Personal statement

Rachel Beale is a PhD researcher and a music teacher based in Cornwall, with a deep interest in the way music is made in the local community. She started teaching Music and Maths in 1979 and since 1999 has dedicated her career to providing music education, particularly instrumental teaching, in Newquay and Truro. As an orchestral player, she has worked with local musicians who are taking up orchestral instruments again in adult life to rediscover ensemble music-making. Her previous research has explored the blurred boundaries between professional and amateur music-making in this region.
 
She introduced whole-class violin lessons in schools in 1999, predating the government's Wider Opportunities Programme by eight years. She has written and conducted compositions for recorder ensembles in the UK, Europe and South Africa. She has led and performed with community orchestras in Cornwall. She also gives violin performances locally and further afield. 
 
Currently she teaches violin, recorder, piano and theory of music in Newquay, Cornwall.

Academic qualifications

  • MA in Music, The Open University (2012)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Music, The Open University (2011)
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Music, The Open University (2010)
  • BA (Hons) First-Class, The Open University (1998)
  • Diploma in Music, The Open University (1995)
  • Certificate in Education, University of Exeter (1979)
  • Diploma of Music in Education, Dartington College of Arts (1978).

 Current memberships

  • Royal Musical Association
  • British Forum of Ethnomusicology
  • Incorporated Society of Musicians (Fellow)
  • National Education Union
  • Cornwall Music Education Hub (Registered Provider)
  • Paul Harris Simultaneous Learning Teachers.

Thesis title

Amateur, Professional and In between: Exploring relationships between education, music identity, and Community Music-Making Ensembles in Truro, Cornwall.

Director of studies

Research supervisors

  • Dr Emma Asprey, Bath Spa University

Research interests

  • Community music-making
  • Professional and amateur identities in music
  • Music in formal education
  • Education beyond formal institutions
  • Lifelong learning
  • Music in serious leisure activities.

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce

Last summer, I gave you my song: singing restrictions for amateur choirs in summer 2021 following scores of hard days
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Beale, R (2022) Last summer, I gave you my song: singing restrictions for amateur choirs in summer 2021 following scores of hard days. In: Annual Conference of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, 7 - 10 April 2022, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

Singing praises: choral music from Truro Cathedral
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Beale, R (2022) Singing praises: choral music from Truro Cathedral. In: British Forum for Ethnomusicology and Royal Musical Association Research Students’ Conference, 6 - 8 January 2022, University of Plymouth, UK.

Lockdown unlocking change in music education practice
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Beale, R (2020) Lockdown unlocking change in music education practice. In: Annual EdD Conference: Sculpting Change, 20 June 2020, University of Cambridge, UK [online].

Layers of music education within a professional cathedral choir
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Beale, R (2019) Layers of music education within a professional cathedral choir. In: The 11th International Conference for Research in Music Education, 23 - 26 April 2019, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK.

A study in terms: definitions of ‘professional’ and ‘amateur’ in Western art music
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Beale, R (2016) A study in terms: definitions of ‘professional’ and ‘amateur’ in Western art music. In: British Forum for Ethnomusicology and Royal Musical Association Research Students’ Conference, 6 - 8 January 2016, University of Bangor, UK.

Reflections on musicianship in action in Truro, Cornwall
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Beale, R (2014) Reflections on musicianship in action in Truro, Cornwall. In: Musicians in the Community: Musicianship in Action, 11 November 2014, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK.

Lockdown unlocking change in music education practice [blog post]
other

Beale, R (2020) Lockdown unlocking change in music education practice [blog post]. Incorporated Society of Musicians.