Ethno Research

Lee Higgins
Principle Investigator 
 

ICCM, York St John University, UK

Professor Lee Higgins is the Director of the International Centre for Community Music based at York St John University, UK. As a community musician, he has worked across the education sector as well as within health settings, prison and probation service, youth and community, adult education, and arts organizations. As a presenter and guest speaker, Lee has worked on four continents in university, school, and NGO settings and was the President of the International Society of Music Education (2016-2018). He is the senior editor for the International Journal of Community Music and is the author of Community Music: In Theory and in Practice (2012, Oxford University Press), co-author of Engagement in Community Music (2017, Routledge) and co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Community Music (2018).

Lee Higgins
Sarah-Jane Gibson
Post Doctoral Researcher 
 

ICCM, York St John University, UK

Sarah-Jane Gibson is the post-doctoral researcher for Ethno Research. She has attended both Ethno Sweden and Ethno New Zealand as a participant-observer. She is also leading the Sustainability/Covid-19 and Ethno on the Road reports, and is part of the History team.

Sarah-Jane graduated with her PhD in Ethnomusicology from Queen’s University in 2018. Her thesis focused on how identity is constructed through singing in a community choir, and if this influences broader identity formations, with a focus on Northern Ireland.

Her research focuses on community and identity formation through engagement in musical practice. She has an extensive background in music education, having taught a wide range of ages and abilities in South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. Since completing her PhD she has been teaching at Queen’s University, Belfast tutoring a variety of anthropology and music courses and conducting the University Chamber Choir. Currently, she also lectures at York St John University and runs a folk music ensemble. 

Sarah-Jane Gibson