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4. Kelly Boyle

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BIOGRAPHY

Kelly is an ethnomusicologist with interests in Central Javanese Gamelan music, South Indian vocal percussion and song, and Irish popular and traditional musics. She is currently part-time lecturer in Music, teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Javanese Gamelan performance and ethnographic method and theory. She is co-director of Nyai Sekar Madu Sari, the department's Javanese Gamelan ensemble.

Kelly holds BA (Music and French, 1997) and BMus (1998) degrees from University College, Cork and completed her MA in Ethnomusicology at Wesleyan University, Connecticut in 2001.‍

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.

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Publications

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Book Chapters

	Year	Publication
	(2005)	'Music and Place: The Lobby, Charlies' and the Phoenix' Boyle, Kelly; (2005) 'Music and Place: The Lobby, Charlies' and the Phoenix' In: John Crowley, Robert Devoy, Denis Linehan and Patrick O'Flanagan eds (eds). Atlas of Cork City. Cork, Ireland: Cork University Press. [Details]

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Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2010)	'Donagh Long, Eleanor McAvoy, Robbie O'Connell, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Paddy Reilly, Damien Rice, John Spillane, Andy White, Ger Wolfe, Songwriters, and Singer songwriters' Boyle, Kelly; (2010) 'Donagh Long, Eleanor McAvoy, Robbie O'Connell, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Paddy Reilly, Damien Rice, John Spillane, Andy White, Ger Wolfe, Songwriters, and Singer songwriters' UCD Press. Dublin. [Details]

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Conference Contributions

	Year	Publication
	(2008)	Early Start Semester in Music, Boyle, Kelly; (2008) Master Class in Gamelan Performance. [Oral Presentation], Early Start Semester in Music, University College Cork , 01-SEP-08 - 01-SEP-08
	(2008)	Early Start Semester in Music, Boyle, Kelly; (2008) From the Showbands to U2 - The development of popular music in Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Early Start Semester in Music, University College Cork , 01-SEP-08 - 01-SEP-08
	(2007)	Early Start Semester in Music, Boyle, Kelly; (2007) Popular Music in Ireland. [Oral Presentation], Early Start Semester in Music, University College Cork , 01-AUG-07 - 01-AUG-07
	(2007)	International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Annual Symposium, Boyle, Kelly; (2007) Conference Organisation. [Conference Organising Committee Member], International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Annual Symposium, Department of Music, UCC , 01-JAN-07 - 01-JAN-07
	(2007)	Early Start Semester in Music, Boyle, Kelly; (2007) Master Class in Gamelan Performance. [Oral Presentation], Early Start Semester in Music, University College Cork , 01-AUG-07 - 01-AUG-07
	(2006)	Irish Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Symposium, Boyle, Kelly; (2006) From Whence the Tribal Rhythms: Performing an Irish Ethnomusicology. [Oral Presentation], Irish Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Symposium, University of Limerick , 22-FEB-06 - 22-FEB-06
	(2006)	Tradseminar, Boyle, Kelly; (2006) Challenges in Research in Irish Traditional Music (Chair). [Oral Presentation], Tradseminar, University College Cork , 01-FEB-06 - 01-FEB-06
	(2005)	Tradseminar, Boyle, Kelly; (2005) Research in Irish Traditional Music (Chair). [Oral Presentation], Tradseminar, University College Cork , 01-FEB-05 - 01-FEB-05
	(2002)	UCC Festival of Music, Boyle, Kelly; (2002) Conference Organisation. [Conference Organising Committee Member], UCC Festival of Music, University College Cork (Department of Music, UCC, Triskel Arts Centre, Granary Theatre, Firkin Crane, Honan Chapel, UCC) , 22-MAR-02 - 24-FEB-03

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Audiovisual material

	Year	Publication
	(2004)	Telephones and Gongs. Boyle, Kelly (by Mel Mercier and Lynda Buckley); (2004) Telephones and Gongs. UCC: Audiovisual material [Details]

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Thesis

	Year	Publication
	(2001)	The Resonating Space: Ceol - Irish Music in a Virtual Setting. Boyle, Kelly; (2001) The Resonating Space: Ceol - Irish Music in a Virtual Setting. Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA: Thesis/Dissertation [Details]

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Professional Activities

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Honours and Awards

	Year	Title	Awarding Body
	1998	Mary V. Hart Prize	University College Cork

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Employment

	Employer	Position	From / To
	University College Cork	College Lecturer	01-JAN-03 / 31-DEC-04
	University College Cork	Coordinator, Early Start Programme	01-SEP-03 / 30-SEP-06
	University College Cork	College Lecturer	01-OCT-02 / 01-SEP-03
	University College Cork	Tutor	01-OCT-01 / 01-MAY-02
	University College Cork	Lecturer in Music	01-SEP-02 /

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Education

	Year	Instituion	Qualification	Subject
	2001	Wesleyan University, CT, USA	MA	Ethnomusicology
	1997	University College Cork	BA	Music & French
	1998	University College Cork	B.MUS - UCC	unknown

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Teaching Activities

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Teaching Interests