New staff: Diversifying our specialisms
The University of Sheffield attracts world-leading academics who are an expert in their area of research. The Department of Music aims to create a creative and collaborative community in which students can study with staff at the forefront of musical discoveries.
Academic Staff
We are delighted to have been able to diversify our academic specialisms in 2021 by welcoming several new members to the Department of Music. An international and interdisciplinary approach to staffing helps to provide inspiration to all students, whatever their preference for music genre and subject area.
- Amir Konjani - Lecturer in Composition - is a composer, performance and instrument designer for films. His works have been nominated and won many awards including the Ivors Composer Awards 2020, London Symphony Orchestra selected composer, and a Oscar in the 90th Academy Awards 2018. Amir joins the composition team to become the director for MA Composition.
- Warren Bramley - University Teacher - Warren’s creative industry experience combines design, music, technology and entrepreneurship with a portfolio of international projects with global corporations, arts and culture organisations, charities and government institutions. Warren teachers on the MA in Music Management programme.
- Isabel Benito Gutierrez - Teaching Associate in Music Composition - Dr Gutierrez is a specialist in Music as a Multidisciplinary Art. Her knowledge of the transformation of music elements such as harmony, time, and texture into visual representations will be enjoyed on the undergraduate composition modules at Sheffield.
- Maria Stratigou - Teaching Associate in Performance - Maria has undergone extensive research in harmony, counterpoint and in Fugue. Her particular strengths include French Music, historically informed performance practice and women composers. Maria has showcased several lecture-recitals and paper presentations at seven international conferences.
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Dr Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey - Research associate
- Dr Jennifer McRitchie - Senior Research Fellow - Comes from an extensive background in electrical engineering, music, and cognitive science. Dr McRitchie joins the Department as 2021 UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship on a £1,183,340 project designing new musical technologies for older adults' wellbeing.
- Dr Justin Christensen - Research Associate - 2021 UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship
- Dr Shu Jiang - Honorary Research Fellow - Dr Jiang is a ethnomusicologist and expert player of Chinese zithers (zheng and qin) with a special interest in the music of China. During the research fellowship, she will be investigating cross cultural exchange of East Asian music in the context of Western music, and working alongside a range of composers and world musicians in the UK.
Professional Service
Due to the expanding teaching and research activity taking place across the Department of Music, a larger structure of professional services staff has been established to maintain the high-quality support for students. This includes technical staff, performance and admissions support.
Instrumental Tutors
Becoming a master of your instrument is at the heart of our teaching at Sheffield, and we ensure our students have the support to develop their creative voice. This is why we employ an enthusiastic team of distinguished teachers who follow a successful and prominent performing careers within the classical, jazz, pop, theatre, and corporate music world. This year we welcome:
- Paul Cosh - Trumpet
- Sarah Heneghan - Drums
- Jess Clark - Popular Voice
- Gina Walters - Contemporary Voice
International Merit Scholarships
We offer a generous package of financial support for international students including 75 undergraduate scholarships worth £10,000 towards the annual tuition fee and 125 postgraduate taught scholarships worth £5,000 towards the tuition fee. Applications are now open for existing offer holders.