Department of Music

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Rebecca Thumpston-Gallagher

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts

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Biography

I joined Nottingham's Music Department in September 2019. Before this, I worked as Research Associate at the Royal Northern College of Music (2016-19) and lectured at RNCM and Keele University. I completed my PhD at Keele University, funded by Keele University's Research Institute for the Humanities. I also hold a BA (Hons) and MA from the University of York. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and I am on the Board of Directors of the North American British Music Studies Association (NABMSA). I also have a strong background in Arts Administration, having worked as Music Events and Publicity Manager at Uppingham School, Rutland.

Expertise Summary

My research explores theories of agency and embodiment in post 1900 music, with a specific focus on cello repertoire. I am the editor, with Nicholas Reyland, of Music, Analysis, and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments (Peeters, 2018) and I have published on agency in the music of Elgar, Britten and Simon Holt. I am currently working on my first monograph, a critical biography of cellist Beatrice Harrison (1892-1965).

Teaching Summary

At Nottingham I teach on Repertoires, Elements, and Performance courses. In my teaching I encourage students to think about music in new and creative ways, for example, encouraging students to… read more

Research Summary

My research explores theories of agency and embodiment in post 1900 music, with a specific focus on cello repertoire. I am the editor, with Nicholas Reyland, of Music, Analysis, and the Body:… read more

Recent Publications

  • REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, eds., 2018. Music Analysis and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments Peeters.
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON, 2018. The ‘Feel’ of Musical Ascent. In: REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, eds., Music, Analysis, and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments Peeters. 75-92
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, 2018. Introduction. In: REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, eds., Music, Analysis, and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments Peeters. 1-12
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON and BARBARA KELLY, 2017. Maintaining the Entente Cordiale: Musicological Collaboration Between the United Kingdom and France Revue de musicologie. 103(2), 615-40

At Nottingham I teach on Repertoires, Elements, and Performance courses. In my teaching I encourage students to think about music in new and creative ways, for example, encouraging students to examine how attention to embodiment and musical bodies can enhance their creative practices as performers, composers, theorists and analysts. I achieved Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2020. I have lectured previously at Keele University and the Royal Northern College of Music, and have experience lecturing for the Workers' Educational Association, and teaching cello in Cheshire schools.

Current Research

My research explores theories of agency and embodiment in post 1900 music, with a specific focus on cello repertoire. I am the editor, with Nicholas Reyland, of Music, Analysis, and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments (Peeters, 2018), which was shortlisted for the Society for Music Theory's 2020 Citation of Special Merit, and I have published on agency in the music of Elgar, Britten and Simon Holt. I am currently working on my first monograph, a critical biography of cellist Beatrice Harrison (1892-1965), and an invited book chapter titled 'Dancing and Praying: Embodying Julian Anderson's Strings'. I have presented my research at national and international conferences, most recently in an invited research seminar at the University of York (February 2021) and at the 2020 Conference of the North American British Music Studies Association (hosted online by Illinois State University).

  • REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, eds., 2018. Music Analysis and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments Peeters.
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON, 2018. The ‘Feel’ of Musical Ascent. In: REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, eds., Music, Analysis, and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments Peeters. 75-92
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, 2018. Introduction. In: REBECCA THUMPSTON and NICHOLAS REYLAND, eds., Music, Analysis, and the Body: Experiments, Explorations, and Embodiments Peeters. 1-12
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON and BARBARA KELLY, 2017. Maintaining the Entente Cordiale: Musicological Collaboration Between the United Kingdom and France Revue de musicologie. 103(2), 615-40
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON, 2017. Redefining the Cello’s Voice: Musical Agency in feet of clay. In: DAVID CHARLTON, ed., The Music of Simon Holt Boydell & Brewer. 145-60
  • REBECCA THUMPSTON, 2015. The Embodiment of Yearning: Towards a Tripartite Theory of Musical Agency. In: COSTANTINO MAEDER and MARK REYBROUCK, eds., Music, Analysis, Experience: New Perspectives on Musical Semiotics 331-48

Department of Music

The University of Nottingham
Lakeside Arts Centre
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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