Colloquium - Stephanie Pitts "Dropping in and dropping out: investigating experiences of sustaining and ceasing amateur participation in classical music

Head of Music at the University of Sheffield, Professor Stephanie Pitts says of her colloquium topic, "The benefits of lifelong musical participation for wellbeing, enjoyment and community involvement have been widely asserted, including in my own previous research with amateur performers and audience members (e.g. Pitts, 2005, Valuing Musical Participation).  However, the question that has increasingly bothered me in researching this area remains: "If musical participation is so great, why isn't everyone doing it?".  I set out to explore this through an AHRC Cultural Value project, looking at the experiences of lapsed and partial arts participants using questionnaires and life history interviews.  In this talk, I'll discuss the musical life choices that amateur players and their lapsed counterparts report, and consider how music education (including that of university music departments) could better prepare young people for a lifetime of musical participation."

Everyone is welcome to attend the colloquium.

Sarah Nussbaum will take the follow-up PCF for UG dissertation and MA students on Thursday 3 March at 4pm in the Arts Centre Lecture Theatre.