The Empirical Musicology Lab 20th Anniversary Celebration will take place this Wednesday (October 2) from 2 to 4pm at UNSW.  

It will take place, at Robert Webster Building 327, UNSW Kensington, Sydney (K-G14-327). The event marks two decades of pioneering research and contributions to the fields of music perception, cognition, emotions, wellbeing and performance.

Join the Empirical Musicology Lab for an afternoon of lectures, discussions, and celebration as we mark two decades of  research in music perception, cognition, emotions, wellbeing and performance!

Keynote Speaker: Professor Gary E. McPherson

Presentation: Reflecting Back and Reflecting Forward: A Personal Perspective of the Research Process in Music Psychology

Abstract:

Gary is one of the inspirational figures in the formation of the lab.  His presentation reflects back on the many varied issues that have shaped his thinking across his 40+ years as a music psychology researcher. With a particular emphasis on music performance and performance teaching, he will outline his thoughts on the dominant theoretical positions across this period and how his work has attempted to evolve and/or refute some of these established positions. His presentation will also outline his research using Self-Regulated Learning and Self-Determination Theory, which seeks to understand more precisely how musicians of all ages and skill development come to display the motivational profiles needed to succeed in the demanding discipline. The final part of the presentation will outline his thoughts on the issues of most interest now and how these might be shaped by research in the future. 

Professor Gary E. McPherson

Gary E. McPherson studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before completing a Master of Music Education at Indiana University, a PhD at the University of Sydney and a Licentiate and Fellowship in trumpet performance through Trinity College, London. He is the Ormond Professor of Music at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne, Australia. In 2021, he was the recipient of an Artium Doctorem Honoris Causa, an Honorary Doctorate awarded by the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, Lund University (est. 1666), Sweden. Gary is also a former President of the Australian and International Societies for Music Education who has been conferred “Honorary Life Membership” of the ISME and the honour “Fellow” of the ASME. Gary has authored, co-authored and edited many groundbreaking volumes, mostly for Oxford University Press, including Music in our Lives: Rethinking Musical Ability, Development and Identity (2012), Musical Prodigies: Interpretations from Psychology, Education, Musicology and Ethnomusicology (2016) and Oxford Handbook of Music Performance (2022).

Special Alumni Guest Speakers:

Prof. Danny Zhou Central Conservatory of Music (China) Scientia PhD Scholar Isabella Mazzarolo University of New South Wales  Dr Anthony Chmiel Sydney Conservatorium of Music The University of Sydney