Artistic Research

Research & Creative Consultation

My career has been about connecting artistic practice with deeper meaning, structure and inquiry. My work sits at the intersection of artistic practice, pedagogy, research and meaning making. I am a scholar-practitioner experienced in inter-disciplinary, trans-continental, multi-institutional research. I am deeply interested in class, field dynamics, accessibility and the relationship of these considerations to the study of creativity, particularly how they relate to specific theatrical and musical genres.

Research interests

• Performance Arts Research
• Qualitative research methods
• Arts-based methodologies and practice-led inquiry
• Class, economics and access to creative education
• Voice Pedagogy Cultural Studies
• Musical Theatre Voice Pedagogy and Performance
• Commercial Music Voice Pedagogy and Performance
• Belonging, Accessibility and Equity in the Creative Arts

My book, based on my PhD research, was published by Routledge: Exposing the Chasms in Voice Pedagogy: Playing the Field (2024). I am currently working on a co-edited collection, Voices of Belonging (due 2027), also published by Routledge. I co-authored the chapter on “Western Musical Theatre Voice Pedagogy” in the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Voice Pedagogy (due Spring 2026). I currently serve as Co-Editor of Australian Voice journal, the journal of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Publications

• Foster, M., Cox, D., Saunders Barton, M. (pending 2026). Pedagogy of Western Musical Theatre. In J. Nix & L. Scearce (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Voice Pedagogy. Oxford University Press.
• Cox, Dale (2024). Exposing the Chasms in Voice Pedagogy: Playing the Field. Routledge.
• Cox, D. (2024). Accessing Speech for CCM and Musical Theatre / Accent Work. In M. Rosenberg & W. LeBorgne (Eds.), The Vocal Athlete: Application and Technique for the Hybrid Singer (2nd ed.). Plural.
• Cox, D., Sage, R., Mason, J. (2024). Introducing MTEA Voice and the Development of a Musical Theatre Singing Voice Glossary. MTEA Journal. DOI: 10.62392/KIAD3870
• Cox, D. & Forbes, M. (2022). Introducing multi-sited focused ethnography for researching one-to-one (singing voice) pedagogy in higher education. Music Education Research. DOI: 10.1080/14613808.2022.2138842
• Cox, Dale (2020). In the Room Where it Happens: Teaching Musical Theatre and Contemporary and Commercial Music (CCM) singing [PhD Thesis]. Read the thesis

Research Experience

• Experienced doctoral advisor, examiner, and research educator.
• Qualitative research approaches within performing arts education and performance settings.
• Innovative use of multi-sited focused ethnographic research into the performing arts, conducted across six academic institutions.
• Experienced in supporting faculty colleagues and students in arts-based methodologies and practice-led enquiry.
• Strategic, intuitive thinker who bridges creativity, critical thinking, artistic practice and cultural awareness while maintaining academic rigour.
• Experienced in the use of conceptual frameworks for qualitative data analysis, particularly Bourdieu's thinking tools and Shulman's Signature Pedagogies.
• Experienced in Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2024).
• Experienced in disseminating research through presentations, posters, journal publications and books.
• Strong understanding of Ethics in practice, with training in both Australian and US (CITI) Responsible Conduct of Research / Human Subject Research Protection requirements.