I am a PhD candidate in the Music Department at King's College London, working at the intersection of music and sound studies, pedagogy, and anthropology. My doctoral research, funded by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership, explores ideas of academic reform in higher music education. Through field and archival work at the ESMUC (Catalonia School of Music), my research interrogates how institutions of higher music education develop and implement strategies to address overlooked narratives and open academic spaces to marginalised voices.

Previously, I completed a BA in Musicology at the University of Oviedo, Spain, where I received the SGAE End of Degree Award. I also completed an Erasmus stay at the University of Helsinki (2017-18) and an MMus in Musicology and Ethnomusicology (Distinction) at King's College London, funded by the Mutua Madrileña Foundation Scholarship for Postgraduate Studies (2019-2020).

I have presented parts of my research at international conferences including the British Forum of Ethnomusicology, the International Musicological Society, the Spanish Musicological Society, the SIBE-Iberian Society for Ethnomusicology, RILM, and the Pedagogy Study Group of the American Musicological Society. Articles have appeared in the International Journal of Community Music and Ethnomusicology Forum, as well as in the collection of essays 'Del Cine Mudo a los Videojuegos: La Creación Sonora en el Audiovisual' (2020).

I am committed to care ethics and collaborative practice in research, pedagogy, and outreach. My teaching experience includes BA and MA courses on visual and sonic anthropology, ethnomusicology, and social theory. I have taught in the Music Department at King’s College London and the Anthropology Department at University College London. I currently work as visiting researcher and lecturer in the Department of Cultural and Music Studies at the ESMUC. In addition, I have served since 2019 as a teacher and facilitator with the music charity Water City Music and the King's - St. George Widening Participation in Music Project, a collaborative music school and outreach project in London.

Pronouns: he/him/él

Email: [javier.rivas_rodriguez@kcl.ac.uk]