Dr Georgia Volioti
Biography
Research interests:
My research interests are cross-disciplinary and embrace musical performance studies, music psychology, music education, and empirical musicology. My research combines empirical techniques (quantitative and qualitative methods) with cultural-historical contextual study to interrogate both technical and expressive dimensions of performance (mainly western art music), listeners' aesthetic responses, and the role of culture in shaping our understanding of music. Areas of research include analysis of performance, performance practice (especially from recordings), the music of Edvard Grieg, cultural responses to the legacy of recordings, the media and materiality of recording technologies, listening practices, musicians' development and self-regulated learning, expressive gesture in performance, and visual culture and music.
I have published full-length studies as sole author in leading peer-reviewed journals, including The Musical Quarterly and Music & Letters (Oxford University Press journals), The Journal of Musicological Research (Taylor & Francis), and Musicae Scientiae (SAGE ESCOM journal). I have co-authored publications (as first author) stemming from collaborative research (e.g., Musicae Scientiae and Research Studies in Music Education (SAGE SEMPRE journal)). I have contributed essays to edited books, most recently in the book Remixing Music Studies (Routledge publications), which interrogates the cross-disciplinary nature of musicological studies and future directions. My scholarly review articles have been published in the peer-reviewed journals Nineteenth-Century Music Review, Musicae Scientiae, Empirical Musicology Review, and Psychology of Music. I am currently co-editing a book Recorded Music in Creative Practices: Mediation, Performance, Pedagogy for the Routledge SEMPRE series.
Indicators of academic recognition include: being shortlisted for the Music & Letters Westrup Prize for my article 'Landscaping the gaze in Norwegian visual art and Grieg's op. 66 folksongs piano arrangements' (2017); invitation to give a keynote address at the London International Piano Symposium (Royal Academy of Music, 2018); a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Innovation award (2018); a VICI award (2021); invitation to contribute to the steering committee of the AHRC-funded research network 'Redefining Early Recordings as Sources for Performance Practice and History' (effective from 2021 until 2023); and various other invitations to contribute to research events and conferences pertaining to my areas of expertise as presenter and panel chair.
Qualifications & background:
I am a graduate of Imperial College, London (first-class BSc Honours) and a graduate of Royal Holloway, University of London (Master in Music with distinction and PhD in Music). My PhD was funded by an AHRC doctoral studentship at the Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music (CHARM), supervised by Professor Nicholas Cook. My doctoral thesis combined empirical-analytical methods for the study of recordings with performance historiography and criticism. Following completion of my PhD, I was a visiting lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, where I taught on the BMus and MMus pathways, and I was also affiliated with the Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge, where I supervised various undergraduate BA Music Tripos courses (in Performance Studies, Music & Science and Aesthetics). Prior to my appointment at Surrey, I held a postdoctoral visiting Fellowship at Humboldt University, Berlin, and I also undertook research at the Centre for Performance Science, Royal College of Music, London.
I am an accredited Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), and I have a Licentiate Diploma in piano performance from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London.
Roles within the Department of Music & Media:
Current:
- Director of Careers & Employability (Music BMus).
Previous:
- Programme Director for Music BMus.
- Departmental Disability & Neurodiversity Liaison Officer.
- Admissions Officer for music BMus.
Other University roles:
- DMM representative in HR Excellence in Research Committee (2017-2018).
- Researcher Development & Doctoral College Mentorship Scheme (2017-2018).
Affiliations and memberships
SEMPRE (Society for Education and Music Psychology Research) – registered member.
PSN/CMP (Performance Studies Network/Centre for Music Performance, University of Cambridge) - registered member.
RMA (Royal Musical Association) - registered member.
Research
Research interests
My research interests embrace musical performance studies, empirical musicology, music psychology, music education, as well as historical musicology. My research combines empirical techniques (quantitative and qualitative methods) with cultural-historical contextual study to interrogate both technical and expressive dimensions of performance, listeners' aesthetic responses, and the role of culture in shaping our understanding of music.
Areas of research:
Performance analysis; performance historiography; cultural memory and identity in performance; landscape and music; visual culture and music; performance practice (especially piano repertoire); historical recordings; the media and materiality of recording technology (the above-mentioned areas have been extensively explored and documented in relation to the music of Edvard Grieg - see publications); cultural responses to the legacy of recordings; performance as embodied knowledge; psychology of performance; quantitative and qualitative research methods; expressive gesture in performance; listening practices; musicians’ development and self-regulated learning; creativity in performance.
Professional & research affiliations:
- SEMPRE (Society for Education and Music Psychology Research) – registered member.
- HEA (Higher Education Academy) – associate fellow (accredited via completion of postgraduate certificate in HE teaching & learning).
- PSN/CMP (Performance Studies Network/Centre for Music Performance, University of Cambridge) - registered member.
- RMA (Royal Musical Association) – registered member.
Professional (peer-review) activity:
Publication & research grant reviewer:
- I have acted as reviewer for the journals Frontiers in Psychology - Performance Science section (Open Access Journal, ISSN: 1664-1078), Empirical Musicology Review (Ohio State University, ISSN: 1559-5749), Music & Letters (Oxford University Press).
- I have reviewed academic books and classical music CDs for the journals Nineteenth-Century Music Review (Cambridge University Press), Musicae Scientiae (ESCOM/SAGE Journals), Psychology of Music (SEMPRE/SAGE Journals).
- I have acted as research grant academic reviewer for international funding bodies including the Swiss National Science Foundation.
International conference committees:
- Member of Steering Committee of AHRC-funded Research Network Redefining Early Recordings as Sources of Performance Practice and History (effective from March 2021 to March 2023).
- Lead director for Performance Studies Network Research Forum - New Takes on Recorded Music: Performance, Creativity, Technology, University of Surrey, 5-6 September 2019.
- Member of scientific committee and reviewing panel for Third Conference of the London International Piano Symposium, Royal Academy of Music, 28-30 October 2018.
- Member of conference committee and reviewing panel for the Tenth Biennial International Conference on Music Since 1900 and Surrey Music Analysis Conference (ICMSN/SurreyMAC), University of Surrey, 11-14 September 2017.
Indicators of esteem
Indicators of academic recognition include:
- recipient of a VICI award (2021);
- recipient of a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Innovation award (2018);
- keynote speaker at The London International Piano Symposium (Royal Academy of Music, 2018), Reflections on Classical Sound Recordings: Prospects and Challenges for Performance Studies;
- shortlisted for the Music & Letters Westrup Prize for my article on Grieg Landscaping the gaze in Norwegian visual art and Grieg's op. 66 folksongs piano arrangements (2017).
My teaching
Undergraduate teaching (Music BMus):
Current:
- Encountering Music History (MUS1031) contributor
- Nineteenth-Century Music (MUS2057) contributor
- Music Project 1B, 2B, 3B, B - convener & main lecturer (Purcell's Dido and Aeneas)
- Topic Study 2B (MUS2062) convener & main lecturer (Music as Performance; Opera Studies)
- Topic Study 3B (MUS3082) convener & main lecturer (Music as Performance; Opera Studies)
- Individual Project convener/supervisor (MUS3078)
Past:
- Arts Policy & Practice convener (MUS2033)
- Professional Investigation convener/supervisor (MUS3068)
- Understanding Music B (MUS1027) main lecturer
- Musicology A (MUS2046) main lecturer
- Musicology B (MUS2047) convener/supervisor
- Historical Performance Practice (MUS3072) convener & main lecturer
- Opera Studies (MUS3064) convener & main lecturer
- Dissertation A, B & C (MUS3055, 3056 & 3057) convener/supervisor
Postgraduate teaching (Music MMus):
Current:
- Research Training for Practitioners (MUSM048)
- Performance A (MUSM039)
- Performance B (MUSM040)
Topics taught include research methods, techniques in the study of performance, psychology of performance, performance as research
Past:
- Readings in Musicology A (MUSM056)
- Research Training A (MUSM054)
- Research Training B (MUSM055)
- Performance A (MUSM039)
- Performance B (MUSM040)
Student responses:
Opera Studies
"An accessible module regardless of one's level of familiarity with opera". "Module very well organized and prepared, clear structure". "Critical thinking was encouraged".
Nineteenth-century Music
"Georgia offers fantastic insight into a range of complex aesthetic issues and explains them well". "Really enjoyed the lectures for this module - so much information to take in, making attending the lectures really worth while! The lectures were specifically engineered to the questions making writing the essays easier".
Historical Performance Practice
"A good classical music module, something that's becoming increasingly rare". "We were encouraged to think in a different way and it challenged my pre-existing ideas about performance practice". "It has encouraged me to become more open-minded as a performer which is really relevant to me".
My publications
Publications
(forthcoming). Volioti, G. & Barolsky, D. Ed. Recorded Music in Creative Practices: Mediation, Performance, Pedagogy. Routledge SEMPRE series (under contract).
(forthcoming). Volioti, G. & Williamon, A. 'Nurturing the Musical Imagination: Listening to Recordings for Self-regulating and Creative Learning', in G. Volioti and D. Barolsky (eds.), Recorded Music in Creative Practices (Routledge, SEMPRE).
(forthcoming). Volioti, G. 'The Written and the Sung: Grieg's Piano Ballade and the Performativity of Genre', in E. Moreda-Rodriguez and I. Stanovic (eds.), Early Sound Recordings: Academic Research and Practice (Routledge).
(2020). Volioti, G. 'Rethinking Classical Sound Recordings: Creativities Beyond the Score', in A. Aguilar, R. Cole, M. Pritchard & E. Clarke (eds.), Remixing Music Studies: Essays in Honour of Nicholas Cook (pp. 61-75). New York: Routledge. eBook: ISBN 9780429433405 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429433405
(2020). Volioti, G. & Williamon, A. 'Performers' Discourses on Listening to Recordings'. Research Studies in Music Education, published online 17 April 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/1321103X19899168
(2019). Volioti, G. Book review of 'Musicians in the Making: Pathways to Creative Performance', J. Rink, H. Gaunt and A. Williamon (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2017. Psychology of Music, published online 2 December 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735619889009
(2019). Volioti, G. 'Expressive Gesture in Grieg's Recordings of Two Op. 43 Lyric Pieces: An Exploratory Principal Components Analysis'. Music Performance Research, vol. 9, 1-30 (ISSN 7155-9219).
(2018). Volioti, G. Book review of 'Staging History: 1780-1840', M. Burden, W. Heller, J. Hicks and E. Lockhart (eds.), Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 2016. Nineteenth-Century Music Review, published online 2 April 2018. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1479409817000908
(2017). Volioti, G. 'Landscaping the Gaze in Norwegian Visual Art and Grieg's Op. 66 Folksong Piano Arrangements'. Music & Letters, 98/4, 573-600. https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/gcx114
(2017). Volioti, G. & Williamon, A. 'Recordings as Learning and Practising Resources for Performance: Exploring Attitudes and Behaviours of Music Students and Professionals'. Musicae Scientiae, 21/4, 499-523. doi:10.1177/1029864916674048
(2017). Volioti, G. 'Musing on The Past: Historical Recordings as Creative Resources of Piano Performance', in Cristine MacKie (ed.), New Thoughts on Piano Performance: Research at the Interface Between Science and the Art of Piano Performance (pp. 65-86). A London International Piano Symposium Publication, 2017. ISBN: 978-164007055-4
(2017). Volioti, G. 'Re-imagining Operatic Objects: Commentary on "Phenomena, Poiesis, and Performance Profiling: Temporal-Textual Emphasis and Creative Process Analysis in Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera"'. Empirical Musicology Review, 12/3-4, 272-276. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18061/emr.v12i3-4.5957
(2017). Volioti, G. Recording review of 'Edvard Grieg, Lyric Pieces, Stephen Hough pf Hyperion 68070, 2015 (1 CD: 73 minutes)', Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 14/2, 275-277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1479409816000422
(2016). Volioti, G. Book review of 'Expressiveness in Music Performance: Empirical Approaches across Styles and Cultures', D. Fabian, R. Timmers and E. Schubert (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2014. Nineteenth-Century Music Review, 13/2, 335-340. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1479409816000173
(2015). Volioti, G. 'Reminiscing Grieg: A Study of Technostalgia and Modulating Identities'. The Musical Quarterly, 98/3, 179-211. doi: 10.1093/musqtl/gdv005
(2014). Volioti, G. ‘Performing National-Cultural Identity: Rhythmic Gesture as the Phenomenology of the Folk’, in Nikos Maliaras (ed.), Proceedings of the International Musicological Conference the National Element in Music, 18-20 January 2013 (pp. 91-111). Faculty of Music Studies, University of Athens. ISBN: 978-960-93-5959-7
(2012). Volioti, G. ‘Re-inventing Grieg’s Folk Modernism: An Empirical Investigation of the Performance of the Slåtter op.72, no. 2’. The Journal of Musicological Research, 31/4, 262-296. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411896.2013.720914
(2010). Volioti, G. ‘Playing with Tradition: Weighing up Similarity and the Buoyancy of the Game’. Musicae Scientiae, 14/2, 85-114. doi:10.1177/102986491001400204
(2007). Volioti, G. Book review of Adam Ockelford, ‘Repetition in Music: Theoretical and Meta-theoretical Perspectives’, Ashgate (RMA Monographs), 2005. Musicae Scientiae, 11/2, 325-330. doi:10.1177/102986490701100208
(2007). Volioti, G. Review of 4th International CHARM Symposium, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK (12-14 April 2007), 'Methods for Analysing Recordings'. CHARM Newsletter, Issue 3 (2007), 5-8.
Conferences, invited talks and research presentations:
(2021). Volioti, G. 'Roundtable'. Early Recordings: Impacts of a Transformative Technology, hosted online by Cardiff University and Bern University of the Arts, 21 July 2021. [invited panel chair]
(2020). Volioti, G. 'Learning with Recordings as Cultural Capability: Towards Developing Listening Pedagogies'. Bootleg Opera and Pirate Queens, Bern University of the Arts, 2-4 September 2020. [conference research paper]
(2019). Volioti, G. Early Recordings: Past Performing Practices in Contemporary Research, Pushkin House, London, 22 June 2019. [invited panel chair]
(2018). Volioti, G. The London International Piano Symposium. Royal Academy of Music, 27-29 October 2018. [invited keynote speaker]
(2018). Volioti, G. Performance Studies Network Fifth International Conference. Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo, 5-8 July 2018. [conference research paper]
(2018). Volioti, G. Seeing and Hearing the Beyond: Art, Music, and Mysticism in the Long Nineteenth Century. Annual Conference of the Association of Art History. London, 5-7 April 2018. [conference research paper]
(2018). Volioti, G. & Williamon, A. 'Unlocking the Anxiety of Influence: What Performers' Discourses Reveal about Listening to Recordings'.The Listening Experience Database Project: Methodologies, Identities, Histories. The Open University, Milton Keynes, 6-7 March 2018. [conference research paper]
(2017). Volioti, G. ‘Narrativity in Grieg’s Ballade Revisited: The Nineteenth-Century Pianist as Orator’, Department of Music and Media, Music Research Seminar Series, University of Surrey, 11 October 2017. [research presentation]
(2017). Tenth Biennial International Conference on Music Since 1900 and Surrey Music Analysis Conference (ICMSN/SurreyMAC), University of Surrey, Guildford, 11-14 September 2017. [Member of conference reviewing committee and chair for panel sessions on 'Film & Music' (12 Sept. 2017), and 'Music & France' (14 Sept. 2017)]
(2015). Volioti, G. & Williamon, A. 'Listening to Recordings: Perspectives on Practitioners' Habits'. The Listening Experience Database Project, Listening to Music: People, Practices and Experiences, Royal College of Music, London, 24-25 October 2015. [conference research paper]
(2015). Volioti, G. 'Three Levels of Vocality in Grieg's Piano Recordings'. PERFORMA'15, International Conference on Musical Performance, University of Aveiro, Portugal, 11-13 June 2015. [conference research paper]
(2015). Volioti, G. 'Working with Piano Rolls: A Musicologist's Perspective', presented as part of my collaborative research seminar 'Rollin' On: Pianola Grooves Uncovered', Music Research Seminar Series, School of Arts, PATS Studio 1, University of Surrey, 25 February 2015. [Research presentation linked to public exhibition, 'The Player-Piano and Pianola', part of The Guildford International Music Festival 2015]
(2014). Volioti, G. 'Who Cares What You Listen: Musical Recordings as Cultural Products of Creativity', invited by Prof. Paul Sowden (Department of Psychology) and presented at the ILLUME Research Seminar Series, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, University of Surrey, 17 July 2014. [invited research presentation]
(2014). Volioti, G. Eighteenth Biennial Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music, University of Toronto, Canada, 18-20 June 2014. [conference research paper]
(2014). Volioti, G. 'Performing Memory and Nostalgia with Grieg's Historical Piano Recordings', Music Research Seminar Series, School of Arts, University of Surrey, 22 January 2014. [research presentation]
(2013). Volioti, G. ‘Historical Recordings and Piano Performance’. The London International Piano Symposium, Royal College of Music, London, 8-10 February 2013 (Recipient of Music & Letters Trust Award). [conference research paper]
(2013). Volioti, G. 'Performing Norwegian National-Cultural Identity: Rhythmic Gesture as the Phenomenology of the Folk'. International Musicological Conference, The National Element in Music, University of Athens, Greece, 18-20 January 2013. [conference research paper]
(2011). Volioti, G. 'Between Tradition and Innovation - Whose Style Is It Anyway? An Empirical Investigation of the Performance Practice of Grieg's Slatter'. International Performance Studies Conference, PERFORMA'11, University of Aveiro, Portugal, 19-21 May 2011. [conference research paper]
Public engagement & knowledge exchange:
Conference organisation:
(2019). Lead director and main organiser of two-day International Research Forum New Takes on Recorded Music: Performance, Creativity, Technology, University of Surrey, 5-6 September 2019. Event supported by: The Music & Letters Trust (external funder), Performance Studies Network, and Department of Music & Media University of Surrey.
Keynote address:
(2018). 'Reflections on Classical Sound Recordings: Prospects and Challenges for Performance Studies'. The London International Piano Symposium, Royal Academy of Music, 27-29 October 2018.
Public exhibition:
(2015). 'The Player-Piano and Pianola'. A public exhibition hosted in association with The Guildford International Music Festival. The Lewis Elton Gallery, University of Surrey, 9-18 March 2015. Exhibition co-organised and co-presented by Dr. Georgia Volioti and Professor Clive Williamson, artefacts and instruments curated by Denis Hall and Rex Lawson. The world of the pianola and reproducing piano is a fascinating world full of riches which have scarcely been recognized by musicians, scholars or the general public. This exhibition brought closer to the public rare and unseen artefacts of early recording technologies, historical documents (e.g., concert reviews, archival photographic material of the recording process etc.) and the sound of the reproducing piano and pianola. The event was complemented by a research seminar (on 25th February 2015, PATS 1, 4-6 pm), titled Rollin’ On: Piano(la) Groves Uncovered, which examined how pianola and reproducing piano rolls can shed invaluable insight into the performance practices of renowned pianists including Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Debussy, and Grieg.
Public pre-performance talks:
(2018). Pre-performance talk for Glyndebourne on Tour 2018. Invited by Beatrice Carey, Glyndebourne Education Department. New Victoria Theatre, Woking, 20 November 2018.
(2014). 'Verdi's La Traviata: A Pre-Performance Talk of Tom Cairns' Production', by invitation of Glyndebourne's dramaturg Cori Ellison for Glyndebourne Tour 2014, New Victoria Theatre, Woking, 29 October 2014.