PGR Profiles

Browse our current Postgraduate Research Students below and find out more about the projects they are working on

For a list of those who have successfully completed PhDs at the RNCM since the programme commenced in 2009, see our PGR Alumni page.

Songhao Yao

Songhao’s research explores effects of breathing patterns in non-wind instruments (instruments working without air). Supervised by Professor Emily Howard and Dr […]

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Emma Clarke

Emma Clarke is a classical guitarist and studied for her Masters degree at Leeds Conservatoire. She’s worked with […]

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Dobromir Tsenov

Dobromir’s research aims to explore and record the complete piano music by the neglected 20th century Bulgarian composer […]

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Megan Steinberg

Megan is working in collaboration with disability music charity Drake Music to compose music for d/Deaf, disabled and […]

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Joanna Sear

A professional singer of Popular Music (PM) genres for 30 years, and a teacher of them for 16 […]

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Faith Thompson

Faith Thompson is a PhD Musicology student. Her AHRC-funded project, ‘Gabriel Pierné (1863–1937) and the Composer-Conductor Identity’, is […]

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Hans-Martin Buff

Hans-Martin Buff is a recording engineer and music producer. He began his career at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon […]

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Hwan Hee Kim

Hwan Hee’s PhD research investigates and records significant piano works by the Korean composer Kuk Jin Kim (1930–2020), […]

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Matthew Lau

Matthew is an accomplished pianist having been awarded 1st place at the Beethoven Junior Intercollegiate Piano competition to […]

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Dan Baczkowski

Dan Baczkowski (1994) is a composer and music psychologist whose research is focused on listeners’ perception of time […]

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Suting Han

Exploring Audiovisual multimedia composition vocabularies: Composing for Chinese Zodiac Suting Han’s scholarly inquiry meticulously explores the confluence of […]

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Akiho Suzuki

Akiho’s AHRC-funded PhD project aims to develop and test an online intervention on effective practice and performance preparation […]

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Cassie Layton

Cassie Layton is a Sri Lankan-British interdisciplinary artist who works under the moniker Toulip Wonder. She first trained […]

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Amelia Clarkson

Amelia Clarkson is a Northern Irish composer whose work spans both concert hall and stage. Notable works include […]

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Devon Bonelli

Devon is studying his PhD in Composition with his supervisors Prof. Emily Howard, Dr Simon Clarke, Dr Sam […]

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Elspeth Brooke

The Application of Cinematographic Techniques and Aesthetics of Proximity and Perspective to Musical Composition In the first year […]

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Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown is a composer and violist, born in 1985 in Canterbury, England. He trained as a chef […]

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Caroline Clegg

Caroline’s performance-based research is the creation of new site-specific music and drama pieces in the setting of Heaton […]

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Meriel Price

Meriel’s research expands on her existing creative practice, investigating nuances of the art – life relationship in order […]

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Eleanor Guenault

Eleanor’s research interests surround the issues of diversity in music education, and specifically the question of gender balance […]

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Christian Jones

Opera North bass and contrabass trombonist Christian Jones began playing at the age of ten, progressing through Staffordshire’s […]

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Naomi Kayayan

Through an exploration of Engaging Students and Teachers as Partners (Cook-Sather et al., 2014; Bovill, 2020), Naomi’s PhD […]

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Simon Knighton

Simon’s research will investigate the area of acoustic instrumentation plus electronics and will tackle the issue of the […]

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Peggy Nolan

Peggy’s research will investigate the correlation of Luigi Boccherini’s craft both as composer and cellist, towards the comprehension […]

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Rosalind Ridout

Rosalind’s research centres around her (moving) body as a flute player and performer, and is an autoethnographic exploration […]

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Ellen Sargen

Ellen’s research addresses ongoing shifts in the creative distribution between composer and performer A composer who predominantly works […]

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Melvin Tay

Melvin’s research explores re-realising opera through arrangements for chamber ensemble that would help facilitate performances by groups with […]

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Nick Waldock

Nick completed his performance Masters at the RNCM in 2017 where he created an electric bass guitar-led 11-piece […]

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Anna Wright

The supporters and benefactors of the Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM): musical patronage and philanthropy in Manchester, […]

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