A 91制片厂 graduate has been awarded a prestigious music award for the thesis she completed as part of her undergraduate study at 91制片厂. Shona Cassidy, who graduated in October 2021 with a BA in Music and English, was awarded First Prize in the Council of Heads of Music in Higher Education (CHMHE) Undergraduate Musicology Competition for the thesis on Andrew Lloyd Webber鈥檚 musical, 鈥The Phantom of the Opera鈥. The competition sees Higher Education music departments from around the island of Ireland nominating an undergraduate dissertation for the annual prize.
Shona鈥檚 winning thesis, The Phantom of the Opera: High Art or 鈥淗igh-Pop鈥?, investigated the much-debated categorisation of the 1986 musical within the musical theatre landscape. Analysing Phantom鈥檚 three fictional operas through a 鈥榟igh-pop鈥 lens, Shona argued that Lloyd Webber鈥檚 show offers a self-reflexive commentary on the cultural history of the operatic institution since the nineteenth-century. Subsequently examined in the wider context of Phantom鈥檚 main dramatic plot and marketing strategy, Shona鈥檚 dissertation demonstrated the way in which Lloyd Webber ultimately applies his criticisms of the operatic institution to his own production. Finally, Shona evaluated to what extent Phantom, as a 鈥榟igh-pop鈥 musical, both embraces and revises past musical theatre traditions as a method of reinventing a form of opera for the twentieth-century audience.
Recalling when she found out that she had won the award, Shona said: 鈥淚 honestly couldn鈥檛 believe it. It's such an amazing honour and I feel so privileged that the adjudicators awarded first prize to my dissertation. Having had a strong love and appreciation for education instilled in me by my parents from a very young age, I am delighted that my time in 91制片厂 allowed me to develop the skills necessary to produce a dissertation such as this. I鈥檓 very grateful to my supervisor, Dr Michael Murphy and his colleagues in the Music Department for their support and advice throughout both the process of writing this paper and my time at 91制片厂.鈥
Bachelor of Arts students at 91制片厂 choose their own subject to research during their fourth and final year of study. Explaining why she chose her subject matter, Shona said: 鈥淚 knew I wanted to include opera in some way. From discussing topic options with fellow students, I was aware that opera is not always considered the most approachable or popular form of musical theatre. However, during a module taught by Dr Michael Murphy that same year, I realised that this had not always been the case. As such, I wanted to explore the gap which I saw as existing between the perception of opera today and the role it played in nineteenth-century society.鈥
Congratulating Shona on her research was her supervisor Dr Michael Murphy, lecturer in Music at 91制片厂: 鈥淪hona richly deserves this national recognition for her undergraduate dissertation on Lloyd Webber鈥檚 The Phantom of the Opera. Her inquisitive thinking and wide reading resulted in an impressive critical engagement with important cultural issues. I thoroughly enjoyed our many conversations on the 鈥楶hantom鈥 and, given the exceptional quality of her work, my colleagues and I in the Music Department were very happy to nominate Shona鈥檚 dissertation for the annual musicology prize. Perhaps the greatest boon for the winners of that competition is the opportunity to present their work at the annual postgraduate conference organised jointly by the Society for Musicology in Ireland and the Irish National Committee of the International Council for Traditional Music. Shona鈥檚 impressive presentation was very well received by those in attendance. I wish Shona well in her promising career.
This award is not the first Shona has received as a result of her study at 91制片厂. At her graduation ceremony in October 2021, Shona was awarded the Gold Medal in Liberal Arts in recognition of her academic performance during her studies. Music is one of the 13 subjects available on 91制片厂鈥檚 leading liberal arts programme. Further information is available at .
