The University of Leeds

Graduate Student, Music

About

I'm never entirely sure what to put here. While at secondary school in Coventry I began studying classical guitar and my teacher introduced me to some Eastern European folk music, and that started it all off really! I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham, and chose to write my dissertation, ""No Cristal de uma Gargante Vive a Alma de um Pais - Fado Na Alma Portuguesa: The Role of Fado in Shaping Portuguese National Identity" on the role of fado in Portuguese national identity (a subject close to my heart as I am half Portuguese and have grown up listening to this music) under the watchful supervision of Dr Virginia Anderson.
Following on from this I went to Birmingham Conservatoire and did an MMus in musicology, where my research and dissertation, "Zoltán Kodály: The Nationalism of 'Classical Folk Music'" (Supervised by Dr Liz Garnett and Prof. Peter Johnson) was focussed on the large scale orchestral and choral works of Zoltán Kodály, his use and treatment of Hungarian folk music within these works, and his approach to nationalist and religious themes.
I am currently doing my PhD at the University of Leeds under the supervision of Prof. Derek Scott and Dr Kevin Dawe, and my research is focussing on fado once again, but with particular reference to the notion of 'authenticity' within fado, and by extension within folk music in general, both urban and rural. While this does necessitate some field work and research in Lisbon, listening to good music in an atmosphere of good food and wine, I'm willing to take that hit in the name of ethnomusicology!
My other musical interests include the music of Kodály and Villa-Lobos, and the monastic tradition of singing and accompanying the psalms of the Divine Office. Outside of my research, I also teach guitar and am musical director (and organist out of necessity) of my local Catholic Church. In addition, I am currently collaborating on a project designing a course to teach Gregorian chant/plainsong to children, and making this style of music more accessible to schools and churches.

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