The Academy’s lively research programme builds on our common store of knowledge and understanding about music by investigating the dynamics of musical creativity from multiple perspectives. This special environment – in which leading composers, performers, musicologists, music technologists and animateurs work with each other and with some of the world’s most exciting young musical talent – affords us unique insight into the creative collaborations and negotiations between composers, instrument makers, editors, performers and audiences which has characterised music in the West. We are fortunate in this work to be able to draw on the unrivalled riches of the Academy’s collections of instruments, documents and artefacts.

The opening of the Academy’s museum at the start of the century was an opportunity for us to reflect on our place in music history and traditions, to explore the work of leading composers and performers, to articulate our role as a link between the past, the present and the future, and – not least – to share with a wider audience our passion for our treasures and their significance. A vital part of this mission is the series of regular workshops and research events held in the museum. These act as points of reflections for staff and students, and for visitors interested in exploring musical creativity. They are all archived in audio-visual form and added to our Performance Research Collection. This allows the interactive and event-based nature of our research processes to be documented and used for further reflection, whether by performers, composers or musicologists.

Timothy Jones, Director of Programmes and Research

If you would like to find out more about research at the Academy please contact Dr David Gorton,
Associate Head of Research, research@ram.ac.uk