Emily Crossland

Emily Crossland completed undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of York (specialising in Community Music) and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Sheffield through the White Rose College of Arts & Humanities. She has worked in academia since 2010 – with roles at the universities of York, Leeds and York St John – and simultaneously enjoyed a varied career as a community musician, composer and project manager. She spent eight years co-ordinating the Learning & Participation programme of the National Centre for Early Music and, as a freelancer, has delivered projects for clients including Hallé, National Concert Hall Dublin, Jessie’s Fund, Castaway Accessible Music Theatre and Orchestras For All. Emily is also a director on the board of Sound Sense, the UK’s professional association for community musicians.

Emily's PhD research explores notions of cultural democracy and cultural sensitivity in community music practices using musical instruments that carry strong cultural connotations. The main focus is Javanese gamelan, which has a significant history within British community musicking, and is the vehicle through which much of Emily's own professional practice is conducted. The research examines how facilitators and participants navigate potential tensions between honouring established musical traditions and engaging in the democratic, participant-led creative processes central to community music practice.