Music and Performing Arts research

Area of research excellence: Music and Performing Arts

Music and Performing Arts research is centred on the Bath School of Music and Performing Arts and makes connections with researchers in other disciplines, both within the University and externally. Our research is driven by three themes which address current societal challenges:

Materiality and Corporeality: We investigate intersections between the material world, bodies and the arts, drawing on interdisciplinary frameworks, including somatics and new materialisms, grounded in embodied practice-based research.
Practitioner Methodologies: We investigate the ways practitioners in music and performing arts make work, focusing on the aesthetic, technical, ethical and cultural strategies they use to communicate their ideas.
Social Engagement: We interrogate oppressive social structures through the lens of critical praxis to develop arts-based interventions.

The three themes encompass our six research groups, providing a context and framework for our research:

Arts and Social Change (ASC) explores creative arts practices as a methodology and instrumental tool for effective ethical engagement with marginalised individuals, groups, identities, bodies and voices
Creative Corporealities (CC) concerns itself with embodiment as a source of creative practice, with its own causalities and politics
Intercultural Communication through Practice (ICP) explores how cultural heritage is shared across borders and how knowledge is transmitted through arts practice
Open Scores Lab (OSL) explores scoring in its widest sense, developing new approaches to framing experience through instructions
Sonic Materialities Lab (SML) brings together theorists and practitioners to develop and creatively activate new understandings of the materiality of sound in contemporary music and sonic art
Sound Arts and Visual Music (SAVM) explores the new relationships between sound, music and image that are being forged in contemporary practice.

The groups organise ongoing events, symposia and conferences. They bring together senior and early career researchers, including PhDs (as well as taught postgraduate and undergraduate students), and visiting researchers and practitioners. They aim to create a forum for sharing research, supporting the vitality and sustainability of our research community and its external contexts. The groups are all interdisciplinary, working beyond academic school structures to bring together perspectives from different fields in order to challenge ideas within individual disciplines.

Related research centres

Strategic:

School based:

Arts for Social Change Research Group
Creative Corporealities Research Group
Intercultural Communication and Creative Practice Research Group
Music Research Centre
Open Scores Lab Research Group
The Sonic Materialities Research Group
Sound Arts and Visual Music Research Group.

Related projects

MediaWall

Mbira Hut

Word Events: Perspectives on Verbal Notation

Beyond East and West

Series as multipart pieces with regulated changes

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce

Choreography and verbatim theatre: dancing words

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McCormack, J (2018) Choreography and verbatim theatre: dancing words. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. ISBN 9783319920184

Mechanical – magical: the shared creative vision of Harrison Birtwistle and Paul Klee

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Dickinson, J (2020) 'Mechanical – magical: the shared creative vision of Harrison Birtwistle and Paul Klee.' In: Gartmann, T, ed. Von der Fuge in Rot bis zur Zwischermaschine: Klee und die Musik. Schwabe, Basel, pp. 123-139. ISBN 9783796542558

Spectacular bodies, unsettling objects: material performance as intervention in stereotypes of refugees

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Purcell-Gates, L (2020) 'Spectacular bodies, unsettling objects: material performance as intervention in stereotypes of refugees.' In: Meerzon, Y, Dean, D and McNeil, D, eds. Migration and stereotypes in performance and culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 39-55. ISBN 9783030399146

The new analogue: media archaeology as creative practice in 21st century audiovisual art

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Hyde, J (2020) 'The new analogue: media archaeology as creative practice in 21st century audiovisual art.' In: Knight-Hill, A, ed. Sound and image: aesthetics and practices. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 188-205. ISBN 9780367271466

Dancing critical somatics – an emancipatory education for the future?

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Kampe, T and Batson, G (2020) 'Dancing critical somatics – an emancipatory education for the future?' In: David, A.R, Huxley, M and Whatley, S, eds. Dance fields: staking a claim for dance studies in the twenty-first century. Dance Books, Binsted, pp. 154-184. ISBN 9781852731816

Three pronged attack: the pincer movement of gender allies, tempered radicals and pioneers

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Regan, J (2020) 'Three pronged attack: the pincer movement of gender allies, tempered radicals and pioneers.' In: Hepworth-Sawyer, R, Hodgson, J, King, L and Marrington, M, eds. Gender in music production. Routledge, New York, NY, pp. 187-198. ISBN 9781138613362

The monster and the corpse: puppetry and the uncanniness of gender performance

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Purcell-Gates, L (2019) 'The monster and the corpse: puppetry and the uncanniness of gender performance.' In: Astles, C, Mello, A and Orenstein, C, eds. Women and puppetry: critical and historical investigations. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 19-34. ISBN 9780415787390

Game of Thrones: investigating British acting

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Knox, S and Cassidy, G (2019) 'Game of Thrones: investigating British acting.' In: Hilmes, M, Hills, M and Pearson, R, eds. Transatlantic television drama: industries, programs and fans. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 181-200. ISBN 9780190663131

Cross-cultural collaborations with the Kronos Quartet

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Bayley, A (2018) 'Cross-cultural collaborations with the Kronos Quartet.' In: Clarke, E and Doffman, M, eds. Distributed creativity: collaboration and improvisation in contemporary music. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp. 93-113. ISBN 9780199355914

“In this England, in these times” : redefining the British musical from 1970-present

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Lundskaer-Nielsen, M (2017) '“In this England, in these times” : redefining the British musical from 1970-present.' In: Everett, W.A and Laird, P.R, eds. The Cambridge companion to the musical. 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 323-338. ISBN 9781107535299

In good company: the authorial process of Anthony Neilson

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Cassidy, G (2017) 'In good company: the authorial process of Anthony Neilson.' In: Reid, T, ed. The theatre of Anthony Neilson. Bloomsbury, London, pp. 159-170. ISBN 9781472570307

Cameron Mackintosh: control, collaboration and the creative producer

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Lundskaer-Nielsen, M (2017) 'Cameron Mackintosh: control, collaboration and the creative producer.' In: Gordon, R and Jubin, O, eds. The Oxford handbook of the British musical. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 537-560. ISBN 9780199988747

Developing dialogues in intercultural music-making

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Bayley, A and Dutiro, C (2016) 'Developing dialogues in intercultural music-making.' In: Burnard, P, Mackinlay, E and Powell, K, eds. The Routledge international handbook of intercultural arts research. Routledge, Abingdon, pp. 391-403. ISBN 9781138909939

Percy Grainger: pioneer of electronic music

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Hugill, A (2015) 'Percy Grainger: pioneer of electronic music.' In: Robinson, S and Dreyfus, K, eds. Grainger the modernist. Ashgate, Farnham, pp. 231-254. ISBN 9781472420220

The Prince-Sondheim legacy

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Lundskaer-Nielsen, M (2014) 'The Prince-Sondheim legacy.' In: Gordon, R, ed. The Oxford handbook of Sondheim studies. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 97-116. ISBN 9780195391374

Dancing diffraction: many bodies make light work in Sasha Milavic Davies and Lucy Railton's 'everything that rises must dance' (2018)

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McCormack, J (2020) 'Dancing diffraction: many bodies make light work in Sasha Milavic Davies and Lucy Railton's 'everything that rises must dance' (2018).' Performance Research, 25 (5). pp. 77-83. ISSN 1352-8165

Embodied correspondences with the material world: Marcel Jousse’s ‘laboratory of the self’ as a force for creative practice in performer training

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Nixon, E (2019) 'Embodied correspondences with the material world: Marcel Jousse’s ‘laboratory of the self’ as a force for creative practice in performer training.' Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 10 (1). pp. 97-112. ISSN 1944-3927

Entangled histories, part 2: releasing the de-generate body

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Kampe, T (2017) 'Entangled histories, part 2: releasing the de-generate body.' Journal of Dance & Somatic Practices, 9 (1). pp. 75-93. ISSN 1757-1871

Communicating through notation: Michael Finnissy’s Second String Quartet from composition to performance

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Bayley, A and Heyde, N (2017) 'Communicating through notation: Michael Finnissy’s Second String Quartet from composition to performance.' Music Performance Research, 8. pp. 80-97. ISSN 1755-9219

Puppet bodies: reflections and revisions of marionette movement theories in Philippe Gaulier’s Neutral Mask pedagogy

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Purcell-Gates, L (2017) 'Puppet bodies: reflections and revisions of marionette movement theories in Philippe Gaulier’s Neutral Mask pedagogy.' Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 8 (1). pp. 46-60. ISSN 1944-3927

Automata and bêtise: contamination anxieties in late nineteenth-century French mime

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Purcell-Gates, L (2017) 'Automata and bêtise: contamination anxieties in late nineteenth-century French mime.' Popular Entertainment Studies, 8 (1). pp. 21-35. ISSN 1837-9303

Gazing at Medusa: adaptation as phallocentric appropriation in 'Blue is the warmest color'

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Krauthaker, M and Connolly, R (2017) 'Gazing at Medusa: adaptation as phallocentric appropriation in 'Blue is the warmest color'.' European Comic Art, 10 (1). pp. 24-40. ISSN 1754-3797

‘crossing/weaving’: somatic interventions in choreographic practices

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Kampe, T (2016) '‘crossing/weaving’: somatic interventions in choreographic practices.' Feldenkrais Research Journal, 5. ISSN 1817-4000

Creative layers and continuities: a case study of Nicole Lizée and the Kronos Quartet

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Bayley, A and Lizée, N (2016) 'Creative layers and continuities: a case study of Nicole Lizée and the Kronos Quartet.' Musicae Scientiae, 20 (3). pp. 392-412. ISSN 1029-8649

Audience agency in participatory performance: a methodology for examining aesthetic experience

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Breel, A (2015) 'Audience agency in participatory performance: a methodology for examining aesthetic experience.' Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies, 12 (1). pp. 368-387. ISSN 1749-8716

Code as Prosthesis (2020) [REF2021 collection]

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Herrema, R (2021) Code as Prosthesis (2020) [REF2021 collection].

The Great Margin (2020) [REF2021 collection]

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Soyinka, B (2021) The Great Margin (2020) [REF2021 collection].

Borderland (2016) [REF2021 collection]

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Steadman, M (2021) Borderland (2016) [REF2021 collection].

Dramaturgies of Hauntology through practice-based research methodologies in Dwelling and The Strange Geometry of Time (2018-2020) [REF2021 collection]

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Steadman, M (2021) Dramaturgies of Hauntology through practice-based research methodologies in Dwelling and The Strange Geometry of Time (2018-2020) [REF2021 collection].

Wild Places: Mountain (2015) [REF2021 collection]

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Hyde, J (2021) Wild Places: Mountain (2015) [REF2021 collection].

danceroom Spectroscopy 2.0 (2014 - 2018) [REF2021 collection]

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Hyde, J (2021) danceroom Spectroscopy 2.0 (2014 - 2018) [REF2021 collection].

Molecular Music (2014) [REF2021 collection]

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Hyde, J (2021) Molecular Music (2014) [REF2021 collection].

Collective Reality (2016, 2017) [REF2021 collection]

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Hyde, J (2021) Collective Reality (2016, 2017) [REF2021 collection].

things to do (2014-2020) [REF2021 collection]

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Saunders, J (2021) things to do (2014-2020) [REF2021 collection].

you are required to split your attention between multiple sources of information (2018) [REF2021 collection]

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Saunders, J (2021) you are required to split your attention between multiple sources of information (2018) [REF2021 collection].

it is impossible for everyone to achieve everything they want (2018) [REF2021 collection]

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Saunders, J (2021) it is impossible for everyone to achieve everything they want (2018) [REF2021 collection].

know that your actions reflect within the group (2017) [REF2021 collection]

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Saunders, J (2021) know that your actions reflect within the group (2017) [REF2021 collection].

alternate between attention and ease (2017) [REF2021 collection]

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Saunders, J (2021) alternate between attention and ease (2017) [REF2021 collection].

The Velvet Rage (for flute, voice, cello, and electronics) (2017) [REF2021 collection]

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Sergeant, M (2021) The Velvet Rage (for flute, voice, cello, and electronics) (2017) [REF2021 collection].

bête gabriel-rufael (for tenor saxophone, percussion, and computer-controlled click-track) (2015) [REF2021 collection]

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Sergeant, M (2021) bête gabriel-rufael (for tenor saxophone, percussion, and computer-controlled click-track) (2015) [REF2021 collection].

KISS (for solo violin and twine bow) (2014) [REF2021 collection]

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Sergeant, M (2021) KISS (for solo violin and twine bow) (2014) [REF2021 collection].

Lichen (for solo electric lap-steel guitar) (2016) [REF2021 collection]

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Sergeant, M (2021) Lichen (for solo electric lap-steel guitar) (2016) [REF2021 collection].

Meeting the Universe Halfway (for instruments and three custom-made apparatuses) (2018) [REF2021 collection]

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Sergeant, M (2021) Meeting the Universe Halfway (for instruments and three custom-made apparatuses) (2018) [REF2021 collection].

Criminal Research: Creating Communities of Practice (2017-2020) [REF2021 collection]

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Simpson, E (2021) Criminal Research: Creating Communities of Practice (2017-2020) [REF2021 collection].

The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: puppetry as a practice-based analytic within the medical humanities (2014-2017) [REF2021 collection]

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Purcell-Gates, L (2021) The Depraved Appetite of Tarrare the Freak: puppetry as a practice-based analytic within the medical humanities (2014-2017) [REF2021 collection].