Hi, I'm Nell! My enthusiasm for empowering others through creative practices has stemmed from my own experience of building my own self-confidence through learning music technology. It was through playing on synthesisers and working as a part of a team in different music studios that I found new ways of self-expression that have strengthened my sense of self. I feel privileged to have had these opportunities, and so I dedicated my master's research to finding ways of demystifying synthesis in educational contexts, specifically to give children positive first encounters with music technology that inspires curiosity and builds upon their musical identities. My personal experience has made me really care for the pedagogical discourse behind bringing music technology to different people, and to listen to feedback to create enriching and positive learning experiences.
I was in the second year of my classical music undergraduate degree when a friend showed me what a synthesiser was and how to use one. I suddenly felt like I was more able to make the music I wanted to: I finally felt reassured in my musical tastes and identity, like I had found the ‘thing’ for me. Since then, I have been researching ways of teaching music technology and synthesis in more accessible ways - to open up the door to more people who are less likely to have experienced it. This is fuelled by my own experiences of having very little exposure to electronic music practice within educational settings up until this point, and often being the only woman within the classroom once I switched my research focus to music technology, which has had its own challenges altogether.