Science, Humanities, and Arts Research Exchange (SHARE)
SHARE is an initiative to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations between academic staff at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of St Andrews. We seek to identify staff at each institution who are interested in interdisciplinary collaborations, to make introductions between RCS and St Andrews staff with overlapping interests, to support the development of any collaborative interdisciplinary projects that should arise, and to act as a hub for sharing the development and outcomes of these projects. We also support interdisciplinary collaborations between RCS and St Andrews students, and interdisciplinary PhD students co-supervised by RCS and St Andrews academic staff. Long-term plans also include interdisciplinary research workshops, conferences, and retreats.
Please contact Dr Emily Doolittle (E.Doolittle@rcs.ac.uk) at RCS or Dr Ines Jentzsch (ij7@st-andrews.ac.uk) at St Andrews with any further questions.
Current Projects
Events and Networks:
RASCAL (Research on Animal Song in Culture, Arts, and Literature) (ongoing): A monthly meeting of researchers and artists looking at cultural representations of animal song.
Singing for Health (ongoing): a Royal Society of Edinburgh-funded interdisciplinary network which brings together practitioners, researchers, and health professionals from across, led by Brianna Roberston Kirkland, with Liesbeth Tip and Sophie Boyd.
Art-Making in the Anthropocene (February 16-April 27, 2021): A series of 8 online talks and a concert, co-organized by Emily Doolittle, Sarah Hopfinger, and Stuart MacRae.
Interdisciplinary Mini-Symposium (November 21, 2019): St Andrews University
Interdisciplinary PhD Students:
The Sounds of Science: a practice-based PhD exploring the use, purpose and potential of music in science centres. Upcoming SGSAH CDA student, to be co-supervised by Rachel Drury, Bede Williams, Emily Doolittle, Mhairi Stewart, and the Dundee Science Centre.
‘Consider the subtleness of the sea’: An interdisciplinary music-science investigation into humpback whale song. PhD student Alex South, co-supervised by Luke Rendell and Ellen Garland (St Andrews) and Emily Doolittle (RCS)
Enhancing Performance Quality and Resilience in Musicians through Biofeedback. PhD student Claire Ruckert, co-supervised by Ines Jentzsch (St Andrews) and Rachel Drury (RCS)
RCS/St Andrews Student Collaborations:
Intersections (upcoming 2021): An series of online concerts based on collaborations between composers, performers, and research students at RCS, St Andrews, and other institutions in Europe, to be presented at European Researchers Night 2021. To be organized by Mhairi Stewart, with Christopher Bragg, Bede Williams, Oliver Searle, and Emily Doolittle and others.
Intersections (2020): An online concert consisting of collaborations between RCS composers and performers and St Andrews performers and research students, presented as part of Explorathon. Organized by Mhairi Stewart, Christopher Bragg, Bede Williams, Oliver Searle, and Emily Doolittle.
Biomusic (2019): A collaborative concert and discussion with RCS masters and PhD composition students, St Andrews PhD biology students, interdisciplinary doctoral student Alex South (RCS/St Andrews), the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra, Bede Williams (St Andrews), Emily Doolittle (RCS), and others. Concert on November 13, details TBA.
Sounding Out Astronomy (2017): A collaborative concert and discussion between RCS masters composition students and St Andrews MSc physics students, organized by Anne-Marie Weijmans (St Andrews), with Bede Williams (St Andrews), Oliver Searle (RCS) and Emily Doolittle (RCS)
RCS/St Andrews Academic Staff Collaborations:
Coastal Geographies (ongoing): an interdisciplinary collaboration between composer Oliver Searle, clarinetist Alex South, geographer Tim Stojanovic, and earth scientist Richard Bates, exploring the intersection between geography, social science, geology and coastal communities.
CETACEA: a lockdown collaboration by interdisciplinary whale researcher and musician Alex South, violist Katherine Wren and poet Lesley Harrison, exploring animal song and the cultures and music of the North Atlantic, first broadcast at GIOfest 2020.”
TRAWL (2020): a video poem made in collaboration between Matthew Caley, Alex South and Steve Smart for Stanza, Scotland’s International Poetry Festival as part of Scotland’s Year of Coasts & Waters 2020.”
‘James MacMillan’s Changing Musical ‘Translations’ of the Passion Narrative’ (2017): Richard McGregor (RCS), Research Seminar at ITIA (St Andrews)
Conversation (2017): A piece based on grey seal vocalisations by Emily Doolittle (RCS), based on poetry by Eleonore Schönmaier and grey seal research by Vincent Janik (St Andrews), conducted by Bede Williams (St Andrews) and performed by the St Andrews New Music Ensemble
Places to Apply for Funding
Internal Funding Available for RCS and St Andrews Staff
– Travel bursaries:The Department of Research and Knowledge Exchange may provide travel bursaries for RCS staff travelling to St Andrews to meet with collaborators. Please contact exchange@rcs.ac.uk for further information.
– Athenaeum Research Awards: SHARE participants can apply for up to £3000 of funding for their projects. Please contact Stephanie Edwards (Knowledge Exchange Coordinator) for further information.
– St Leonard’s Interdisciplinary Scholarships: PhD projects co-supervised by RCS and St Andrews academic staff are eligible for consideration.
External Funding
We are compiling a growing database of external funding sources for interdisciplinary projects (please let us know if there are any we are missing). Members of the RCS Research and Knowledge Exchange will be happy to provide feedback on grant applications prior to submission. Please contact exchange@rcs.ac.uk for assistance.
Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland
Culture and Animals Foundation
Royal Society of Edinburgh (small grants)
