[closed] Sempre 50th Anniversary

[CLOSED] 50th Anniversary Research and Development Awards

Context

SEMPRE was founded in 1972, growing out of the Reading Conferences on Research in Music Education that were started in 1966 by Arnold Bentley. Today, the charitable object of the Society is to ‘advance education and research concerning the psychology of music and music education for the benefit of people throughout the world’. This is achieved in three main ways: through publications (SEMPRE produces three journals in partnership with Sage Publications, Psychology of Music, Research Studies in Music Education and Music and Science, and a book series, SEMPRE Studies in the Psychology of Music, with Routledge); through awards that variously support early career researchers, travel in pursuit of defined research objectives, initiatives that cross disciplinary boundaries and attendance at conferences, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award; and conferences, both organised by the Society itself and in association with sister organisations all over the world.

The 50th Anniversary Research and Development Awards

In 2022, SEMPRE will be 50 years old and, to celebrate half a century of international service to the music psychology and music education communities, and to further its charitable objects, the Society will be offering four research and development awards of up to £20,000 each. The purpose of the awards is to promote research and development in areas where a defined need resulting from disadvantage can be addressed in or through music. Disadvantage includes, but is not limited to, marginalised groups, of a particular phase within the lifespan from early childhood to old age, those who are identified as asylum seekers or refugees, those with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH), those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), those with neurodegenerative disease, those from ethnic minority groups, and those who are persistently economically disadvantaged and so less likely to realise their potential.

The anniversary awards will run from February 2021 to September 2022. The findings will first be disseminated through papers to be given at SEMPRE’s 50th Anniversary Conference that will be held in the Autumn, 2022, and subsequently submitted for peer-reviewed publication in one of the Society’s journals. Although the research will necessarily be applied in a particular context and likely to be relatively small-scale, it must have a strong theoretical basis that makes it capable of subsequent scaling up to be of wider benefit and to have significant impact for others. To this end, it should be shown how the project outputs could (a) be applied directly to make a difference in the quality of life of the group(s) concerned and (b) have the potential to be used to underpin further, large-scale grant applications to national and international funding agencies, or charitable funders. Preference will be given to teams that include early career researchers, and those who are supported by an experienced mentor. Applications may well be made collaboratively between a university and another organisation. Priority will be given to projects that are genuinely innovative. Bids can include direct costs (salary, travel and the purchase or creation of resources), but organisational overheads are excluded.

Timescale: The closing date for bids using the form on the SEMPRE website will be 30 November 2020. Bids will be evaluated by the SEMPRE Trustees, with expert advice as necessary, and results will be announced by the end of 2020. Projects can start from February 2021. Results are expected to be available, at least in provisional form, for dissemination at the SEMPRE 50th Anniversary Conference in Autumn 2022.

Applying

This award has now been closed.

Sempre Lifetime Achievement Award recipients

The Society for Education Music and Psychology Research (Sempre) was founded in 1972 and is the only international society to have a distinctive mission to promote research on the application of the social sciences of psychology and education to music. As part of SEMPRE's charitable status, we have a programme of awards to support research and its dissemination across the world. Within our award programme, the Lifetime Achievement Award is open to senior colleagues who are considered by the SEMPRE Trustees to have made an outstanding contribution to the field.

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The Sempre Lifetime Achievement Award

The Sempre Lifetime Achievement Award
Up to £1,000 per award

Purpose of the Award

The Sempre Lifetime Achievement Award is intended to enable the recipient to undertake or complete research of their choice, which may lead to its presentation at a Sempre conference or submission for publication in 'Psychology of Music' or both.

Eligibility

The Sempre Lifetime Achievement Award is open to senior colleagues who have made an outstanding contribution to the field and who are normally resident within the UK. The award comprises the following elements:

  • lifetime membership of Sempre
  • up to £1,000 to be spent on furthering an area of research of the nominee's choice
  • invitation to address a Sempre conference

Criterion

Applications will be judged by the contribution to the field of the nominee over his or her lifetime of work.

Applying

Potential nominees, whose prior approval should be sought, should be proposed and seconded by any members in good standing. Proposals should be made by letter by 1st May, addressing the criterion set out above. Submissions, in hard copy or electronic form, should be sent to the Secretary, Professor Adam Ockelford, Roehampton University, Queens Building, Southlands College, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5SL, UK. Phone: +44 (0) 7818-456 472. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The decision-making process

All applications will be considered by the Sempre Awards Panel. Applicants and nominees will be informed by 1st July of the outcome. Awards should normally be taken up within the following 12 months. The decision of the panel is final, and the Society regrets that it is unable to enter into any correspondence regarding its decision.

Further information

For further information, please contact the Chair, Professor Graham Welch, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)20-7612 6550. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sempre Lifetime Achievement Award recipients

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The Gerry Farrell Travelling Scholarships

The Gerry Farrell Travelling Scholarships
Four scholarships totalling up to £4,000 per annum

Gerry Farrell (1951-2003)

Gerry was well-regarded both as an ethnomusicologist and a musician, and well-known as a lecturer in the UK, Europe and India. He was a fine sitarist, having studied under Debu Chaudhuri in Dehli. Gerry wrote extensively on all aspects of Indian music, ethnomusicology and music education, and included several books among his output. Gerry's 'Indian Music in Education' is widely used in schools and a further study, 'Indian Music and the West', received broad acclaim on its publication in 1997.

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The Sempre Conference Awards

The Sempre Conference Awards
Awards totaling up to £20,000 biennially

Purpose of the Award

The Sempre Conference Awards are intended to enable full-time students or part-timers who are non wage earners to attend one of the Society's conferences -particularly the biennial two-day conference- through meeting the fee and the costs of travel and subsistence.

Eligibility

The Sempre Conference Awards are open to full-time and part-time students as well as unwaged delegates who have been accepted to give a spoken or poster presentation at one of the Society's conferences (including those events in association with Sempre).

Criteria

Applications can only be accepted from students and unwaged delegates (see eligibility above) who have been selected by the conference organising committee to give a presentation (spoken or poster). The status of the applicant (as full-time/part-time/unwaged) as well as the HDI rating of the applicant's country of residence will be taken into account by the Sempre Awards Panel. Applications will also be judged according to the importance of attendance at the conference for furthering the studies of the student or delegate concerned, and the likelihood of the applicant being unable to obtain funding from other sources.

Applying

Applicants should apply to present a paper or poster to the conference concerned in the usual way and, if successful in being selected to present at the event, should complete an official application form circulated either by the conference organiser or by the Sempre Conference Secretary. The conference organiser should notify delegates about the deadline for applications, which is normally at least eight weeks in advance of the event, and the person to whom applications should be sent. All applications will then be processed via the Sempre Conference Secretary and considered by the Sempre Awards Panel. Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the conference organiser or Sempre Conference Secretary. The decision of the panel is final, and the Society regrets that it is unable to enter into any correspondence regarding its decision. Each application is treated individually according to the eligibility and criteria above. Previous applicants are not precluded from applying.

Further information

For further information, please contact the Chair, Professor Graham Welch, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)20-7612 6550. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Feedback from award recipients

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The Arnold Bentley New Initiatives Fund

The Arnold Bentley New Initiatives Fund
One award per annum totalling up to £3,000

Arnold Bentley (1913 - 2001)

Arnold first came to prominence in 1966 with the publication of his celebrated 'Musical Ability in Children and its Measurement', a book that for many years was to be the most cited in the field. Under his leadership, regular research conferences were held at Reading twice yearly from 1966 onwards, and it was from these that 'SRPMME' (now 'Sempre') evolved. Under his chairmanship, and later as its president, Arnold oversaw the development of the Society's prestigious journal 'Psychology of Music' and was instrumental in the Society becoming internationally acclaimed.

Purpose of the Award

The Arnold Bentley Fund exists to support new, interdisciplinary initiatives concerned with the advancement or promotion of research in the psychology of music or music education. Examples may include support towards a project, conference, seminar, workshop, exhibition or publication that is particularly innovative or pioneering.

Eligibility

The Arnold Bentley New Initiatives Fund is open to any individual or organisation engaged in the fields of endeavour embraced by the Society.

Criteria

The criteria by which applications will be judged include the quality, originality and significance of the proposed initiative, which must be interdisciplinary, and the likelihood of the applicant being unable to obtain funding from other sources.

Applying

Applicants should complete the application form available here. The completed form should be sent to the Secretary, Professor Adam Ockelford, Roehampton University, Queens Building, Southlands College, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5SL, UK. Phone: +44 (0) 7818-456 472. Email: a.ockelfordroehampton.ac.uk

The decision-making process

All applications will be considered by the Sempre Awards Panel. Applicants will be informed normally within six weeks of the outcome. Awards should be taken up normally within the 12 month period following the decision. Any scholarships not claimed within this period will be deemed to have lapsed. The decision of the panel is final, and the Society regrets that it is unable to enter into any correspondence regarding its decision. Each application is treated individually on its merits; hence previous applicants are not precluded from applying.

Further information

For further information, please contact the Chair, Professor Graham Welch, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)20-7612 6550. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Reports from Bentley Award Holders

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The Aubrey Hickman Award

The Aubrey Hickman Award
£500 biennially

Aubrey Hickman (1922-1986)

Aubrey was a founder member of Sempre, and its first Honorary Treasurer. In 1980 he was elected Chair of the ISME Research Commission. He was a fine viola player and composer as well as a teacher, lecturer and academic, publishing papers on statistics, the philosophy of music, creativity and perception. His intellectual integrity was matched with a generosity of spirit, particularly to newcomers to these areas of research.

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