Honors student Ella Grace discusses her recent research paper, Psyche of a Jazzwoman: Gendered Psychological Barriers to Jazz Participation, and her experience at an honors research conference!
Tell us about yourself!
Ella is currently a senior at DePaul University majoring in Jazz Studies and minoring in Communication and Media.
Could you provide a brief overview of your research?
I conducted a survey of over 200 musicians across the country to better understand the gendered experiences of jazz musicians. Survey data showed that female musicians face far more barriers to jazz participation, which contributes to substantial gender disparity in the genre.
Why did you choose to research this topic?
As a jazz trumpeter, I have noticed gender disparity in jazz since I began playing in middle school. I have almost always been the only woman in the jazz band or one of two, despite playing with more women in other genres. I wanted to learn more about why this was the case but found very little existing literature on the topic, especially studies providing data. I sought to fill this void with my research, which has since been used by music schools to get grant funding for programs for young female jazz musicians, proving to me the importance of this work.
What was your experience at the conference?
The conference was incredible! I was able to attend several presentations from which I gleaned valuable insights that I added to my current thesis project. I also met some other incredible honors students from across the country and really enjoyed getting to know the other DePaul students on the trip. I loved the opportunity to yap to engaged and interested audiences about my research passion and also hear about other fascinating work from equally passionate individuals.
What are your plans after graduation?
After Ella graduates, she is planning on taking a gap year to continue performing professionally. During her gap year, she will be recording an album through a grant she recently won. She then intends to apply to graduate school to continue her studies.
Leave a Reply