Laurie Stras is a musicologist and musician, whose research interests range from the 16th century to modern popular music. She is professor emerita of the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

and has been a research professor at the

University of Huddersfield The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made te ...

. Stras studied harpsichord, piano and singing at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

, London, and has a doctorate from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College where her thesis was on the

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...

s of

Marc'Antonio Ingegneri Marc'Antonio Ingegneri (also spelled Ingegnieri, Ingignieri, Ingignero, Inzegneri) (c. 1535 or 1536 – 1 July 1592) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance. He was born in Verona and died in Cremona. Even though he spent most of his life ...

. She worked as a freelance singer and keyboard performer, and for four years was musical director of the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

. In 2018 she took up a three-year post of research professor at the University of Huddersfield. Her research interests include

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

and music in

disability studies Disability studies is an academic discipline that examines the meaning, nature, and consequences of disability. Initially, the field focused on the division between "impairment" and "disability", where impairment was an impairment of an individual ...

. Her publications include books on women's music in 16th-century

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, Italy, and on "whiteness, femininity, adolescence and class in 1960s music", and she has published chapters or journal articles on a wide range of subjects including

assistive technology Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for Disability, people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, ...

in music, Connee Boswell (wheelchair-using jazz singer), Monteverdi, and

eroticism Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

in music, and revised the entry on Marc'Antonio Ingegneri in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

''. In 2023-2024 she was supported by an Emeritus Fellowship from the

Leverhulme Trust The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

to work on ''The Biffoli-Sostegni manuscript and Suor Maria Celeste Galilei at San Matteo in Arcetri'', to be published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

in its "Elements" series. She is director of the women's vocal ensemble Musica Secreta, having been co-director with its founder Deborah Roberts until Roberts' death in 2024. Stras's work with the associated amateur and semi-professional choir Celestial Sirens gained her the "Individually-led project" award in the 2014 Engage Competition of the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE). Stras's research informs the ensemble's repertoire and performances, and she leads workshops such as "Music and Ritual in a 16th-century convent". She received the

American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legiti ...

2019 Otto Kilkenny Award (given for "a musicological book of exceptional merit published by a scholar who is past the early stages of their career") for her 2018 work ''Women and Music in 16th Century Ferrara''. In 2017-2018 she served as president of the University of Southampton branch of the

University and College Union The University and College Union (UCU) is a British trade union in further and higher education representing over 120,000 academics and support staff. UCU is a vertical union representing casualised researchers and teaching staff, "permanent" ...

. Stras was one of the authors, all of whom "have experienced prolonged covid-19 symptoms, and have participated in various kinds of Long Covid advocacy", of an October 2020 opinion piece in ''

The BMJ ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world ...

'' on the importance of using the "patient made" term ''

Long Covid Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

''.

Selected publications

* * * * *

References

External links

"Finding music in renaissance manuscripts"
interview for ''Sound Expertise'' podcast, 18 May 2021, an
transcript
* Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Musicologists {{UK-academic-bio-stub