Research Projects
Many of our staff are involved in individual research projects. Go to research staff to find out more about their specialist areas of expertise.
The main body of our research is carried out by the Centre for Music and Performance, which focuses on:
- Performance
- Music and technology
- Composition
- Musicology
Our other funded research projects include:
Integra
Integra - Fusing music and technology is a three-year, €1.9M project co-funded by the Culture programme of the European Union and led by Birmingham Conservatoire. Initially started in 2005 as Integra - A European Composition and Performance Environment for Sharing Live Music Technologies, another three-year, €1.2M EU-funded project, Integra is now in its second phase, which will last until December 2011.
The main aim of Integra is to change the perception of live electronic music across Europe by bridging the gap between scientific investigation and artistic practice. Sharing new standards to simplify the integration of new technologies in music performance, and through the restoration of long-forgotten repertoire, Integra is contributing to the wider diffusion of live electronic music and the enhancement of its artistic profile.
Integra promotes and disseminates live electronic music through a wide range of activities:
- Commissions of five new works with live electronics and other media
- Concerts and an international festival (Copenhagen, 2011)
- Software development - ’Integra Live’
- Preservation of existing repertoire that use obsolete technology
- Education pilot project to embed live electronic techniques in the performer’s curriculum
- Training of professional performers in the ensembles
- National workshops
- Outreach work
Current Integra partners
Universities and research centres
- Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham City University
- CIRMMT, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technologies, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal
- IEM, Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts, Graz, Austria
- Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University, Sweden
- Muzyka Centrum Art Society, Krakow, Poland
- NOTAM, Norwegian Centre for Technology in Music and the Arts, Oslo
Music Ensembles
- Athelas Sinfonietta, Copenhagen
- Bit20 Ensemble, Bergen, Norway
- Ensemble Ars Nova, Malmö, Sweden
- Ensemble Court-circuit, France
- Grup Instrumental de València, Spain
The Conservatoire’s Head of Music Technology, Lamberto Coccioli, has led Integra from the start, while Senior Researcher James Bullock is responsible for the project’s scientific outputs. Visit the Integra website for more information on the project.