'Communities of musical practice’; music and asylum seeking; migrant musics; teacher/artist partnerships; arts education; teacher education; music education practices in formal/informal/non formal contexts; social processes in music; creativity and the arts.

Background

Dr Ailbhe Kenny is an Associate Professor in Music Education and an Irish Research Council Laureate. She is currently the PI on ‘Music in the Intercultural School: Uncovering Spaces for Agency and Belonging’, a four-year project funded by an Irish Research Council Starting Laureate award. Ailbhe holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and gained both Bachelor of Education and Master in Music Education degrees from St. Patrick’s College, Dublin City University. Dr Kenny was the Irish PI on the HERA-funded project ‘Night Spaces: Migration, Culture and IntegraTion in Europe’ (NITE) from 2019-22 and was a EURIAS fellow at the Hanse Institute for Advanced Study in Germany for 17-18. A Fulbright Scholar, Ailbhe spent the academic year 14-15 at Teachers College, Columbia University and New York University. Before taking up her current position at MIC, Ailbhe held a research fellowship and also lectured in Music Education at St. Patrick’s College. Ailbhe has worked as a primary teacher in a mainstream, learning support and specialist music teacher capacity and spent a year on secondment as Arts and Education Officer to ‘The Ark - A Cultural Centre For Children’ in Dublin. Ailbhe has led numerous professional development courses for teachers and is actively involved in community projects which includes directing the MIC Children's Choir (see https://www.youtube.com/watch…) and working in asylum seeker centres. Ailbhe was awarded the MIC President's Bursary for Outstanding Academic Achievement in 2014 and was a finalist in the Shannon Consortium Award for Excellence in Higher Education Teaching and Learning in 2016.