Rosamund Shuter Award

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Award history

24/01/2025

Rosamund Shuter was a psychologist who had a great interest in music and musical abilities. She was a founder-member of the Society for Research in Psychology of Music and Music Education (SRPMME – now SEMPRE) and, later, a distinguished editor of its journal Psychology of Music. Rosamund presented her doctoral research at London University in 1964 on An Investigation of Hereditary and Environmental Factors in Musical Ability. This theme became a principal thrust of her subsequent work, which over a period of thirty years brought some thirty papers in professional journals, many of them in the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education (CRME). Her first book, The Psychology of Musical Ability (1968), became a go-to resource for anyone interested in the field and still, after nearly 60 years since its first publication, provides a valuable background to this area of research. Rosamund was a person of great charm, and in her later years her religion became a great support in her life and lead to several researches on the beliefs and attitudes of church musicians.

Purpose of the award

The Rosamund Shuter Award is a new SEMPRE award from 2025 of up to £3000 to support basic or applied research into any aspect of assessment in the psychology of music and/or music education.

Total fund available

The award is up to £3000.

Eligibility

The Rosamund Shuter Award is open to anyone working in an area embraced by the Society’s aims.

Criteria

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

Decision-making process

All applications will be considered by the Sempre Awards Panel. Normally, applicants will be informed of the decision within six weeks of the outcome. The award should be taken up within the 12-month period following the decision, or by negotiation. Any award not claimed within this period without notification 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.

Feedback from award recipients

As this is a new award from 2025, no awards have been completed as yet. All successful recipients are expected subsequently to write a brief report that summarises the outcome of their research, including any related images (with appropriate ethical approval) for posting on the Sempre website. Please contact the Sempre Administrator for more details.

Further information

For further information, please contact the Sempre Chair, Professor Graham Welch, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom. Tel: +44(0)20-7612 6550. Email: [email protected]  

Apply

Applicants should complete the application form available by clicking ‘Download Application’ below. The completed form should be sent to the Sempre Secretary, Professor Adam Ockelford, Roehampton University, Queens Building, Southlands College, Roehampton Lane, London SW15 5SL, UK. Phone: +44 (0) 7818-456 472. Email: [email protected]   

Normally, in the case of less established or new researchers, as part of the application process we expect all applicants to provide the Sempre Trustees with the name of an academic referee who can testify to the applicant’s competence in undertaking the research and/or development activity successfully.

Download application