Faculty of Music
This internship is very well suited for an undergraduate student willing to learn about experimental protocols and setups, data management and analysis, and willing to develop group and project coordination skills.
You will be working in a research project entitled The impact of notational design on musical performance and perception. It is a collaboration between the Laboratoire de Musicologie, Université Libre de Bruxelles [ULB], and the Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge [UoC]; it started in Aug 2024 and will be running until Mar 2026 (20 months), funded by the Fondation Wiener-Anspach. The project is promoted by three Co-Investigators:
- Prof. Valérie DUFOUR, Laboratoire de Musicologie, ULB.
- Prof. Marie-Alexis COLIN, Laboratoire de Musicologie, ULB.
- Dr Arild STENBERG, Faculty of Music, UoC.
This collaboration brings historical research on the representation of style in musical scores together with experimental research exploring how visual and cognitive constraints can shape the manner in which notation may be used more effectively. These strands of research will be intertwined in a series of concerts by the Orchestre Symphonique de l'ULB presenting performances of XIXth century forgotten works notated in both standard and novel modified versions: performers and audiences will complete specially-designed questionnaires concerning these performances, providing novel information about the ways in which different notational representations might influence the ways in which music is performed and experienced. This should not only result in new scientific knowledge but could also enhance public understanding of the processes involved in musical creation.
You will receive training and mentorship for your tasks, including:
- Making sure documentation is shared and available for both the Brussels and the Cambridge teams.
- Creating and checking the experimental materials to be used in our tests.
- Supporting the implementation of tests and the acquisition of all relevant data.
- Organising, managing, and making available the datasets from the implemented tests.
- Scheduling and organising meetings and workshops in Brussels.
- Analysing datasets and communicating results.
The rate of pay will be national minimum wage, currently £11.44 per hour. The agreement is for eight weeks (2 x 4-week blocks), outside term time, with an involvement at 0.5 FTE (18.75 hrs per week); exact dates and schedules can be quite flexible, starting from Mon 24 March.
The work will take place in person, at the Faculty of Music, where you will have access to a desk and computer with relevant software for this role.
You will be working closely with the Cambridge Co-Investigator, Dr Stenberg, and report to him. You will also communicate (through video-conference) with the Brussels Co-Investigators and assistants.
You must have the right to work in the UK and checks for this will be carried out prior to starting the Internship.
Please apply by sending a short statement of interest (max. 200 words) to Mrs J. Goodwin, Manager of the Faculty of Music (facultymanager@mus.cam.ac.uk) by noon on Monday 17th March.
