Newcastle University

Introduction

Felicity Laurence is Lecturer in Music Education and Degree Programme Director for the MA Music and Education. She is an internationally recognised children's choral specialist, music educationalist and composer. From extensive work throughout Europe and beyond, including within areas of conflict, she has developed a particular interest in how music might facilitate the building of empathic relationships between children from differing cultural backgrounds. Felicity is always happy to hear from people interested in music in children's lives both within the educational system and beyond it, or concerned to explore music teaching and learning in all contexts and at all levels.

Background

Felicity Laurence was born in New Zealand and has worked in the music educational field since 1968, in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Teaching positions in New Zealand, London and Bergen were followed by a lectureship at the Bergen University College of Education, held from 1976-1983, where she taught across the curriculum of the music department, founded a demonstration children's choir, led the early years music programme, taught music in the drama pedagogy programme, and music education philosophy and aesthetics on the Masters programme in music education. An international freelance career followed, in which she worked as composer in a number of countries (for example composer-in-residence at Wellington College of Education 1989, commissioned work Dreams of Mother Earth, from the Swedish State Church 1998, commissioned work Frugvin Margrete, Bergen 1992)and as children's choral specialist, director and educationalist, director of children's choral festivals, children's opera director in many countries. From 1995-2000 she was associate lecturer in choral pedagogy at the Trossingen Hochschule fuer Musik, founded and directed that institution's demonstration children's choir, and directed this in numerous productions of children's opera and other works.

Roles and Responsibilities

Degree Programme Director for the MA Music and Education
Co-director of the New Vocal Ensemble
Leader, Music Education Project, Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Music (CETL)
Associate co-ordinator Research Forum Series, ICMuS

Qualifications

L.R.S.M. (Piano Performance)
BSc (Psychology) University of Otago, New Zealand
Dip.Ed University of Otago
Musikkhovedfag (MA in Music) Bergen Laererhogskole, Norway
PhD (Education) University of Birmingham

Previous Positions

1968-1976 Teaching positions in schools
1976-1983 Lektor Bergen University College
1995-2000 Dozent, Staatliche Hochschule fuer Musik, Trossingen

Languages

Norwegian(fluent)
German (fluent)
Swedish (reading and understanding of spoken Swedish)

Research Interests

Developing a theory of musicking and empathic response
Students' experience in transition into and throughout their university studies
Music as a potential facilitator of children's transition from primary to secondary school
Sociological aspects of music education

Other Expertise

Felicity Laurence is an active, published composer (including African Madonna, Cambridge University Press 1990, Arbugi Press Sweden 1997, 2001; Dreams of Mother Earth, Arbugi Press 1999) working to commissions from community organisations, and children's choral leader directing large scale productions and performances locally, nationally and internationally.

Current Work

Research project 'ICMuS Transitions: a longitudinal study of six music
undergraduates'.
This work is being carried out with Dawn Weatherston, Administrative Leader of CETL in ICMuS, to investigate in depth the experiences of students in their transition from school and their subsequent trajectory through ICMuS. Insights from this interview-based research are further explored through questionnaires given to all ICMuS students; the methodology and results may inform similar reserach studies in other university departments, while a publication is planned at the project's conclusion in which case studies will be presented and analysed.
Current work with children's agency and voice in music education for a chapter in forthcoming volume 'Sociology and music education', entitled 'Listening to children: voice, agency and ownership in school musicking'

Undergraduate Teaching

Teaching Methods
Performance Studies 1
Specialist Studies Dissertations and Projects

Postgraduate Teaching

Research Training for Music Education
Philosophy,Politics and Practice of Music Education
Supervision of MA and PhD dissertations

• Laurence F. Listening to children: voice, agency and ownership in school musicking. In: Wright, R, ed. Sociology and Music Education. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2010, pp.243-262.
• Laurence F. Music and Empathy. In: Urbain, O, ed. Music and Conflict Transformation: Harmonies and Dissonances in Geopolitics. London, UK: I.B.Tauris, 2008, pp.13-25.
• Cross I, Laurence F, Rabinowitch T. Empathic creativity in musical group practices: towards a concept of empathic creativity. In: MacPherson, G., Welch, G, ed. Oxford Handbook of Music Education. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. In Press.
• Laurence F, Urbain O, ed. Music and Solidarity: Questions of Universality, Consciousness and Connection. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, 2011.
• Laurence F. Introduction. In: Laurence, F; Urbain, O, ed. Music and Solidarity: Questions of Universality, Consciousness, and Connection. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, 2011, pp.1-15.
• Laurence F. Musicking and Empathic Connections. In: Laurence F; Urbain O, ed. Music and Solidarity: Questions of Universality, Consciousness and Connection. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University, 2011, pp.171-183.