Course Description

Generating a musical performance involves complex motor programming and cognitive and perceptual operations. Studies of musical performance have focused on: the physical skill requirements; the generation of the music including the production of its expressive features; the aspects involved in coordinating ensemble performance; the social and communicative elements involved in inter-performer and performer-audience communication. In this Summer School, the first part of the session will delineate the field for students, providing an overview of the different types of research undertaken. In the second half of the session, students will be given examples of new research in the area, exploring a range of methodologies and theoretical perspectives.

Presenter

Professor Jane Davidson

Presenter Biography

Jane Davidson is the Callaway-Tunley Chair of Music at the University of Western Australia. She has written more than 100 scholarly publications and secured a range of research grants. In the area of musical development, her major output is based on two longitudinal research studies: one focused on children showing exceptional skills, and the second traced how children develop musical lives and identities, whether or not they persist with instrumental learning. Pioneering work on expressive body movement and social interaction in performance include topics ranging from the solo classical pianist and the chamber orchestra to Robbie Williams and Annie Lennox. Music and health research has examined music therapy interventions with multiple sclerosis patients and a series of investigation into the health benefits of singing. Jane is currently investigating singing interventions for older people, especially those facing social isolation. Two edited volumes -The Music Practitioner (Ashgate, 2004) and La pùrpura de la rosa: the staging of an opera, bringing the first Latin-American opera to life (DMLS, 2007) -reveal Jane’s interest in the social psychology of operatic rehearsal and production.