'Sounding the Modern Flute: Performance, Identity, and Legacy in the Archive of Sir James Galway'

Apply and key information  

Summary

‘Sounding the Modern Flute: Performance, Identity, and Legacy in the Archive of Sir James Galway.’

  • To examine the Galway archive as a source for understanding performance practice, identity, and cultural dissemination of the flute in the modern era.
  • To assess how archival traces (letters, recordings, press, teaching documents) construct a narrative of Galway’s career and persona.
  • To contribute to musicological and archival scholarship by exploring intersections of pedagogy, repertoire development and media in twentieth-century classical performance.
  • To explore these concepts through performance and musicological research.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

  • Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
  • Research proposal of 2000 words detailing aims, objectives, milestones and methodology of the project
  • A demonstrable interest in the research area associated with the studentship

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

  • First Class Honours (1st) Degree
  • Completion of Masters at a level equivalent to commendation or distinction at Ulster
  • Publications record appropriate to career stage
  • Experience of presentation of research findings
  • A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
  • Use of personal initiative as evidenced by record of work above that normally expected at career stage.

Equal Opportunities

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.

Appointment will be made on merit.

Funding and eligibility

This scholarship will cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance allowance of £21,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).  A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of approximately £900 per annum is also available.

To be eligible for these scholarships, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a UK National, or
  • Have settled status, or
  • Have pre-settled status, or
  • Have indefinite leave to remain or enter, or
  • be an Irish National

Applicants should also meet the residency criteria which requires that they have lived in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar for at least the three years preceding the start date of the research degree programme.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies.

Recommended reading

Primary Sources

Galway, J., 1990. James Galway: An Autobiography. London: Hodder & Stoughton.

Galway, J. and Bridges, L., 2012. The Man with the Golden Flute: The Musical Journey of a Celtic Minstrel. London: John Blake.

Secondary and Theoretical Sources

Auslander, P., 1999. Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture. London: Routledge.

Auslander, P., 2006. Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Burnard, P., 2013. Musical Creativities in Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cook, T., 2013. ‘Evidence, memory, identity, and community’, Archival Science, 13(2– 3), pp. 95–120.

Gaunt, H., 2016. Collaborative Learning in Higher Music Education. Abingdon: Routledge. Ketelaar, E., 2001. ‘Tacit narratives: The meanings of archives’, Archival Science, 1(2), pp. 131–141

The Doctoral College at Ulster University

Key dates

Submission deadline
Monday 27 July 2026
04:00PM

Interview Date
early August

Preferred student start date
14 September 2026

Applying

Apply Online  

Contact supervisor

Professor Frank Lyons

Other supervisors