Robert teaches on a range of musicological and performance-related modules across the undergraduate and master's levels as well as maintaining an active role as a PhD supervisor.
Professor of Musicology and Historically-Informed Performance. Director of Doctoral Studies for Music, Drama and Dance.
Robert's first university teaching was at Royal Holloway, during his PhD, then at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge University (including as a Leverhulme Research Fellow), Birkbeck College, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and CCCU.
With over 50 scholarly publications under his belt, Robert maintains an international profile as a scholar and performer with large and varied range of publications, recordings and other engagements. His primary areas of research are music of the Czech lands and Britain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with a special interest in intersections of music and cultural life. His outputs have often focussed on overlooked and marginalised repertoire as well as challenging modern perceptions of centre and periphery through both research and performance. His monograph _Bohemian Baroque; Czech Musical Culture and Style 1600–1750_ was praised in The Musical Times as ‘a pioneering effort [...] featuring an astonishing range of genres [...] Bohemian Baroque emphasizes the vibrant networks of Baroque music-making, uncovers long-forgotten connections, and forges scholarly dialogue in twenty-first-century Europe.’
Robert also transforms his archival and scholarly activities into concerts and commercial recordings with a global impact with hi own award-winning ensemble, The Harmonious Society of Tickle-Fiddle Gentlemen. Indicative of this approach is his research and CD recording of Pepusch’s 1715 masque Venus and Adonis which changed perceptions and performance practices in addition to winning, among other accolades, the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (2016, Opera), beating out the OAE and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in the shortlist. Projects like this not only reach experts and people with an interest in early music, but also make an impact outside of academia in places like The Guardian and radio programmes, newspapers and magazines around the world. His newest recording, Pepusch 'Chandos Anthems' (Accent 2023) is already scooping up prizes and was named 'Editor's Choice' in Gramophone Magazine in January 2024.
Research Projects
- "Music Education for the Real World: A Comparison of Secondary and Tertiary Music Education Routes in England". Researcher(s): Mr Darren Taggart. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- ‘A comparative study on the evolutionary logic of music composition theory in the I-Ching and Twelve-Tone.’. Researcher(s): Mr Zhu Zhu Muran. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- ‘A feminist exploration of Jiahe Wedding Songs’. Researcher(s): Miss Menglan Li. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- 'Investigating benefits of creative dance on cognitive, social and creative development with children aged 6-7 years.'. Researcher(s): Miss Fatma Bicenturk. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- ‘This day the Organs did begin to play at White-hall before the King’ The work and influence of Christopher Gibbons (1615–76). Researcher(s): Mr Paul Stubbings. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- A Curse and/or a Blessing? Turkish Soap Operas and Their Impact on Contemporary Algerian Women: Audience Reception and Audio-Visual Analysis of The Historical TV Drama The Magnificent Century.. Researcher(s): Dr Zahra Khedimi. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Aspects of Interpretation and Performance of Western Classical Music in People’s Republic China. Researcher(s): Miss Ru-Yue Bai. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido, Dr Panos Ghikas. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Creativity within Choreography: an action research study in a higher education context in China. Researcher(s): Dr Yifeng Zhu. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Developing a teaching model for curricula on Accompaniment Playing in Music Education Departments through the example of Undergraduate Programmes in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Researcher(s): Miss Sefkat Saglamer. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Mr Dimitrios Sofronas. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Michael Henein. Supervisor(s): Dr David Allinson, Dr Maria Varvarigou, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Jon Williams. Supervisor(s): Dr David Allinson, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
- Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Joe Inkpen. Supervisor(s): Professor Matt Wright, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
- Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Emily Peasgood. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Dr Lauren Redhead. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
- Doctoral Research Project. Researcher(s): Dr Christian De Livet. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
- Edna Iles as a travelling virtuoso, with particular emphasis on the music and mentorship of Nikolai Medtner.. Researcher(s): Ms Lesley Day. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Effective Teaching and Learning of Music Theory in Higher Education: a Case Study from Malta. Researcher(s): Ms Moira Azzopardi Barbieri. Supervisor(s): Dr Maria Varvarigou, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Emotional Intelligence: Competencies That Contribute to the Professional Identity of Dance Educators. Researcher(s): Mrs Britta Wenn. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- How a new contemporary musical theatrical show can be used as a methodology to critique post-truth society.. Researcher(s): Mr Phil Baxter. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Investigating pedagogy and practice of teachers of ballet for children aged 5-10 years in the non-vocational, recreational field.. Researcher(s): Mrs Catherine Ingram. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Investigating the value of Urban dance ciphering in support of 21st century Cyclic Learning: enhancing ownership and leadership of the learner. Researcher(s): Mrs Gaby Allard. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Investigation of future trends through critical analysis of contemporary changes in Chinese piano teaching. Researcher(s): Mrs Xinyu Wang. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Keyboard instruments and their repertoire, 1560-1780. Researcher(s): Mr Francis Knights. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- no. Researcher(s): Mr JOHANNE-BRYCE HODGSON. Supervisor(s): Dr Panos Ghikas, Professor Matt Wright, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Reflecting on the collaborative practice and socially engaged principles underpinning the making of Vincent Dance Theatre’s ART OF ATTACHMENT.. Researcher(s): Ms Charlotte Vincent. Supervisor(s): Professor Angela Pickard, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Staging the Confines of Madness: Exploring Mental Health and Gendered Confinement in Twentieth- century Ireland through Performance Practice.. Researcher(s): Miss Stella Godmet. Supervisor(s): Dr Lars Harald Maagero, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- Sustaining Community: A Case Study of the Practical Application of Key Concepts of Mahayana Buddhism in Creating Factors of Sustainability and Empathy in Ensembles. Researcher(s): Dr Dana Blackstone. Supervisor(s): Dr Kasia Lech, Professor Robert Rawson. [Postgraduate Research Project (past)]
- The Early Tudor satellites and their Chapels: Personnel, Patronage and Politics c.1485 – 1530. Researcher(s): Mr Stephen Hamilton-Box. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Dr Katherine Butler, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- The Inheritance and Development of the Art of Zheng in the 21st Century: The New Features of Zheng Compositions. Researcher(s): Mrs Qian Zhan. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- The Village Cantor of 17th-18th Century in Bohemia and Moravia - Urban-Rural Networks of Musical Exchange. Researcher(s): Miss Petra Hajduchova. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Matt Wright. [Postgraduate Research Project]
- The way violinists supported and balanced their violin while performing, between circa 1790–1830, before the invention of the chin rest, and the implications on performance both then and now.. Researcher(s): Mrs Esther Visser. Supervisor(s): Professor Robert Rawson, Professor Alastair Borthwick. [Postgraduate Research Project]
Robert is deeply embedded in international conference culture and has presented his work at over fifty conferences across Europe and in the USA—including many by invitation. He holds leadership roles on several scientific committees for conferences in the UK, Netherlands, Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria as well as being the conference chair for the Biennial International Conference on Baroque Music (held in Canterbury in 2016), hosting over 200 scholars from around the world. Robert invited to act as guest editor of Early Music for a special volume on Bohemia and Moravia (the first such volume in its 50 year history), and was also interviewed on Czech Radio on the popularity of Janáček’s operas in the UK and was invited to speak at the Proms (BBC Radio 3) to discuss the latter’s The Makropulos Affair. He was also the main speaking guest on The Early Music Show (BBC Radio 3) for a programme about J. C. Pepusch, in which several of his own recordings were also featured. An indicator of esteem, he was one of a just few dozen scholars invited to contribute to the 50th anniversary volumes of Early Music in 2023.
Other external engagements include: reviewer of research projects for the Narodowe Centrum Nauki [National Science Centre], Poland; American Philosophical Association, reviewer of proposals for the Franklin Research Grant (2015– present); External department reviewer (one of two), Department of Music, Liverpool Hope University (2013). Reviewer of Junior Research Fellowship applications, Churchill College, Cambridge University (2014); Regular peer-reviewer for articles considered by Early Music (OUP), Eighteenth-Century Music (CUP) and manuscripts for Brepols (Belgium); External PhD examining at the Royal College of Music, University of Cambridge and Trinity-Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
- ‘As unknown to me as a Bohemian village’: a retrospective of Czech Baroque music in recordings Rawson, R., (Feb 2023): Oxford University Press. [Journal article]
- Emotional intelligence: competencies that contribute to the professional identity of dance educators Wenn, B.. [PhD Thesis]
- ‘After the Italian manner’—Finger, Pepusch and the first concertos in England Rawson, R., (Jun 2020), Musical Exchanges Between Britain and the Continent, c.1500-1800: Essays in Honour of Peter Holden. Woodbridge: Boydell and Brewer. [Book chapter]
- "For the sake of fullness of music in the choir”—performance practice and the double bass at the Kromeríž Court Rawson, R., (01 Aug 2018): Indiana University Press. [Journal article]
- Concertos ‘upon the stage’ in Early Hanoverian London: the instrumental counterpart to opera seria Rawson, R., (2020), Music and the Benefit Performance in Eighteenth Century Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Book chapter]