Dr Michael Bonshor

Michael is Professor of Voice, Wellbeing and Performance Psychology at Leeds Conservatoire and Course Director of the MA in Music Psychology in Education, Performance and Wellbeing at the University of Sheffield. His current teaching portfolio also includes lectureships at several other Higher Education Institutions (HEI), including The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and University College London.
 
Michael has built up a comprehensive portfolio of work as a professional performer, teacher, conductor, choral arranger, director, journal editor, workshop leader and researcher. He has presented his work at international research conferences and in interactive workshops for practitioners. In 2017, Michael’s book, The Confident Choir: A Handbook for Leaders of Group Singing, was published by Rowman & Littlefield International.

Selected Publications

PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES

• Bonshor, M. J. (2021). Collaborative learning and choral confidence: The role of peer interactions in building confident amateur choirs. Music Performance Research. Oxford Conducting Institute Special Edition, 10, 38.-56. http://musicperformanceresearch.org/
• Bonshor, M. J. (2021). A survey of music library staff and music library users in the UK and Ireland: Current concerns and potential developments. Brio, the IAML (UK and Irl) Journal, 58 (1), 12-27.
• Bonshor, M. J. (2020). Communication for conductors: Insights from qualitative research. Choral Directions Research: International Research Journal of the Association of British Choral Directors, 1 (1).
• Williamson, V. J. & Bonshor, M. J. (2019). Wellbeing in brass bands: a new view on the benefits and challenges of group music making. Frontiers in Psychology: Performance Science https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01176/abstract
• Bonshor, M. J. (2017). Conductor feedback and the amateur singer: the role of criticism and praise in building choral confidence. Research Studies in Music Education. DOI: 10.1177/1321103X17709630
• Bonshor, M. J. (2016). Confidence and choral configuration: the affective impact of situational and acoustic factors in amateur choirs. Psychology of Music, DOI: 10.1177/0305735616669996.
• Bonshor, M. J. (2016). Sharing knowledge and power in adult amateur choral communities: the impact of communal learning on the experience of musical participation. International Journal of Community Music, 9 (3). 291-306.

BOOK

• Bonshor, M. J. (2017). The Confident Choir: A Handbook for Leaders of Group Singing. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538102787/The-Confident-Choir-A-Handbook-for-Leaders-of-Group-Singing

BOOK CHAPTERS

• Kreutz, G. & Bonshor, M. J. (2021). Ensembles for Wellbeing. In F. Bailes, H. Daffern and R. Timmers (Eds.), Together in Music: Co-ordination, Expression, Participation. Oxford: OUP.
• Bonshor, M. J. (2021). Conductors as teachers: The effects of verbal feedback on singers’ confidence, enjoyment, and performance quality. In H. Meissner, R. Timmers & S. E. Pitts (Eds.), Sound Teaching: A Research-Informed Approach to Inspiring Confidence, Skill and Enjoyment in Music Performance. Abingdon: Taylor and Francis/Routledge.
• Bonshor, M. J. (2014). Confidence and the choral singer: the choir as a community of practice. In U. Geisler and K. Johansson (Eds.), Choral singing: histories and practices. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 185-207.