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.

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Research Context - As a festival director and producer, I have experienced first-hand the crisis in the UK arts sector. From changes in how we communicate with audiences and funders, to how we think about programming and how we contract artists, everything has been inverted in previously unimaginable ways (Rentschler, Lee 2021; Gradinaru 2021; Davies 2020). Facing these challenges from different positions - the Producer of a thriving 40-year-old Festival in rural North Yorkshire; and Founder and Director of a much smaller, 5-year-old Festival in the Chilterns - as well as regular communication with other festival directors and cultural leaders (Bucks Cultural Leaders 2021), has given me a broad perspective on this period. One of the most significant areas of innovation and creativity has been through digital platforms (Bowen et al. 2021; Loots et al. 2021), which raises questions about harnessing these technologies for the future. Between my two festivals, we presented 17 digital concerts and a film connecting amateur and professional musicians, the platforms and funding for which did not exist previously - and countless similar achievements occurred elsewhere (ACE 2020). The inner workings of these festivals, and the leadership (Collins 2001; Heifetz, Laurie 2001) that inspired dedicated staff and volunteers to achieve such outstanding work as they faced a VUCA world (Feldman 2017) is a constant source of fascination for me and will play a significant part in this research. Research Questions 1. How are festivals uniquely placed to create environments where cultural life thrives, and how in times of crisis can they continue to keep their content and communications relevant to their audience? 2. How have challenges the arts world has faced recently, alongside the ongoing challenges of EDI and sustainability, changed the way festivals operate: how have audiences adapted, and how will these changes affect the future of the industry? 3. How can industry leaders build robust, adaptable teams; what specific organisational challenges do festivals face; and how do the volunteers within an organisation affect how this is approached? Methodology Working with BAFA to evaluate the UK festivals landscape; establishing priorities and principles for the sector's recovery post-Brexit and post-Covid. Building on baseline data from BAFA (i.e. FMB4; Indigo), three case-study BAFA-member festivals will be selected. Mixed methodology: semi-structured interviews, data analysis, collaborative and co-design research processes (eg. audience forums; creative labs), historical/archival research, extensive fieldwork at case-study festivals. Impact A practical model that can become part of BAFA's toolkit for understanding and evaluating the impact of arts festivals, as well as creating a conceptual framework for understanding the changes taking place across the sector more broadly. Timeline Year 1 PG Certificate in Research Practice Scoping exercises and data analysis with BAFA Ethics review Preliminary surveys; establishing relationships and schedules with case-study festivals Draft literature review and methodology Years 2 & 3 Workshops and interviews Data gathering, reflection and comparison Presentations at external conference(s) Draft thesis chapters Year 4 Analysis of case-study data Report and recommendations for BAFA research Completion of thesis Annual presentations at BAFA conference.