Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
- Inclusive Education;
- Inclusive Music Education;
- Arts integration in the primary school;
- The social impact of music making;
- Effective teaching and learning in higher and professional education;
- Music for health and wellbeing;
- Intergenerational music making;
- Ear-playing and vernacular performance practices;
- Choral conducting education, and instrumental tuition
- Educational Leadership
More information / biography
I have experience in Teaching and Learning in Higher and Professional Education in four countries (Ireland, UK, Greece, and Cyprus), and with undergraduate and postgraduate student musicians and pre-service teachers. I am currently Lecturer in Postgraduate Studies at Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Ireland, where I coordinate and teach on the Masters in Educational Leadership. I am also a Visiting Professor at the University of Macedonia, Greece, where I teach on a MA in Music and Society and I supervise MA dissertations. Before joining MIC I worked as a Senior Lecturer in Music at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, where I designed and led a Pathway on Music Education, Health and Psychology for seven years. The modules of the Pathway focused on preparing student musicians for diverse, portfolio careers in music. Between 2009 and 2012 I engaged in postdoctoral research in two high impact projects: 1. The ‘Music for Life Project’, which won ‘The Royal Society for Public Health Arts and Health Awards 2014’, for Research excellence; and 2. ‘Ear-playing in the instrumental lesson: an approach based on popular musicians’ learning practices’.
I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) in recognition of my achievements in designing and delivering high quality teaching experiences and in supporting the students’ learning and employability. I hold a Ph.D in choral conducting education from UCL - Institute of Education, UK, funded by the A. Onassis Foundation. I have also set up and conducted children’s choirs in schools and in the community. My research spans the intersection of active music making, health and wellbeing; and creative approaches to learning at school, the community and beyond, such as informal learning and playing by ear. Ultimately, motivation for my research derives from my belief that musical experiences can bring about positive change in the individual and the society. I am currently researching inclusive music pedagogies. I have a passion for applied research and a strong and international research profile including interdisciplinary collaborations. I have taken leading roles in major international music education projects such as ‘Ethno Research’, and ‘Mapping the musical lifecourse: Advancing theoretical frameworks and methodologies for understanding emergent affordances, challenges, and constraints across the musical lifecours; and in UK projects such as the Greater London Authority Music Education Audit, and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) Music education programme. I have also been invited by the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD); by Sing Up Canvey Island to evaluate their music education programmes; and by Oily Cart to evaluation their sensory theatre projects. I am a co-author for the books Active Ageing with Music (2014) published by the IoE University Press and Contexts for Music Learning and Participation (2020) published by Palgrave.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Modelling Effective Choral Conducting Education through an exploration of example teaching and learning in England, University College London
… → 2009
Master, MA in Music (Performance Practice): Εlements of National Styles and Gypsy Influences in the works of Dvorak, Brahms, de Falla, Ravel and Bizet, University of York
… → 2004
Master, BMUs and Integrated Master in Music: Collective Singing and its significance in the music development of children aged 7-12 years old’, Ionian University
… → 1998
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Creative later-life in a digital age: mobilizing music and creative technologies for inclusive later life musical learning and participation, creative expression, digital literacy and quality of life
Varvarigou, M. (PI) & Creech, A. (PI)
12/09/17 → 27/02/21
Project: Research
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Mapping the musical lifecourse: Advancing theoretical frameworks and methodologies for understanding emergent affordances, challenges, and constraints across the musical lifecourse
Varvarigou, M. (PI), Creech, A. (PI) & Hallam, S. (PI)
4/01/17 → 4/01/18
Project: Research
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Arts-Based Service Learning in Higher Music Education
Varvarigou, M. (PI)
1/10/13 → 27/05/17
Project: Research
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Group Playing by Ear in Higher Music Education
Varvarigou, M. (PI)
2/10/12 → 24/04/15
Project: Research
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Ear-playing in the instrumental lesson: an approach based on popular musicians’ learning practices
Varvarigou, M. (PI), Green, L. (PI) & Baker, D. (PI)
6/09/11 → 14/06/12
Project: Research
Profiles
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Developing learner-centred music theory resources: a case study from the Maltese Islands
Barbieri, M. & Varvarigou, M., 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Music Education Research.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
How inclusive are our music classrooms? A theoretical model and case study from a preschool class of a mainstream private nursery school in Cyprus
Efstathiou, R. & Varvarigou, M., 27 Jan 2025, In: Music Education Research.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Music Education in Schools: Changing Landscapes and Future Directions, Studies in Irish Music Education
Moore, G. (Volume Editor), Varvarigou, M. (Volume Editor) & Bowe, M. L. (Volume Editor), 2025, Cork University Press. (Cork University Press.)Research output: Book/Report › Anthology › peer-review
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Sensory musicking: Fosterning Inclusive citizenship
Varvarigou, M., 2025, The Oxford Handbook of Special Music Education and Music Therapy. 29 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Through them I feel more confident and patient” – Intergenerational interactions scaffolding student musicians’ transitions to professional musical life’
Varvarigou, M., 2025, The Oxford Handbook of Music and Aging.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Ethno as a site for personal and professional development
Varvarigou, M., Creech, A., Lorenzino, L. & Coric, A., 2024, Ethno : Youth music gatherings, pedagogy, experience, and impact . Intellect Books, p. 94-113Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Ethno pedagogy: Valuing one another through experiential learning
Creech, A., Varvarigou, M., Lorenzino, L. & Čorić, A., 7 Jun 2024, Ethno Music Gatherings: Pedagogy, Experience, Impact: Pedagogy, Experience, Impact. Intellect Ltd., p. 1-24 24 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Ethno world as a site for developing and practising musical possible selves
Varvarigou, M., Creech, A., Lorenzino, L. & Čorić, A., 7 Jun 2024, Ethno Music Gatherings: : Pedagogy, Experience, Impact.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Fostering singers' creative agency in choral rehearsals
Varvarigou, M., 18 Oct 2024Research output: Other contribution › peer-review
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Inclusive pedagogy in school and community participatory music making
Varvarigou, M., 7 Nov 2024, 9th SiMM-posium.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review
Activities
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Participation in a university music society: motivations, effective music practices and implications for lifelong learning
Varvarigou, M. (Supervisor - Doctorate)
27 Jan 2025 → …Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Postgraduate Supervision
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Musician–teacher partnerships. How do teachers and musicians interpret them? What is their impact on primary school teachers, through teachers’ perspectives of participation?
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
5 Dec 2024Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
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The lived experience of hospital school stakeholders in Ireland.
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
28 Jun 2024Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
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A co-regulated environment with digital tools for teaching aural skills
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
24 May 2024Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
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Throw them in the deep end – The potential of musical improvisation in connecting participatory music activities and formal music education
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
22 Mar 2024Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
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3000 Violins: An Autoethnography of 'Quality' in Community Music Programs in Ireland.
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
Mar 2024Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
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Musical Instrument Learning through ageing and cognitive impairment.
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
Mar 2024Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
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Leading vocal ensembles in secondary school education in Greece: teachers’ education, methodologies, challenges, and good practice
Varvarigou, M. (Supervisor - Doctorate)
29 Jan 2024 → 2028Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Postgraduate Supervision
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Frontiers in Psychology (Journal)
Varvarigou, M. (Editor), Henley, J. (Editor), Morijiri, Y. (Editor) & Yoshi, M. (Editor in chief)
7 Jan 2024 → 31 Dec 2025Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work
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Choral Conductors’ Understanding of the Relationships between Language Reading and Music Reading in the Context of Children’s Choirs
Varvarigou, M. (Examiner - Doctorate)
5 Dec 2023 → …Activity: Examination & Postgraduate Supervision › Examination
Prizes
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Research Prize for Excellent Research Outputs from the academic year 2015/16
Varvarigou, M. (Recipient), 2016
Prize
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The Royal Society of Public Health Arts and Health Awards 2014
Varvarigou, M. (Recipient), 2014
Prize
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