Melbourne names arts research chief

Performance and music psychology academic Jane Davidson has been recruited by the University of Melbourne to serve as the inaugural head of the university’s major research initiative in the creative and performing arts, which is set to launch in 2014. The aim is to position the faculty of the Victoria College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music as world leaders in research within the creative and performing arts. Davidson will consolidate and build interdisciplinary research links within the university and the arts community. She researches music performance studies, vocal studies, performances influenced by historical contexts, musical development and music and health. Davidson has served as deputy director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotion and is former editor of the journal  Psychology of Music. She was also vice-president of the European Society for the Cognitive Science of Music and president of the Musicological Society of Australia.