Dear List Members,
Following the recent research forum at City University London, we are delighted to announce that a video recording of the event is available on the City University Music Youtube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo1FqhbqVCI

PhD student Roya Arab has published a response at:
https://blogs.city.ac.uk/music/2015/12/08/can-composition-and-performance-be-research-video-of-research-seminar-november-25-2015-and-reflections-by-roya-arab/

Ian Pace has also published a response to the seminar and replied to John Croft’s published response here: https://blogs.city.ac.uk/music/2015/12/09/composition-and-performance-as-research-reflections-and-responses-by-ian-pace/

And another response by Scott McLaughlin who attended the session: http://artisticresearchreports.blogspot.be/2015/12/scott-mc-laughlin-reporting-on-par.html?m=1

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'Can Composition and Performance be Research? Critical Perspectives’

Wednesday 25 November, 5.30-7.30pm

Research Forum, Department of Music, City University London
Room AG09, College Building, St John St, London EC1V 0HB
All welcome and admission free
http://www.city.ac.uk/events/2015/november/can-composition-and-performance-be-research-critical-perspectives
In this special form a group of panellists will lead a discussion on current debates about the relationship between practice and research. The discussion will centre on two articles in particular: John Croft’s recent and significant article ‘Composition is not Research’ (Tempo, 69/272 (April 2015), pp. 6-11 -http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/10922/3/Fulltext.pdf ) and Ian Pace’s reply ‘Composition and Performance can be, and often have been, Research’ (forthcoming in Tempo, 70/275 (January 2016) - http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/12804/ ).

Background
Composers and performers in UK university music departments are often employed in full academic positions and are expected to produce research, participate in the Research Excellence Framework, apply for research funding, and demonstrate all these things in order to qualify for career advancement. This situation creates imperatives often distinct from, and sometimes conflicting with, those informing their practical work outside of an academic context. Different institutions can have hugely differing perspectives on the research credentials of practice-based work, and the experiences and fortunes of such practitioners working in academia have varied correspondingly.

John Croft’s article ‘Composition is not Research’ threw down a gauntlet in its rejection of the possibility that compositional outputs can be measured as research in the same manner as more conventional outputs. Croft called for an end to the integration of composers into existing research structures of universities, and a return to the idea of ‘research equivalence’ instead.

This article has generated a good deal of discussion on blogs and social media since its appearance, some of which has been markedly hostile. The January 2016 issue of Tempo will feature two articles in response, one by composer Camden Reeves, the other by City Head of Performance Ian Pace, entitled ‘Composition and Performance can be, and often have been, Research’.

In this article, Pace provides an extended critique of Croft’s arguments, drawing upon wider debates on practice-as-research from beyond the musical field, arguing that Croft’s definitions of research are too narrow, that composition and performance frequently constitute research as much as any other types of outputs, and that the real issue is deriving equitable criteria for judging very different types of research outputs, though this is equally a problem between divergent types of written work.


Panellists

Christopher Fox (Professor of Composition at Brunel University and editor of Tempo)
Ian Pace (pianist and Head of Performance at City University)
Miguel Mera (composer and Head of the Department of Music at City University)
Annie Yim (pianist and DMA student at City University)
Christine Dysers (PhD student in Music at City University)
Camden Reeves (composer and Head of Music at Manchester University)



The page on the City website for the event is http://www.city.ac.uk/events/2015/november/can-composition-and-performance-be-research-critical-perspectives - on my own blog I have posted a slightly more extensive version with a link to a pre-publication version of my own paper to be discussed -https://ianpace.wordpress.com/2015/11/04/research-forum-can-composition-and-performance-be-research-critical-perspectives-city-university-november-25th-2015-1730/ . I hope very much people on this list will want to attend.



Ian Pace

Lecturer, Head of Performance

Department of Music

City University London

Northampton Square

London EC1V 0HB

UK

Tel +44 (0)20 7040 8016

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