Rosie PerkinsProfessor of Music, Health,
and Social Science
Royal College of Music

    Rosie Perkins is Professor of Music, Health, and Social Science at the Royal College of Music. Based in the Centre for Performance Science, Rosie’s research investigates two broad areas within music and mental health: how music and the arts support societal wellbeing and how to enhance artists’ wellbeing and career development. Rosie has particular interest in music and parental mental health and co-leads the Music and Parental Wellbeing Research Network, which fosters novel, international, and interdisciplinary collaborations to explore the role of music in supporting parental wellbeing. Rosie’s work has been supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Arts Council England, British Academy, Dutch Research Council, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and has featured in a wide range of international journals and press. Rosie is an honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London and a Fellow of AdvanceHE (FHEA) and the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH). In 2019, Rosie was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal College of Music.

    Email: rosie.perkins@rcm.ac.uk

    Current projects

    HEartS
    HEartS Professional
    Loneliness and Mental Health
    ProMiMiC
    Songs from Home
    ZikMus

    PUBLICATIONS

    Books

    Perkins R (ed.) (forthcoming), Music and Parental Mental Wellbeing, Oxford University Press [ISBN].

    Williamon A, Ginsborg J, Perkins R, & Waddell G (2021), Performing Music Research: Methods in Music Education, Psychology, and Performance Science, Oxford University Press [ISBN] [WEBSITE].

    Articles and chapters

    Forthcoming

    Shaughnessy C, Perkins R, Spiro N, Waddell G, & Williamon A (forthcoming), Cultivating progressive development in the cultural industries: challenges and support needs identified by the creative workforce in the United Kingdom, Cultural Trends [DOI]

    2024

    Shaughnessy C, Hall A, & Perkins R (2024), Becoming the right musician for the job: versatility, connectedness, and professional identities during personalized, online music-making in hospital maternity wards, Musicae Scientiae, 28, 58-75 [DOI].

    2023

    Bind RH, Sawyer K, Hazelgrove K, Rebecchini L, Miller C, Ahmed S, Dazzan P, Sevdalis N, Bakolis I, Davis R, Baldellou Lopez M, Woods A, Crane N, Manoharan M, Burton A, Dye H, Osborn T, Greenwood L, Perkins R, Fancourt D, Pariante CM, & Estevao C (2023), Feasibility, clinical efficacy, and well-being outcomes of an online singing intervention for postnatal depression in the UK: SHAPER-PNDO, a single-arm clinical trial, Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 9, 131 [DOI].

    Birken M, Chipp B, Shah P, Rowan-Olive R, Nyikavaranda P, Hardy J, Chhapia A, Barber N, Lee S, Pearce E, Lloyd-Evans B, Perkins R, McDaid D, Stefanidou T, Shafran R, Pitman A, & Johnson S (2023), Exploring the experiences of loneliness in adults with mental health problems: a participatory qualitative interview study, PLOS One, 18 (e0280946) [DOI].

    Perkins R, Spiro N, & Waddell G (2023), Online songwriting reduces loneliness and postnatal depression and enhances social connectedness in perinatal mothers: randomised controlled trial, Public Health, 220, 72-79 [DOI].

    Spiro N, Sanfilippo KRM, McConnell BB, Pike-Rowney G, Bonini Baraldi F, Brabec BVan Buren K, Camlin DA, Cardoso TMÇifdalöz BU, Cross I, Dumbauld B, Ettenberger M, Falkenberg K, Fouché S, Frid E, Gosine J, graham-jackson al, Grahn, JL, Harrison K, Ilari B, Mollison S, Morrison SJ, Pérez-Acosta G, Perkins R, Pitt J, Rabinowitch TC, Robledo JP, Roginsky E, Shaughnessy C, Sunderland N, Talmage A, Tsiris G, & de Wit K (2023), Perspectives on musical care throughout the life course: introducing the Musical Care International Network, Music & Science, 6, 1-18 [DOI].

    Spiro N, Shaughnessy C, Waddell G, Perkins R, Campbell A, & Williamon A (2023), Modelling arts professionals’ wellbeing and career intentions within the context of COVID-19, PLOS One, 18 (e0292722), 1-22 [DOI].

    Spiro N, Yang J, Shaughnessy C, Churan L, Perkins R, Waddell G, & Williamon A (2023), Work and wellbeing among arts professionals in China during COVID-19 (August 2020 and October 2021), Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 8 (100691), 1-9 [DOI].

    2022

    Bind RH, Estevao C, Fancourt D, Hazelgrove K, Sawyer K, Rebecchini L, Miller C, Dazzan P, Sevdalis N, Woods A, Crane N, Manoharan M, Burton A, Dye H, Osborn T, Greenwood L, Bakolis I, Baldellou Lopez M, Davis R, Perkins R & Pariante CM (2022), Online singing interventions for postnatal depression in times of social isolation: a feasibility study protocol for the SHAPER-PNDO single-arm trial, Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 8 (148) [DOI].

    Ascenso S, Delle Fave A, Perkins R, & Williamon A (2022), Fostering musicians’ wellbeing, in GE McPherson (ed.), Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Vol 2 (pp. 574-594), Oxford University Press.

    Perkins R, Kaye SL, Zammit BB, Mason-Bertrand A, Spiro N, & Williamon A (2022), How arts engagement supported social connectedness during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: findings from the HEartS Survey, Public Health, 207, 1-6 [DOI].

    Shaughnessy C*, Perkins R*, Spiro N, Waddell G, Campbell A, & Williamon A (2022), The future of the cultural workforce: perspectives from early career arts professionals on the challenges and future of the cultural industries in the context of COVID-19, Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 6 (100296), 1-12 [DOI]. *Joint first authors

    Soukup T, Davis RE, Baldellou Lopez M, Healey A, Estevao C, Fancourt D, Dazzan P, Pariante C, Dye H, Osborn T, Bind R, Sawyer K, Rebecchini L, Hazelgrove K, Burton A, Manoharan M, Perkins R, Podlewska A, Chaudhuri R, Derbyshire-Fox F, Hartley A, Woods A, Crane N, Bakolis I, & Sevdalis N (2022), Study protocol: randomised controlled hybrid type 2 trial evaluating the scale-up of two arts interventions for postnatal depression and Parkinson’s disease, BMJ Open, 12 (e055691), 1-11 [DOI].

    2021

    Estevao C, Bind R, Fancourt D, Sawyer K, Dazzan P, Sevdalis N, Woods A, Crane N, Rebecchini L, Hazelgrove K, Manoharan M, Burton A, Dye H, Osborn T, Davis R E, Soukup T, Arias de la Torre J, Bakolis I, Healey A, Perkins R, & Pariante C (2021), SHAPER-PND trial: clinical effectiveness protocol of a community singing intervention for postnatal depression, BMJ Open, 11 (e052133), 1-8 [DOI].

    Perkins R (2021), Group singing to support women experiencing symptoms of postnatal depression, International Journal of Birth and Parent Education, 8, 20-23.

    Perkins R, Mason-Bertrand A, Tymoszuk U, Spiro N, Gee K, & Williamon A (2021), Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood: findings from the HEartS Survey, BMC Public Health, 21 (1208), 1-15 [DOI].

    Spiro N*, Perkins R*, Kaye S, Tymoszuk U, Mason-Bertrand A, Cossette I, Glasser S, & Williamon A (2021), The effects of COVID-19 Lockdown 1.0 on working patterns, income, and wellbeing among performing arts professionals in the United Kingdom (April-June 2020), Frontiers in Psychology, 11 (594086), 1-17 [DOI] [DATASET]. *Joint first authors.

    Tymoszuk U, Spiro N, Perkins R, Mason-Bertrand A, Gee K, & Williamon A (2021), Arts engagement trends in the United Kingdom and their mental and social wellbeing implications: HEartS Survey, PLOS One, 16 (e0246078), 1-35 [DOI] [DATASET].

    Williamon A, Spiro N, Kaye S, Tymoszuk U, Mason-Bertrand A, & Perkins R (2021), HEartS Professional Survey: charting the effects of COVID-19 Lockdown 1.0 on working patterns, income, and wellbeing among performing arts professionals in the United Kingdom (April-June 2020), Dryad, dataset [DOI].

    Williamon A, Tymoszuk U, Spiro N, Gee K, Mason-Bertrand A, & Perkins R (2021), HEartS Survey 2019: charting the health, economic, and social impact of the arts, Dryad, dataset [DOI].

    2020

    Araújo L, Wasley D, Redding E, Atkins L, Perkins R, Ginsborg J, & Williamon A (2020), Fit to perform: a profile of higher education music students’ physical fitness, Frontiers in Psychology, 11 (298), 1-18 [DOI] [VIDEO].

    Camlin D, Caulfield L, & Perkins R (2020), Capturing the magic: a three-way dialogue on the impact of music on people and society, International Journal of Community Music, 13, 157-172 [DOI].

    Perkins R, Fancourt D, & Williamon A (2020), Making music, in P Crawford, B Brown, & A Charise (eds.), The Routledge Companion to Health Humanities (pp. 317-323), Routledge.

    Perkins R, Mason-Bertrand A, Fancourt D, Baxter L, & Williamon A (2020), How participatory music engagement supports mental wellbeing: a meta-ethnography, Qualitative Health Research, 30, 1924-1940 [DOI].

    Tymoszuk U, Perkins R, Fancourt D, & Williamon A (2020), Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between receptive arts engagement and loneliness among older adults, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology55, 891-900 [DOI].

    Tymoszuk U, Perkins R, Spiro N, Williamon A, & Fancourt D (2020), Longitudinal associations between short-term, repeated, and sustained arts engagement and well-being outcomes in older adults, Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 75, 1609-1619 [DOI].

    2019

    Ascenso S, McCormack J, & Perkins R (2019), Leadership in the transition from music student to professional musician: The Civic Orchestra of Chicago Fellowship, in J Rowley, D Bennett, & P Schmidt (eds.), Leadership of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Music Education (pp. 18-38), Routledge.

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2019), Creative interventions for symptoms of postnatal depression: a process evaluation of implementation, Arts & Health, 11, 38-53 [DOI].

    Heyman L, Perkins R, & Araújo L (2019), Examining the health and well-being experiences of singers in popular music, Journal of Popular Music Education, 3 (2), 173-201 [DOI].

    Perkins R & Williamon A (2019), Creative leadership-in-action through a conservatoire-based MSc in Performance Science, in J Rowley, D Bennett, & P Schmidt (eds.), Leadership of Pedagogy and Curriculum in Higher Music Education (pp. 97-114), Routledge.

    Waddell G, Perkins R, & Williamon A (2019), The Evaluation Simulator: a new approach to training music performance assessment, Frontiers in Psychology, 10 (557), 1-17 [DOI].

    Warran K, Fancourt D, & Perkins R (2019), The experience and perceived impact of group singing for men living with cancer: a phenomenological study, Psychology of Music, 47, 874-889 [DOI].

    2018

    Ascenso S, Perkins R, Atkins L, Fancourt D, & Williamon A (2018), Promoting well-being through group drumming with mental health service users and their carers, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Health and Well-being, 13 (1484219), 1-15 [DOI].

    Ascenso S, Perkins R, & Williamon A (2018), Resounding meaning: a PERMA wellbeing profile of classical musicians, Frontiers in Psychology, 9 (1895), 1-14 [DOI] [VIDEO].

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Could listening to music during pregnancy be protective against postnatal depression and poor wellbeing post birth? Longitudinal associations from a preliminary prospective cohort study, BMJ Open8 (e021251), 1-8 [DOI].

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Does attending community music interventions lead to changes in wider musical behaviours? The effect of mother-infant singing classes on musical behaviours amongst mothers with symptoms of postnatal depression, Psychology of Music, 47, 132-143 [DOI].

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), The effect of singing interventions on symptoms of postnatal depression: a three-arm randomised controlled trial, British Journal of Psychiatry, 212, 119-121 [DOI].

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Maternal engagement with music up to nine months post-birth: findings from a cross-sectional study in England, Psychology of Music, 46, 238-251 [DOI].

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2018), Singing for mother-infant bonding: the effects of mother-infant singing on emotional closeness, affect and anxiety, Music & Science, 1, 1-10 [DOI].

    Perkins R, Yorke S, & Fancourt D (2018), Learning to facilitate arts-in-health programmes: a case study of musicians facilitating creative interventions for mothers with symptoms of postnatal depression, International Journal of Music Education, 36, 644-658 [DOI].

    Perkins R, Yorke S, & Fancourt D (2018), How group singing facilitates recovery from the symptoms of postnatal depression: a comparative qualitative study, BMC Psychology, 6 (41), 1-12 [DOI].

    Waddell G, Perkins R, & Williamon A (2018), Making an impression: error location and repertoire features affect performance quality rating processes, Music Perception36, 60-76 [DOI].

    2017

    Araújo L, Wasley D, Perkins R, Atkins L, Redding E, Ginsborg J, & Williamon A (2017), Fit to perform: an investigation of higher education music students’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors toward health, Frontiers in Psychology, 8 (1558), 1-19 [DOI] [VIDEO].

    Ascenso S, Williamon A, & Perkins R (2017), Understanding the psychological wellbeing of professional musicians through the lens of positive psychology, Psychology of Music, 45, 65-81 [DOI].

    Aufegger L, Perkins R, Wasley D, & Williamon A (2017), Musicians’ perceptions and experiences of using simulation training to develop performance skills, Psychology of Music, 45, 417-431 [DOI].

    Fancourt D & Perkins R (2017), Associations between singing to babies and symptoms of postnatal depression, wellbeing, self-esteem and mother-infant bond, Public Health, 145, 149-152 [DOI].

    Perkins R, Reid H, Araújo L, Clark T, & Williamon A (2017), Perceived enablers and barriers to optimal health among music students: a qualitative study in the music conservatoire setting, Frontiers in Psychology, 8 (968), 1-15 [DOI].

    Stahl G, Burnard P, & Perkins R (2017), Critical reflections on the use of Bourdieu’s tools ‘in concert’ to understand the practices of learning in three musical sites, Sociological Research Online, 22, 57-77 [DOI].

    2016

    Fancourt D, Perkins R, Ascenso S, Atkins L, Kilfeather S, Carvalho LA, Steptoe A, & Williamon A (2016), Group drumming modulates cytokine response in mental health service users: a preliminary study, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 85, 53-55 [DOI].

    Fancourt D, Perkins R, Ascenso S, Carvalho LA, Steptoe A, & Williamon A (2016), Effects of group drumming interventions on anxiety, depression, social resilience and inflammatory immune response among mental health service users, PLOS One, 11 (e0151136), 1-16 [DOI]  [VIDEO].

    Perkins R, Ascenso S, Atkins L, Fancourt D, & Williamon A (2016), Making music for mental health: how group drumming mediates recovery, Psychology of Well-Being, 6 (11), 1-17 [DOI].

    2015

    Perkins R (2015), Bourdieu applied in the analysis of conservatoire learning cultures, in P Burnard, Y Hofvander Trulsson, & J Soderman (eds.), Bourdieu and the Sociology of Music Education (pp. 99-112), Ashgate.

    Perkins R, Aufegger L, & Williamon A (2015), Learning through teaching: exploring what conservatoire students learn from teaching beginner older adults, International Journal of Music Education, 33, 80-90 [DOI].

    2014

    Perkins R & Williamon A (2014), Learning to make music in older adulthood: a mixed-methods exploration of impacts on wellbeing, Psychology of Music, 42, 550-567 [DOI] [VIDEO].

    2013

    Ascenso S & Perkins R (2013), ‘The more the merrier’? Understanding the wellbeing of professional musicians in collaborative and solo work settings, in A Williamon & W Goebl (eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2013 (pp. 383-388), European Association of Conservatoires.

    Korte M, Perkins R, & Williamon A (2013), Learning to perform in older adulthood: implications for physical and mental wellbeing, in A Williamon & W Goebl (eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2013 (pp. 459-464), European Association of Conservatoires.

    Perkins R (2013), Hierarchies and learning in the conservatoire: exploring what students learn through the lens of Bourdieu, Research Studies in Music Education, 35, 197-212 [DOI].

    Perkins R (2013), Learning cultures and the conservatoire: an ethnographically-informed case study, Music Education Research, 15, 196-213 [DOI].

    Perkins R (2013), Learning cultures, creativities and higher music education institutions, in P Burnard (ed.), Developing Creativities in Higher Music Education: International Perspectives and Practices (pp. 223-233), Routledge.

    Perkins R & Triantafyllaki A (2013), School and conservatoire music teachers’ ‘vocational habitus’: lessons for music teacher education, in E Georgii-Hemming, P Burnard, & S-E Holgersen (eds.), Professional Knowledge in Music Teacher Education (pp. 173-185), Ashgate.

    2012

    Perkins R (2012), Conservatoire cultures of performance specialism: perspectives from an ethnographically-informed case study, in J Weller (ed.), Proceedings of the Commission for the Education of the Professional Musician (pp. 84-90), International Society for Music Education.

    Perkins R (2012), Rethinking ‘career’ for music students: identity and vision, in D Bennett (ed.), Life in the Real World: How to Make Music Graduates Employable (pp. 11-26), Common Ground.

    Williamon A, Perkins R, Ritchie L, & Thompson S (2012), Premiers pas en musique: étude de l’engagement des enfants vis-à-vis de la musique [Musical beginnings: a study of children’s engagement with music], in M Richelle & R Wangermée (eds.), Musique et Sciences de l’esprit [Music and the Sciences of the Mind] (pp. 123-137), Académie Royale de Belgique [Royal Academy of Belgium].

    2011

    Burt-Perkins R & Williamon A (2011), ‘I kind of get lost in it’: experiences of learning to perform music in older adulthood, in A Williamon, D Edwards, & L Bartel (eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2011 (pp. 305-310), European Association of Conservatoires.

    2010

    Burt-Perkins R (2010), Navigating the conservatoire as an educational space: looking through the lens of ‘learning culture’, in M Hannan (ed.), Proceedings of the Commission for the Education of the Professional Musician (pp. 29-35), International Society for Music Education.

    Perkins R (2010), Exploring the one-to-one context at conservatoires through the lens of ‘learning cultures’: the role of student self-documentation, Scientia Paedagogica Experimentalis, 47, 437-462.

    2009

    Burt-Perkins R (2009), The learning cultures of performance: applying a cultural theory of learning to conservatoire research, in A Williamon, S Pretty, & R Buck (eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2009 (pp. 249-254), European Association of Conservatoires.

    Burt-Perkins R & Mills J (2009), Pitching it right? selection and learning at a music conservatoire, British Educational Research Journal, 35, 817-835 [DOI].

    Lebler D, Burt-Perkins R, & Carey G (2009), What the students bring: examining the attributes of commencing conservatoire students, International Journal of Music Education, 27, 232-249 [DOI].

    Williamon A, Wasley D, Burt-Perkins R, Ginsborg J, & Hildebrandt W (2009), Profiling musicians’ health, wellbeing, and performance, in A Williamon, S Pretty, & R Buck (eds.), Proceedings of the International Symposium on Performance Science 2009 (pp. 85-90), European Association of Conservatoires.

    2008

    Burt-Perkins R (2008), Students at a UK conservatoire of music: working towards a ‘diverse employment portfolio’?, in D Bennett & M Hannan (eds.), Inside, Outside, Downside Up (pp. 49-60), Black Swan Press.

    Burt-Perkins R & Lebler D (2008), ‘Music isn’t one island’: the balance between depth and breadth for music students in higher education, in M Hannan (ed.), Proceedings of the Commission for the Education of the Professional Musician (pp. 10-14), International Society for Music Education.

    Burt-Perkins R & Mills J (2008), The role of chamber music in learning to perform: a case study, Music Performance Research, 2, 26-35.

    2007

    Burt R (2007), Preschool children’s emotional responses to music: a window into learning in the early years, in K Smithrim & R Upitis (eds.), Listen to Their Voices: Research and Practice in Early Childhood Music (pp. 126-139), Canadian Music Educators’ Association.

    2006

    Burt R & Mills J (2006), Taking the plunge: the hopes and fears of students as they begin music college, British Journal of Music Education, 23, 51-73 [DOI].

    Burt R, Oakes L, & Mills J (2006), Working in music: the trombonist, Research Perspectives in Music Education, 10, 27-43.

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