Research nourishes curiosity and inquisitiveness. Artistic research is a strong tool to become aware of personal drives, intuition and implicit knowledge in artistic practice. Artistic research contributes to the formation of an artistic identity through gaining expertise and understanding in a specific area, and stimulates autonomy in a professional environment.

"My master's research at the Royal Conservatoire was the first spark that led me to pursue further studies in musicology, and made me realise that my ideal career would combine scholarship and performance. My research has made me a better musician, and my perspective and experience as a performer has contributed so much to my research. One of the greatest lessons from the research programme was to value the dialogue between research and artistic practice; that you don’t have to reject one to succeed in the other."

- Shanti Nagtergaele (Graduate student Early Music Double Bass, 2014-2015)

Research creates a platform where artistic practices can be critically investigated and evaluated. It creates an area for experimentation where risk-taking is encouraged. At the same time, it stimulates a critical sharing of artistic values and professional quality standards.

"Urgencies facing us today call for critical reassessments. Researching is no longer optional, it is imperative."

- Raviv Ganchrow (member of research group 2017-2018)

Research stimulates interaction between students and their teachers, incites a dialogue between departments and with the outside world, leading to collaborative investigations and a shared research agenda.

"The Sonology Electroacoustic Ensemble is a perfect example of the way that research can stimulate cooperation between musicians with a completely different background. The ensemble brings together students, ex-students and staff from the Institute of Sonology and other departments, who investigate combining traditional and electronic instruments in an improvisational context. In this way, the ensemble conducts research in diverse areas: sound design, amplification and spatialisation, improvisation as a method of composition, the development of electronic instruments, and many others. The research findings form a deepening basis for participants to draw upon. Recordings of various performances by the ensemble are posted here: https://soundcloud.com/r-barrett/sets/see."

- Richard Barrett (teacher sonology and member of the research group ´Making in Music´)

Research stimulates a conscious and dynamic relationship with the cultural memory and tacit knowledge base in the conservatoire environment, while at the same time engaging with pressing societal topics. Through research, the conservatoire is able to adapt and react to a changing world and to claim a relevant position in society.

"In my research I explored how musicians can be ambassadors for their art in a changing world. In a pilot project I discovered that locally based “district musicians ” are able to make connections with a range of social groups, making classical music valuable for the community at unexpected venues. The findings of my research have resulted in a practical training how to become a district musician, which has been implemented in the conservatoire curriculum. This course creates an opportunity for students who are eager to learn more about -and enjoy the authentic communication with their audience."

- Ilona Sie Dhian Ho (violin teacher & member of research group ´curating music´)