembles including the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. Staff are regularly featured in new releases as performers and composers, and presented in concerts, exhibitions and installations.

The team are committed to engaging locally and regionally with their work, with staff regularly leading local community and professional music groups, running events in the Being Human Festival of the Humanities, and organising festivals and performances in the region. Research outputs include composition work funded by Arts Council England, recordings for Oxford University Press Music, articles in international journals, chapters and books for major publishers, and interdisciplinary practice research projects presented in galleries, concert halls and on record. Staff regularly present work at international conferences and in innovative public engagement projects.

Opportunities for doctoral research in music include innovate approaches to practice research in composition and performance, field work and ethnomusicology, music and stage/screen, music in interactive media, musical analysis, musical instrument studies, music and sustainability, and musical temporality. A full range of staff expertise can be seen in our online staff profiles.