Don't miss the - application deadline expires Wednesday for Building Bridges!
The Research Project Building Bridges which is hosted at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, in collaboration with the University of Bifröst and York St. John University in the UK, and funded by the Research Fund, is looking for a master's student to work with the research group on a master's project on community music in Iceland and/or Kordu Samfonia. The project must be 30-60 ECTS and be completed in May 2026. The student will be paid a grant in the amount of ISK 1,000,000. The student can come from any university in Iceland.
More about the Building Bridges project:
There are a variety of community-based music projects that work with diverse groups and communities, for example individuals in prisons, clients of health care facilities and individuals of different ages, with diverse skills and backgrounds. These projects reflect the philosophy that music and music practice can have a positive impact on people and even change their lives for the better. The main goal of this project is to study MetamorPhonics (MP), which is an example of a community-based company that specializes in leading community bands.
The purpose is to understand a variety of aspects of MP, including by looking at:
background and motivation of participants
MP's philosophy and guiding light
comparison with other community-based music projects
The following factors are under investigation:
mp's pedagogical approach
how artistic management and decision-making takes place
how participants' backgrounds influence musical approaches
what effect does participation in MP projects have
whether participation has a lasting effect on the band members
whether participation affects life outside the project
The project also focuses on training music leaders for research on their own work, developing research methods that focus on community-based music projects, and ensuring diverse communication channels of research results where researchers, economic and professional actors are given access to the results.
Part of a master's project
The aspect of master's research consists in studying certain aspects in the above context with an emphasis on the Icelandic context. It is also possible to develop and test the methodology used in the project, which consists of qualitative methods, art research and how to use the methods of documentary filmmaking for qualitative interviews and communication.
If successful, an opportunity could open up after this project to work for an additional two months to report on the project.
More information is provided by Þorbjörg Daphne Hall, professor of musicology at the Iceland Academy of the Arts, thorbjorghall@lhi.is
The application must state the name of the applicants, university, study path, proposed number of credits of a master's project. A cover letter must also be included, which states a description of what the applicant is interested in working on. The application must be accompanied by a CV, confirmation of school attendance and an overview of the applicant's courses and grades. Applications must be submitted in Icelandic or English.
Applications must be received by May 1, 2025 at thorbjorghall@lhi.is
