Dr Laura Watson

    Music

    Associate Professor

    Logic House
    136
    (01) 708 6717

    Biography

    I am a musicologist and Associate Professor of Music at Maynooth University. I was elected to the Council of the Society for Musicology in Ireland (SMI) for a second term for 2021-24 and  serve as Honorary Treasurer. I also serve on the editorial board of the Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland (JSMI). 

    My current research focuses on women, gender, and music in Ireland. Recent publications include the coedited volume Women and Music in Ireland (Boydell, 2022) and an article on feminist musical activism. Beyond academia, I am a co-founder of the Working Group established in 2017. Sounding the Feminists is a volunteer group which campaigns for gender equality in the music sector across Ireland and has established partnerships with organisations such as the National Concert Hall and Contemporary Music Centre. I am also a named Research Collaborator on the international AHRC funded Women's Musical Leadership Online Network (WMLON), led by PI Laura Hamer (Open University) and co-I Helen Julia Minors (Kingston University). 

    In contemporary popular music culture, I study the phenomenon of rock and pop memoirs. Recent publications include an article on Bruce Springsteen's memoir franchise and reviews of books by Sinéad O'Connor and Bono.

    In the area of French music. I published a monograph on Dukas (Paul Dukas: Composer and Critic, Boydell 2019), a coedited book (Paul Dukas: Legacies of a French Musician, Routledge 2019), an article in Twentieth-Century Music, and chapters in edited volumes.

    I welcome enquiries from potential MA / MLitt / PhD students / postdoctoral candidates seeking to work on the above topics.

    Research Interests

    Women, gender, and music in the 20th and 21st centuries, especially women and music in Ireland; women and popular music

    Popular music, especially rock/pop memoirs

    Music and text cultures in the 19th, 20th, 21st centuries, especially Paul Dukas; music criticism; France, 1870 - 1940; popular music and memoirs

                       

    Research Projects

    Title Role Description Start date End date Amount
    Women's Musical Leadership Online Project(WMLOP) International Research Collaborator The Women’s Musical Leadership Online Network (WMLOP) is a collaborative online project incorporating music scholars, postgraduate students, and a wide range of non-academic stakeholders. With the dual function of both researching women’s musical leadership and acting as a support network for women musical leaders and potential leaders, WMLON explores women’s musical leadership within contemporary musical practices, focusing specifically upon music education, women musical collectives and activists, and the music industries (including broadcasting and journalism). Along with the PI and Co-I (named Collaborator) manage the project. Specifically, I oversee its development in Ireland. WMLON was awarded £7,500 seed funding to support pilot events in March and June. We have also submitted a bid to the AHRC for a network grant, to support the project from 2021 - 23. 14/12/2020 08/06/2021 7500
    Contemporary Music Centre and Sounding the Feminists. Scoping exercise for gender audit of publicly funded composer opportunities on the island of Ireland Co-authored grant. Represent Sounding the Feminists on the Advisory Panel. Scoping project as the first stage in a comprehensive gender-audit of publicly funded composer opportunities on the island of Ireland over the past thirty years. Funded by the Arts Council. I co-authored the grant. 01/11/2019 29/02/2020 5000
    IMRO and Sounding the Feminists Workshops Researcher and faciitator for third workshop, 'Writing About Music For the Public' IMRO and Sounding the Feminists collaborated from March - October 2019 on a project to give women and non-binary people more access to professional music networks. These workshops enabled participants to meet and receive advice from professionals in their fields. IMRO funded the series. I facilitated Workshop 3. 01/03/2019 31/10/2019 1500
    National Concert Hall and Sounding the Feminists Partnership Initiative Primary Investigator for Strand 1, Chamber Series. Co-founder of Sounding the Feminists Working Group. The new initiative has three strands. I am extensive involved in the first strand. That an annual Chamber Music series co-curated and researched by NCH and me on behalf of STF. The series will highlight the work of female composers. The second strand is a new Commissioning Scheme to provide opportunities for established and emerging composers to have their work commissioned and performed at the NCH. Details of the scheme are to be announced in the coming months. The third strand sees a new Programme Strand that sees both the NCH and STF focus on the diverse range of works of female artists working in music across genres. Creative Ireland awarded €100,000 total over five years. NCH matched that award, to bring the overall total to €200,000. 01/09/2018 31/03/2023 200000

    Book

    Year Publication
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) Paul Dukas: Composer and Critic. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. [Link]

    Edited Book

    Year Publication
    2022 Jennifer O'Connor-Madsen, Laura Watson, and Ita Beausang (Ed.). (2022) Women and Music in Ireland. Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer,
    2019 Helen Julia Minors and Laura Watson (Ed.). (2019) Paul Dukas: Legacies of a French Musician. Abingdon: Routledge, [DOI]

    Book Chapter

    Year Publication
    2022 Laura Watson, Jennifer O'Connor-Madsen, and Ita Beausang (2022) 'Introduction' In: Women and Music in Ireland. Woodbridge : Boydell & Brewer.
    2020 Watson L. (2020) 'Don’t believe a word?: Memoirs of irish rock musicians' In: Made in Ireland: Studies in Popular Music. [DOI]
    2023 Laura Watson (2023) 'Sounding the Feminists: Campaigning for Institutional Change to Support Women in Music in Contemporary Ireland' In: The Routledge Companion to Women in Musical Leadership: the Nineteenth Century and Beyond. New York : Routledge.
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) 'Composers with Whom Debussy Was Associated' In: Debussy in Context. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.
    2019 Watson, L (2019) 'Reading lyrics, hearing prose: Morrissey's Autobiography' In: MUSIC, MEMORY AND MEMOIR. NEW YORK : BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC.
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) 'Rhoda Coghill and the Gender Politics of Piano Performance' In: Women and Music in Ireland. Woodbridge : Boydell & Brewer.
    2019 Watson L. (2019) 'Dukas, critical conversations, and intellectual legacies' In: Paul Dukas: Legacies of a French Musician. Abingdon : Routledge. [DOI]
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) 'Don't Believe A Word? Memoirs of Irish Rock Musicians' In: Made in Ireland: Studies in Popular Music. Abingdon : Routledge.
    2019 Helen Julia Minors and Laura Watson (2019) 'Introducing Dukas's Legacy' In: Paul Dukas: Legacies of a French Musician. Abingdon : Routledge. [Link]
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) 'Reading Lyrics, Hearing Prose: Morrissey's Autobiography' In: Music, Memory and Memoir. London : Bloomsbury Academic. [Link] [DOI]
    2015 Dr Laura Watson (2015) 'Ireland in the Musical Imagination of Third Republic France' In: France and Ireland: Notes and Narratives. Bern : Peter Lang. [Full-Text]

    Peer Reviewed Journal

    Year Publication
    2022 Watson L. (2022) 'Born to Run: The Transmedia Evolution of the Bruce Springsteen Memoir from Book to Stage and Screen'. Popular Music and Society, 45 (22):279-200. [DOI]
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) 'Feminist Musical Activism in Ireland (2016 - 21) and Feminist Musicology'. Ethnomusicology Ireland, (8):1-22. [Link] https://www.ictm.ie/feminist-musical-activism-in-ireland-2016-21-and-feminist-musicology-laura-watson/
    2018 Watson, L (2018) 'Fifty Shades of Bluebeard? Dukas's Ariane et Barbe-Bleue in the Twenty-First Century'. Twentieth-Century Music, 15 (3):399-438. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2016 Laura Watson (2016) 'Epitaph for a Musician: Rhoda Coghill as Pianist, Composer and Poet'. Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland, 11 :2-21. [Link] https://doi.org/10.35561/JSMI11151 [Full-Text]
    2010 Watson, L (2010) 'Dukas's 'Victory': a cultural and political reading of a post-WW1 manuscript'. Musical Times, 151 :53-70. [Full-Text]

    Conference Contribution

    Year Publication
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Conceptualising Women Ireland, .
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) Feminist Theory and Music Conference 2022 Roundtable: Women’s Musical Leadership as Lens for Feminist Musical Study: Salon Culture, Collectives, Mentorship, and Networks Canada, .
    2021 Laura Watson (2021) Increasing the Presence of Women Composers in the Concert Hall: Reflections on Sounding the Feminists' Strategies Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Ireland, .
    2021 Laura Watson (2021) Gender Politics, the Piano, and the Radio in Twentieth-Century Ireland Annual Conference of the Royal Musical Association UK, .
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) Gender Politics, the Piano, and Rhoda Coghill's Career Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Ireland, .
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) Concert for George as Rock Tombeau’ Legacies and Prospects: The Past and Futures in Music, IASPM-Canada Annual Conference Université de Québec a Montreal (UQAM), .
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) “Nina Cried Power”: Stories about Nina Simone, Hozier, and Performing Activism Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Maynooth University, .
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) Performing Girlhood: Kylie Minogue's Pop Persona in the 1980s Kylie: The Symposium Maynooth University, .
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) History of Sounding the Feminists MEAS Interdisciplinary Symposium: Measuring Equality in the Arts Sector University College Cork, .
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) Gender Politics and the Rock Memoir Annual Conference of the Royal Musical Association Liverpool University, .
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) 'Every Day I Write the Book': Popular Music and Memoirs in the Twenty-First Century Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society (AMS) Rochester, NY, .
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) The Rock Memoir as a Postmodernist Musical Text Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Popuar Music (IASPM) Kassel, Germany, .
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) Gender Politics and the Rock Memoir Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Queen's University Belfast, .
    2016 Laura Watson (2016) Rock Memoirs, Artistry, and Textuality Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland St Patrick's College, Dublin City University, .
    2014 (2014) Rhoda Coghill as Composer and Irish Cultural Politics Women and Music in Ireland Conference St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Dublin, .
    2014 (2014) Imagining Ireland in French Music of the Third Republic Association of Franco-Irish Studies: Tenth Annual Conference National Concert Hall, Dublin, .
    2013 (2013) Rhoda Coghill as Composer: A Reassessment of an Irish Musician Eighth International Biennial Conference on Music Since 1900 Liverpool Hope University, .
    2013 (2013) Hearing through Dance: Natasha Trouhanova and the Reception of Dukas's 'La Péri' Annual Meeting of the Francophone Music Criticism Network Paris (BCVP), .
    2012 (2012) The nouvelle femme in Early Twentieth-Century French Opera and Ballet Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Dundalk (DkIT), .
    2011 (2011) Paul Dukas's 'Le Sang de Méduse': the Rediscovery of a Lost Scenario Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society San Francisco, USA, .
    2011 (2011) Representations of Identity at the Paris Opéra and Opéra-Comique in the 1920s Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Dublin (RIAM), .
    2010 (2010) Re-Imagining the Conflict: Catholicism, Jewishness and French Opera in the 1920s Conflict, Memory and Memorialisation: War and European Culture in the Twentieth Century Liverpool Hope University, .
    2009 (2009) Reconsidering the Place of Irish Women Composers in the Early Twentieth Century Joint Annual Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland and the Royal Musical Association Dublin (RIAM), .
    2009 (2009) 'Dukas, the Music Press and Critical Integrity Francophone Music Criticism Network Meeting Montréal (McGill University), .
    2009 (2009) Reconciling Past and Future after WW1: a Case Study of a Dukas Scenario Royal Musical Association Symposium Lancaster University, .
    2008 (2008) In Search of La Route de la Gloire: Dukas's Sketches, Fragments and Plans for New Directions Seminar Series, Music Department NUI Maynooth, .
    2008 (2008) Russian Influence on French Programme Music in the 1890s: Unexplored Connections 15th Biennial Int. Confs. on 19th C Music Dublin (UCD), .
    2007 (2007) Paul Dukas's Polyeucte Overture: A Programmatic Template? Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Dublin (DIT), .
    2006 (2006) Dukas and Goethe: The Programmatic Strategy of L'Apprenti Sorcier Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Limerick (Mary Immaculate College), .
    2006 (2006) L'Apprenti Sorcier as Discourse: Musical Manifestation of Dukas's Critical Aesthetics 14th Biennial Conference on Nineteenth-Century Music University of Manchester, .
    2005 (2005) Ariane et Barbe-Bleue as Manifestation of Dukas's Critical Theories International Conference on Music Analysis Dublin (UCD), .
    2004 (2004) Paul Dukas: Reconsidering the Silence of the Later Years Conference of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Belfast (Queen's University), .

    Other Journal

    Year Publication
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) 'One Voice, Many Paths' Journal of Music, . [Link] https://journalofmusic.com/opinion/one-voice-many-paths
    2022 Laura Watson (2022) 'A Limited Edition' Journal of Music, . [Link]
    2021 Laura Watson (2021) 'A Gripping Memoir Woven Through With Trauma' Journal of Music, . [Link] https://journalofmusic.com/opinion/gripping-memoir-woven-through-trauma
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) 'Unguarded Voice' Revista de Nutrici\'on Cl\'\inica y Metabolismo, . [Link] https://journalofmusic.com/focus/unguarded-voice
    2018 Laura Watson (2018) 'Hard Questions Matter' Journal of Music, . [Link] https://journalofmusic.com/criticism/hard-questions-matter
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) 'A Fractured History for Fractured Arts' Journal of Music, . [Link]
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) 'Gothic Outsiders' Journal of Music, . [Link] https://journalofmusic.com/criticism/fractured-history-fractured-arts
    2015 Dr Laura Watson (2015) 'Sexism and the Leaving Cert. Music Syllabus' Journal of Music, . [Link] [Full-Text]

    Book Review

    Year Publication
    2020 Watson, L (2020) Bird of Time: The Music of Swan Hennessy. OXFORD: BREV [DOI]
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) Review. Axel Klein, Bird of Time: The Music of Swan Hennessy. BREV https://doi.org/10.1093/ml/gcaa052
    2015 Laura Watson (2015) Words and Notes in the Long Nineteenth Century. NEW YORK: BREV [DOI]
    2015 Watson, L (2015) O'Kelly: An Irish Musical Family in Nineteenth-Century France. EDINBURGH: BREV [DOI]
    2015 Laura Watson (2015) Review. Phyllis Weliver and Katharine Ellis: Words and Notes in the Long Nineteenth Century. BREV http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1479409814000573 [Full-Text]
    2015 Laura Watson (2015) Review. Axel Klein: O'Kelly - An Irish Musical Family in Nineteenth-Century France. BREV [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2008 Dr Laura Watson (2008) Review. Simon-Pierre Perret and Marie-Laure Ragot: Paul Dukas. BREV [Full-Text]

    Invited Lectures

    Year Publication
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) Every Day I Write the Book: Popular Musicians and Memoirs in the Twenty-First Century. INVL
    2014 Laura Watson (2014) The New Woman in Belle Epoque French Opera and Ballet. INVL

    Invited papers

    Year Publication
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) Invited guest contributor to Made in Ireland book launch. Gave a short presentation about my chapter. INVP
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) Sounding the Feminists: Campaigning for Gender Equality in the Irish Music Sector. INVP
    2017 Laura Watson (2017) Nina Simone, WAX ON series. Guest Speaker on panel. INVP [Link] https://www.mixcloud.com/Improvised_Music_Company/wax-on-podcast-nina-simone/
    2017 Laura Watson, Jennifer O'Connor-Madsen, Ita Beausang (2017) Saluting the Feminists. Panel Discussion at Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin. INVP [Link] http://www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/79729

    Invited Seminars

    Year Publication
    2021 Laura Watson (2021) 'Women Composers and the Undergraduate Curriculum,' WIGM (Women in Global Music) Network Launch. INVS
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) From the Stage to the Page: the Rock Memoir as a Site of Reflective Practice. INVS
    2021 Laura Watson (2021) 'Impact of Sounding the Feminists on Teaching and Learning Strategies', part of NUI Galway webinar series Re-imagining the Creative Arts Curriculum and the Creative Arts Canon', 26 March 2021. INVS

    Editorial

    Year Publication
    2019 Minors H.; Watson L. (2019) Introducing Dukas's legacy. ED [DOI]

    Media

    Year Publication
    2019 Laura Watson, Patrick Geoghegan, Wofgang Marx, Susan McClary, Rachel Talbot (2019) Talking History, Newstalk FM. Programme on Bizet. MEDIA [Link] https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/highlights-from-talking-history/george-bizet-life-music
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) Interviewed about Dukas monograph for Music Matters on BBC Radio 3. MEDIA [Link] https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004lv3
    2018 Laura Watson (2018) Interviewed for RTÉ Radio 1 Arena. MEDIA [Link] https://www.rte.ie/radio1/arena/programmes/2018/1112/1010461-arena-monday-12-november-2018/?clipid=102975939
    2019 Laura Watson (2019) Interviewed for Culture File, Lyric FM, RTÉ. MEDIA [Link] https://soundcloud.com/soundsdoable/culture-file-resounding-the

    Electronic Publication

    Year Publication
    2011 Dr Laura Watson (2011) Edition: Francophone Music Criticism Network, Collection 12, 'Paul Dukas: Writings (1892-1894)' (1893 edition). ELECP [Link]
    2010 Watson, Laura (2010) Edition: Francophone Music Criticism Network, Collection 12, 'Paul Dukas: Writings (1892-1894)' (1892 edition). ELECP [Link]

    Podcast

    Year Publication
    2020 Laura Watson, Karen Power, Ann Cleare, Ciara L. Murphy, Evonne Ferguson (2020) Contemporary Music Centre 'Amplify' Podcast, #10: Sounding the Feminists. Dublin: PODCAST [Link] https://www.cmc.ie/amplify/episode-10-STF

    Dictionary Entry

    Year Publication
    2013 Laura Watson (2013) Various entries for the Encyclopaedia of Music in Ireland. DE

    Magazine Article

    Year Publication
    2020 Laura Watson (2020) Programme notes on Paul Dukas for London Symphony Orchestra, Barbican Hall, London. MGZN

    Online Multimedia

    Year Publication
    2019 O'Neill, S; Watson, L. (2019) 'I should be so lucky: doing the academic locomotion with Kylie', RTE Brainstorm. ONMM [Link]

    Magazine Article

    Year Publication
    2011 Dr Laura Watson (2011) Programme note (essay) for 2011 production of Paul Dukas's opera Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, at the Gran Teatre Liceu, Barcelona. [Magazine Article]

    Thesis

    Year Publication
    2008 Watson, L. (2008) Paul Dukas’s Music-Text Aesthetic: A Study of its Sources, Theory and Practice, 1891–1907. Trinity College Dublin: THES
    Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

    Professional Associations

    Description Function From / To
    International Association for the Study of Popular Music (UK and Ireland) Elected to Executive, as Ireland Representative 01/09/2020 -
    France: Musique Cultures Network (FMC) Member -
    Society for Musicology in Ireland Council member, Chair of Grants Committee 01/06/2015 - 31/05/2018
    American Musicological Society Member -
    Sounding the Feminists Education Officer on Working Group 30/04/2017 -

    Honors and Awards

    Date Title Awarding Body
    01/01/2018 Maynooth University Publication Subvention Maynooth University
    01/01/2018 Maynooth University Publication Subvention Maynooth University
    01/01/2018 AMS James R. Anthony Endowment Publication Subvention American Musicological Society
    01/01/2003 Government of Ireland Scholar Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences

    Committees

    Committee Function From / To
    IASPM @ Journal International advisory editor (UK & Ireland) 01/07/2017 -
    Sounding the Feminists Education Officer on Working Group -
    2015 Conference: Paul Dukas at 150 Chair of committee -
    Council of the Society for Musicology in Ireland Chair, Grants Committee 01/06/2015 - 31/05/2018

    Education

    Start date Institution Qualification Subject
    Maynooth University Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Higher Education
    Trinity College Dublin PhD Music
    University of Liverpool BA (Hons) Music Music

    Other Activities

    Description
    http://journalofmusic.com/author/laura-watson
    Reviewed book manuscripts
    Reviewed chapter

    Consultancy

    Client Description
    Dundalk Institute of Technology: External Examiner External Examiner for BA (Hons) Applied Music degree
    Technological University Dublin: External Examiner
    Dundalk Institute of Technology: External Examiner External Examiner for MA Music candidate
    Arts Council Consultant (with Sounding the Feminists) for development of the Arts Council's recently published Equality, Human Rights and Diversity Policy (2019).
    Teaching Council 2016. Consultation on reforms to Junior Cycle Music Curriculum.
    National Concert Hall: Co-curator of NCH & STF Chamber Series Co-curating the Creative Ireland funded NCH & STF Chamber Music Series (2018 - 23) as part of my role in Sounding the Feminists.

    Outreach Activities

    Description
    Interviewed about Resound: Chamber Series (National Concert Hall and Sounding the Feminists) for Culture File programme on Lyric FM. Broadcast November 2019.
    RTÉ Lyric FM. Contributor to RTÉ Lyric FM Series 'Women of Note', which has been aired at least twice since the original broadcast in 2012.
    Co-curator (on behalf of Sounding the Feminists) with the National Concert Hall of Chamber Series, 2018 - 19 and 2019 - 20. Series funded by Creative Ireland and NCH. [Link]
    Facilitator of IMRO-sponsored Sounding the Feminists (STF) Workshop: 'Writing about Music for the Public'. Chaired discussion between panel of six speakers and large public audience. [Link]
    Talking History: live radio show and podcast. Studio contributor to full hour-long episode about the French composer Georges Bizet. Live episode broadcast 24 February 2019.
    RTÉ Radio 1. Interviewed for 'Arena' programme regardomg work on the co-curated National Concert Hall and Sounding the Feminists Chamber Series. Originally broadcast on 12 November 2018. [Link]
    BBC Radio 3 guest. Interviewed by Tom Service for the programme 'Music Matters', in a segment about my Paul Dukas book. Broadcast on Saturday 27 April 2019. Now available as podcast. [Link]
    Sounding the Feminists: Working Group established in 2017 to campaign for gender equality in music. 2017 - present: Elected to the Working Group as Education Officer in 2017. 2018 - present: Five-year funded partnership between NCH and STF, funded by Creative Ireland. Co-curating NCH & STF Chamber Music Series. Focused on the history of women's composition, this series marks a new departure for classical music in Ireland. Committee member for Sounding the Feminists Symposium on Women in Popular and Traditional Music in Ireland, held at DkIT in November 2017. This event was open to all and featured academics, activists, practitioners, students. Consulted with state bodies such as the Arts Council on the development of equality and diversity policy. Media: contributor to RTÉ Radio 1 Arena programme, November 2018. Significant media coverage of Sounding the Feminists' work and influence: Irish Times, Examiner, Journal of Music, Totally Dublin, Women's Podcast, RTÉ Arena.

    Teaching Interests

    Music history; musicology; twentieth-century music; jazz; popular music; women in music; music and gender; music and Ireland in the twentieth century.

    Recent Students

    Graduation date Name Degree
    2017 Emma Higgins PhD