PhD in Music - Performance

University of Sheffield

Performance is central to the work of the Department of Music at Sheffield and it interfaces with every research area. The history and development of performance practice is a viable research topic in its own right and practice-led research undertaken by highly skilled performers is supported and encouraged. Composers and performers work closely together to develop new work.Researchers in Ethnomusicology employ performance as a means of developing and disseminating research findings – performance features prominently in most fieldwork. Musicology now more than ever requires an holistic approach that includes the study of recordings and performances. And from the sway of the pianist coaxing notes from the piano to an MRI scan of a performer indicating brain activity, Music Psychology attempts to understand how performers translate the notes on the page into music.