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Research Interests

A significant portion of my research is based on music performance, in particular the performance of Central Javanese Gamelan music. I am especially interested in practical and theoretical aspects of the music, which I explore through performance and teaching. This aspect of my research brought me to Java in 2003 to undertake fieldwork and music lessons in karawitan, the classical Gamelan music of Central Java. Since then, through my work with the UCC Javanese Gamelan Ensemble, as co-director and performer, I continue to explore practical and theoretical aspects of this music. In particular, my research in this area develops an understanding of the performance and teaching of both traditional repertoire and kreasi baru, new compositions for Javanese Gamelan. My experience to date has enabled me to establish connections with one of the most vibrant Gamelan scenes in the UK, London’s Southbank Gamelan. My connection with the musicians active there provides potential for continuing to develop this aspect of my research profile.

The work I carry out in performance with this ensemble also informs my interest in broader ethnomusicological concerns which relate to notions of music and cultural context and the representation of ‘distant’ music cultures (in particular within an educational context). Active involvement in performance in this way is, for me, central to my engagement with ethnomusicological enquiry in general.

The research interests which I developed and refined in my MA thesis continue to inform my inquiries: specifically, the institutionalisation of Irish music, the implications of cultural tourism for musical expression and the issues of representation that arise from such contexts, the mediation of musical experience via multi-media technologies, the reconfiguration of local and national musical identities in the context of global networking and consumerism.

More recently, my interest has focused on local music-making, on popular and traditional idioms in Irish music, and the often-subtle distinctions and interplay between these genres of music. In particular, my examination of local musics explores relationships between music and identity, place and locality and considers the ways in which transnational or global trends come into dialogue with ‘smaller,’ local inflections. Many of my earlier research questions persist, while new questions continue to form. These interests require an engagement with diverse literature from Irish music studies, ethnomusicology, anthropology, popular music studies.

Overall, my approach to my research interests, my methodology and theoretical orientation are grounded in ethnomusicology. I continue to explore the possibilities that this discipline offers for the understanding of music-making in Ireland and of the type of performance I am involved in. My research aims are to develop further this potential.