RMA Research Students' Conference 2006

Welcome! The RMA Research Students’ Conference is open to postgraduates studying in the UK or abroad. It offers the opportunity for students to present research in music, musicology and related areas in a friendly and supportive atmosphere.

Date & Location: This year, the conference will be held 4-7 January 2006 at the School of Music, University of Leeds. Accommodation will be provided for delegates at Devonshire Hall.

Programme: The programme includes skills training sessions, student papers, composition workshops, performance workshops, concerts, and social events. Click here for the full provisional programme.

Keynote Speakers: Keynote lectures will be given by Professor Richard Rastall (University of Leeds) and Adrian Sutton (commercial film, radio and TV composer).

Call for Papers and Compositions: Postgraduate students are invited to submit proposals for inclusion in the conference. For more details, see call for papers or call for compositions.

Booking: A booking form for conference delegates is available to download here. The full conference including accomodation is just £100 for students (plus £25 if you want to attend the Conference Dinner).

Sponsors: The Organising Committee would like to thank the Royal Musical Association (RMA) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) for generously supporting this conference.

Organising Committee: The conference is organised by a team of students chaired by Dr Rachel Cowgill and Catherine Haworth. To contact us, use the address or email below.

Travel and orientation
RMA Research Students’ Conference 2006 is being held in the School of Music Building on the main campus of the University of Leeds (see Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall marked on the campus map), which is less than a mile from the city centre on Woodhouse Lane, the A660. Bus numbers 1, 92, and 95 leave from Infirmary Street, near the city railway station, to the University and also to the accommodation at Devonshire Hall. Bus numbers 97a and 96 leave from the central bus station to both locations. (Please ask at the information kiosk for details.) The main entrance to the University is on Woodhouse Lane, adjacent to Parkinson Court, a large white stone building with a tall clock tower and steps to the front. There is a taxi rank adjacent to the main entrance. Car parking on campus (subject to availability) is £3.50 per day, access via the main entrance. Leeds/Bradford airport is ten miles away and it is best to take a taxi from here (approx £20). Trains run frequently from King’s Cross Station, London, and Manchester Airport (which is 60 miles away). If you take a taxi to the University, ask to be dropped off at ‘Parkinson Steps’, which is the main entrance, and walk down the hill (bearing to the right of the church) to the School of Music.

Registration
Registration for the conference is in the School of Music on the main campus of the University and will be open 12.30-18.00 on Wednesday 4 January, 08.30-18.00 on Thursday 5 and Friday 6, and 08.30-13.00 on Saturday 7. If you are attending the whole of the conference, we recommend that you register at the School of Music first and proceed to the accommodation before dinner. Transfer of luggage to/from conference accommodation will be provided on Wednesday 4 January and Saturday 7 January.

Lunch and Dinner
On Wednesday 4 January lunch will not be provided; however the main Refectory will be open, serving a range of light snacks and hot food. Lunch on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday is provided as part of your conference package. Evening dinner is provided at Devonshire on Wednesday and the Faversham pub on Thursday. The Conference Dinner will be at University House; delegates who have not registered for this will have the opportunity to make their own arrangements and we will be happy to make suggestions regarding restaurants in the locality.

Devonshire Hall - Residential Accommodation
Residential accommodation for the conference is being provided at Devonshire Hall, Cumberland Road, just off the A660, Headingley Lane. This is less than a mile from the University and a twenty-minute walk away. Buses stop at the bottom of Cumberland Road to/from the University and city centre, including bus numbers 1, 28, 95, 96, and 97. There is limited parking within the hall grounds and some street parking outside. You may check into the hall after 12.30 and up to 21.30 on Wednesday. Please let me know if you expect to arrive earlier/later. If you arrive late, look for instructions on the door of the lodge on the left-hand side of the entrance arch. The hall telephone number for urgent messages is +44 (0)113 2751265. Check out is by 09.30 on Saturday 7 January.

Additional information for speakers:
Each lecture theatre is equipped with piano/keyboard, whiteboard, PC, dataprojector, OHP, projection screen, and minidisc, audio-cassette, CD, DVD, and VHS playback. Exceptionally and with sufficient notice we can accommodate other technical requirements - to negotiate these please contact Rachel Cowgill on r.e.cowgill@leeds.ac.uk Please note that while our PCs are fitted with USB ports, some types of memory/data stick will not work with them. Please ensure, therefore, that you bring a back-up on CD-R of any presentation you intend to work with from memory stick.

The AHRC <http://www.ahrc.ac.uk> funds postgraduate training and research in the arts and humanities from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. AHRC Research Centres provide a focus for collaborative research in areas of strategic importance. Although the social and natural sciences have long had access to funding to establish centres of research expertise, it was not until the launch of the AHRC's Research Centres scheme that researchers in the arts and humanities benefited from a similar opportunity. For further information please see www.ahrc.ac.uk.