The twentieth-century shift in vocal pedagogy towards a scientifically driven approach to voice research and practice was, in large part, led by American singing teachers such as Vennard and Appelman (Hoch, 2018). This development in the U.S. is partially founded upon immigration, which caused the dissemination of diverse European national styles of vocal teaching (Miller, 1977; Freed, 2000). Such physiological thinking about singing has its origins in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century, and modern researchers generally begin historical overviews of American vocal pedagogy texts with that of Frederick Root (1873) (Grogan, 2010). However, this ignores Root's voice teacher in New York: Carlo Bassini (c1815-1870). Bassini was a prolific writer and successful singing teacher, who in 1857 published the first major European-style singing voice pedagogy method book in the United States specifically for an American audience, followed by five further volumes over ten years, yet his impact on American voice teaching remains unexplored. Studies of Bassini are rare (Lyle, 1995; Austin, 2010; Cox 2021). He began his career as an itinerant violinist and finished as one of the foremost singing teachers and writers in New York. Bassini's teaching career was driven by his circumstances, both political and personal. His extensive travels in Europe and the Americas gave him the opportunity to acquire a broad range of pedagogical theory. Bassini studied in Naples in the 1820s in the Italian style, yet his books show a commitment to mid-nineteenth-century physiologically based methodologies of voice training, bridging the historical and theoretical gap between the experience-based teaching of the late 1700s, and mid-nineteenth-century scientific practices. In my PhD (started September 2021) I will explore the impact of Bassini's life and travels on his teaching, and produce a comprehensive examination of the development of his pedagogical philosophy from his earliest published articles (1853) to his final book (1869), investigating his influence on American singing teaching. To understand how he approached this in his teaching practice, I will trial his advanced exercises in my own voice and design a test protocol for beginners to trial the early stages of his system, illuminating the historical early-stage training of singers and contributing to modern teaching practice for developing beginner voices. Research Questions: To what extent might Carlo Bassini be considered the founder of the American tradition of vocal pedagogy? a) How can Carlo Bassini's life and six vocal pedagogy method books illuminate the earliest period of specifically American voice teaching as distinct from imported European methods? b) What can an analysis of Bassini's articles (1853-1857) and books (1857-1869) tell us about the basis and development of his pedagogical philosophy and methodology? c) To what extent can Bassini's teaching methods be found to apply in a modern teaching practice? Timeline (by year): 1) Literature review, historical and biographical research (in progress). Practical auto-exploration of advanced exercises. 2) Creation of database of exercises organised thematically and structurally. Thematic analysis of books. 3) Pedagogical analysis. Set up case studies. 4) Reception study. Case-study. 5) Completion and submission.

This project will examine Clara Schumann's academic, yet creative, approach to teaching and how its application in current practice can be used to enhance learning experiences for future generations of piano students. I will use a mixed methodological approach combining historical research with practice-led methods - the latter involving both performance and pedagogy - drawing upon historical archival documents, recording analysis, contemporaneous instruments (including the 1850s Wieck piano) and editions. Clara Schumann (1819-1896) played an integral role in the musical culture of the nineteenth century as a pianist, composer and pedagogue. This is despite her career being overshadowed not only by her husband Robert Schumann, but also by the pedagogical success of her father, Friedrich Wieck. Although there has been an upsurge in interest for Clara Schumann's work (promoted by her bi-centenary) her pedagogical impact and methods are still largely overlooked despite her teaching many of the great pianists of the time. Clara Schumann's School is often referred to in literature (Fang, 1978 and Yang, 2010) but references lack specific details. Using recordings made by Clara Schumann's students - in particular Fanny Davies (1930), Adelina de Lara (1951) and Carl Friedberg (1953) -alongside an examination of her own works for piano, editorial additions (published and manuscript) and first-hand accounts of her teaching, this project will systematically investigate Clara Schumann's pedagogical methods. The performance of these aspects will be tested on modern and historical pianos. I will apply the findings in my own practice as a pedagogue. Cheltenham College has agreed to participate in this research, enabling a deeper exploration of Clara Schumann's teaching philosophies, by recreating aspects of her teaching environment to evaluate whether her approaches will benefit current teaching systems. My Conservatoire education has provided the ideal range of experience for this project: my Final BMus (Hons) project at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) focused on modern piano pedagogy. My MA in Musicology developed this initial interest in Clara Schumann's pedagogy most notably through my dissertation, 'Clara Schumann as Piano Pedagogue' alongside a historical performance module, both of which were used specifically as a prelude to my doctoral project. Furthermore, I have presented papers at the BFE/RMA Research Students' Conference (11/01/19 and 09/01/20) and have a paper accepted for 'Musical Women in Europe in the Long Nineteenth Century' (26/02/20). These have and will continue to provide opportunities to share my research and exemplify the significant interest for this project.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Throughout the years, the development and implementation of Erasmus+ KA103 project and other outward mobility activities at Birmingham City University (BCU) has advanced significantly; this project supported the steady increase of mobilities of both staff and students. The entire project in relation to Erasmus+ mobility activities are sitting with the International Office to support the entire University mobility activities in line with the University's future internationalisation plans. The change in the approach has also resulted in a positive impact on BCU's HESA return statistics, growing the mobility return.Semesterising the curriculum allowed more students to participate in study and work abroad. BCU's internal structure also significantly helped with the steady increase of mobilities and stability of the project, for example, continuing to promote KA103 mobilities to all outgoing students (including those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those who require special needs support) through key contact points within each Faculty, alongside the dedicated team in the International Office. Staff mobility, both academic or professional services training, is actively being encouraged by BCU via information sessions, extensive internal promotion activities by the mobility team and staff e-mails throughout the year. Mobilities are in place to allow the delivery of new working practices to colleagues. The results of this year’s project are being enhanced further with support and promotion for these activities through work by the mobility team in the International Office and continued Faculty support across the institution, with the establishment of a dedicated member of staff at each Faculty to support the mobility activities. BCU has been successful in applying for Key Action 1 funding for several years and can witness from current application rates thatinterest is improving at a steady rate. The 2018/20 academic years witnessed a further stage of the curriculum development phase to support BCU students and staff in the form of ‘Transforming the Curriculum’. The University is pursuing excellence by providing practice-led, knowledge-applied education that is interdisciplinary, employability-driven (BCU has a 97% employability rate, being in the top seven in the United Kingdom) with unique internationalised curriculum and programmes. This will have driven or contributed to the staff mobility activities seen in this project. The philosophy behind the defining factor of a BCU degree is that all programmes are personalised within five key themes across the student experience offer, with one being internationalisation. The programmes will further demonstrate a global focus and the opportunities for internationalisation provided. 159 participants in total were funded in this project, exceeding estimated figures from last year. Staff mobility continues to be the largest mobility activity, however student participation also has seen an increase compared to previous years following the extensive promotion and dissemination of the internal campaign. The increasing results achieved are demonstrated through the impact the participants felt, in particularly incoming students. Staff and students shared their comments alike in the EU survey, along with voluntary feedback highlighting the positive immediate and longer-term benefits. BCU also welcomes the honesty of staff and students and accept some adverse issues with their mobilities and more efforts will be put in place to tackle these comments and to look to enhance possible processes for the benefit of all involved. The continued success of BCU’s Erasmus+ grant funding in Key Action 1 supports the university's strategic aims and further links within the EU and internationally. BCU has been successfully awarded funding for International Credit Mobility projects and continues to foster experience for the benefit of partners, staff and students. All activities and efforts are further contributed and disseminated throughout all channels of communication, internally and externally. The long-term objective of the BCU strategy would be to increase its mobility numbers and activities, and this will be achieved via collaborative work with colleagues and other stakeholders from the Higher Education sector, plus organising more student events at BCU. Certainly, we were are satisfied with the results but will be looking at improving further in the next call.