The majority of research in this UoA is officially classified as world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
The following academic unit forms the submission to UoA 35:
Misa de Corpus Christi: its impact on Instituto Laredo and a wider community in Bolivia
Misa de Corpus Christi is a choral-orchestral composition by Professor Agustín Fernández. It has been of seminal benefit to Instituto Laredo, a specialist music school in Cochabamba, and of key significance to the wider community in Bolivia.
As the focal point of a major music-educational project developing instrumental, vocal, choral and orchestral practice, the composition has had a direct influence on the personal and professional development of 220 students and teachers from the school.
Performances of the piece to several capacity audiences in large (1000+) venues was received with enthusiasm and acclaim; Misa is viewed as an emblem of both Instituto Laredo’s success and Cochabamba’s musical achievements, and represents a pertinent example of the role of musicking in the articulation of cultural identity.
Southern African Cultural Leadership (SACL): A Programme for Economic, Social and Human Development
Poverty, HIV/AIDS and gender inequality threaten human and economic development in Southern Africa; no other region has HIV prevalence rates as high or with such a disproportionate effect on impoverished women and youth.
SACL – a cultural development programme working through music and other arts – is impacting tangibly on this situation. Established in 2012, it is contributing to the eradication of poverty, inequality and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa by strengthening the cultural sector and providing training and employment programmes, leadership workshops, socially-facing conferences and a number of research projects.
The programme evidences the impact of research undertaken by Dr Nanette de Jong, which has been fundamental in establishing SACL's conceptual frameworks and research networks, as well informing the case for grant applications to a total value of €944k that have enabled SACL to achieve the transformation from theoretical to action-based research.