About Research at the Academy
Research at the Academy is focused on the interrogation of musical creativity.
The Academy has a strongly collaborative culture. By sustaining a dialogue between all members of our community, we aim to re-evaluate and build on our musical heritage and performance traditions.
Much of the Academy’s research activity is practice-based, focusing on the practical aspects of music in the areas of performance and composition. This is a broad field, encompassing the analysis and application of performance materials and research on instruments, as well as the critical and reflective study of musical practice itself. Alongside performance and composition, research at the Academy encompasses historical and analytical approaches to music and its myriad entanglements with social, cultural and political contexts.
As part of our commitment to knowledge exchange, we encourage creative interaction between students and staff, between performers, composers, instrument makers, scholars and practitioners in other art forms, and between the Academy and the wider world. We develop and support projects that strike new ground in musical practices; engage with new audiences, re-evaluate and build on musical traditions; and have an impact on communities and beneficiaries beyond academia.
The outcomes of our research take many different forms. In addition to books and scholarly articles, outputs include compositions, performance materials, public performances, instrumental technologies, recordings, websites, and other types of public advocacy for innovative creative practice.
Our research culture also draws on our globally significant collection of musical artefacts, including fine stringed instruments ranging from Cremonese masterpieces to examples by today’s leading makers, historic keyboard instruments, musical iconography, composers’ manuscripts, and a wide range of performance materials annotated by iconic 19th- and 20th-century musicians.
