Congratulations to our newest CAMRI PhD graduate: Sally Anne Gross

Many congratulations to Dr Sally Anne Gross on passing her PhD VIVA (without corrections) for her PhD by Published Work titled “For the Love of Music – Crossing the technological divide; an examination of the impact of digital disruption on issues of social reproduction, mental health, and inequality in the working lives of the music workforce in the UK”.

Reflecting on her achievement, Sally Anne shared: “It is an incredible feeling to have completed my PhD by Publication, my supervisor Graham Meikle was an invaluable source of wisdom and patience. Bringing my work together in one portfolio and being able to reflect on the work as a whole was really insightful and although there is no denying the challenges of completing a PhD, I can honestly say it feels like a real achievement.”

Prof Graham Meikle, Director of Studies, commented: “Sally has a fabulous track record of impactful work that would make any researcher proud. It was lovely to be able to help her shape that into a portfolio and a reflective commentary that speak to just what a star researcher she is. I’m so happy to see her awarded this richly deserved PhD.”

Commending Sally Anne’s work, external examiner Prof Chris Bilton from Warwick University said: “Building from her research into musicians and mental health, Sally has produced an impressive range of publications, combining original research/data, theoretical sophistication and practical insight. One of the strengths of Sally’s work is her strong engagement with industry and policy stakeholders and with her own practice as a teacher. It’s a very humane body of work, reflecting Sally’s values and ideals as well as her intellectual interests. I encourage you to read her work, and it will be very exciting to see what she does next!”

Dr Joy White from Bedfordshire University, also serving as an external examiner, praised Sally Anne for her “innovative research highlighting the incidence and impact of well-being and mental health from the musician’s individual perspective”. She added: “The groundbreaking policy documents make recommendations for new methods to mitigate the high levels of anxiety and depression experienced by musicians. Work has been widely disseminated and taken up by policy makers – making an impact beyond the academy.”

We wish Sally Anne continued success in her future endeavours!