Dr Lisa Colton

Biography

Lisa Colton gained a First Class BMus (Hons) at the University of Huddersfield in 1998 before continuing her studies with an MA (Distinction) and PhD at the University of York. Her doctoral thesis, 'Music and sanctity in England, c.1260-c.1400' explored themes of nationalism, sanctity and virginity in late medieval English music, and was funded by the AHRC. Part-time lecturing at the universities of York and Huddersfield were followed by a full-time post at the University of Huddersfield from September 2003. In 2004, Lisa completed the PCPD, and is now a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. As a member of the Council of the Plainsong and Medieval Music Society (www.plainsong.org.uk), Lisa organised Nothing new: Understanding newness in medieval and contemporary music, a joint conference between the PMMS, RMA and CeReNem in Huddersfield (25–26 April 2009).

As a performer, Lisa plays bass viol with the baroque ensemble Arioso. Lisa has been a tutor at the Viola da Gamba Summer Course, and regularly plays as part of the University of Huddersfield Early Music Ensemble. Lisa has also directed vocal and instrumental workshops for the North East Early Music Forum, and for the International Medieval Congress. With Rachel Cowgill and Jo Wainwright, Lisa organised MARS (Music Archive Research Skills), an AHRC-funded project run to train postgraduate students in the use of archival resources. Lisa acts as the Musicology Module Area Leader and runs the Critical Musicology Reading Group, which meets periodically to discuss issues in contemporary musicology in an informal setting. She is also a member of the RMA, the AMS, the PMMS, the Viola da Gamba Society and CAMRA.

Research & Scholarship

Lisa’s recent research has included the preparation of articles based on music in medieval Bury St Edmunds, seventeenth-century keyboard tablature, the liturgy of medieval Yorkshire and the idea of music in mystical writing. In the summer of 2008, Lisa was awarded a Visiting Scholarship at St John’s College, Oxford, and in 2009 she was awarded the Pauline Alderman Award for an outstanding journal article relating to women in music for her article ‘The articulation of virginity in the medieval chanson de nonne’, Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 133/2 (November, 2008), 159–88.

Research Outputs

Areas for Research Supervision

Lisa's research interests are wide, ranging from archival work to exploring notions of music and identity in various historical contexts. She has supervised undergraduate, postgraduate and research students on a wide range of topics, including masculinity in the operas of Judith Weir, science fiction film scores, queer masculinity in popular music, music in the medieval English liturgy, and the regional identity of the Pennine brass band tradition. Lisa welcomes proposals from prospective research students on any subject, but particularly in areas of medieval music, music and gender, popular musicology and critical musicology.