Dr Tania Lisboa

Tania Lisboa joined the Royal College of Music in September 2001 as a Research Associate and was appointed Research Fellow in Performance Science in 2008. She is also an honorary Research Fellow at Imperial College London. Her current research focuses on expert memory, performance education, and communication in rehearsal. Tania is currently a commissioner to the International Society for Music Education’s Commission for the Education of the Professional Musician.

Her doctoral research at Sheffield University employed longitudinal studies with young cellists to investigate the relationship between musical understanding and a multi-modal approach to teaching and learning. Since 2003, Tania has also managed the RCM’s videoconferencing programme. Recent activities in this area include links with international conservatoires and universities in the USA, Europe and Asia.

In parallel with her academic research, Tania pursues an active career as a solo cellist. A native of Brazil, where she also trained as a pianist, her concert engagements encompass Europe, Asia, and North and South America. In addition to the standard repertoire, she has recorded the complete works for cello and piano by C Guarnieri and by H Villa-Lobos for Meridian Records, the latter in three volumes.

Tania is a LAHP (London Arts & Humanities Partnership) doctoral student supervisor, currently supervising the work of Patrick Avery.

Selected publications

Lisboa T, Shaugnessy C, Voyajolu A, & Ockelford A (2021), Promoting the musical engagement of autistic children in the early years through a program of parental support: An ecological research study, Music & Science, 4, 1-24 [DOI]

Lisboa T, Jonasson P, & Johnson C (in press), Synchronous online learning, teaching, and performance, in GE McPherson (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Music Performance, Oxford University Press

Thompson G, Lisboa T, & Ockelford A (in press), Autism and family-centered approaches in and through music, in M Barrett and G Welch (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Early Childhood Music Learning and Development, Oxford University Press.

Demos AP, Lisboa T, & Chaffin R (2018), A longitudinal study of the development of expressive timing, Psychology of Music [DOI]. On RCM Research Online.

Demos AP, Lisboa T, & Chaffin R (2016), Flexibility of expressive timing in repeated musical performances, Frontiers in Psychology, 7 (1490), 1-9 [DOI]. On RCM Research Online.

Lisboa T, Chaffin R, & Demos AP (2015), Recording thoughts while memorizing music: a case study, Frontiers in Psychology, 5 (1561), 1-13 [DOI]. On RCM Research Online.

Cervino A, Laws C, Lettberg M, & Lisboa T (eds.) (2011), The Practice of Practising, University Press Leuven [ISBN 9789058678485].

Chaffin R, Lisboa T, Logan T, & Begosh K (2010), Preparing for memorized cello performance: the role of performance cues, Psychology of Music, 38, 3-30 [DOI].

Lisboa T (2008), Action and thought in cello playing: an investigation of children’s practice and performance, International Journal of Music Education, 26, 243-267 [DOI].

Faculties / departments: Research, Academic staff