Rachel Drury

Lecturer in Learning and Teaching in the Performing Arts


Rachel is a freelance musician and researcher working predominantly in the field of music education and psychology. She is the creator and composer of BabyO and SensoryOtwo groundbreaking operas for infants aged between 6 and 36 months, for which she has received international acclaim. Both operas have toured internationally, and more recently to Royal Opera House, London in March 2014. Rachel is also a lecturer on the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and has given a variety of research lectures across the UK.

She has a doctorate in music psychology, and specialises in music education for early years and for children with additional support needs. She has devised and delivered a number of creative projects for national arts organisations such as Scottish Opera, Children’s Classic Concerts, and Starcatchers, and Rachel’s performance credits include BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Ballet and Scottish Concert Orchestra.

Rachel’s research interests are centred around the non-musical impact of music with specific regard to health and wellbeing, and child development. Her doctoral thesis examined the impact of Kodály-based music intervention on the language development of children between the ages of 4 and 6. She has recently completed a research project in collaboration with Scottish Opera and Gartnavel General Hospital Cystic Fibrosis Service exploring the impact of singing on the physical and mental wellbeing of people with cystic fibrosis.​

Supervisor for

Beyond the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland...