Ms Mary-Jannet Leith MA (Oxon), MPhil (Oxon), M Perf (RCM), MISM
Postgraduate research student
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I am a Postgraduate Researcher and Professional Recorder Player specialising in the music of eighteenth-century Scotland, supported by an AHRC studentship through the SWWDTP2.
After studying for both undergraduate and postgraduate research degrees in Reception History within the Classics Department at Oxford University, I then studied for a Masters in Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music, London. After working as a freelance professional musician for five years, I embarked upon research for a new programme of Scottish Baroque music, and it was this which inspired me to undertake my current research.
My research combines a historical analysis of the dynamic migration of Scottish musical identity with a focus on the role of Scottish musicians in the creative context of eighteenth century London. I ask what it meant to be a Scottish musician in eighteenth century London, and how Scottish affiliations and identities contributed to professional lives in the capital. How were networks of Scottish musicians and patrons formed, and how did they act to promote Scottish music in London? Where did Scottish musicians live in the capital? Who listened to and enjoyed Scottish music in London during this period, and why?
As an SWW2 researcher, I have established a network of two non-higher education organisations which help me to examine the transmission of Scottish music between Scotland and England: the Wighton Collection, an unrivalled repository of Scottish musical manuscripts held within Dundee Central Library, and the eighteenth-century Crown Court Church of Scotland, Covent Garden. Both of these organisations also offer wonderful performance opportunities, allowing today’s audiences to enjoy the results of my research.