What can we achieve when research, practice and lived experience come together?
Join us in Newport to explore new ideas, share learning and consider how collaboration can shape the future of music therapy.
The Music Therapy Charity’s 2027 Research Conference brings together researchers, music therapists, practitioners, people with lived experience, funders and supporters to share research, exchange ideas and explore the future of music therapy.
Celebrating research supported by the Charity, the conference also provides a space to connect different perspectives, encourage new collaborations and strengthen the relationship between research and practice.
We’re delighted to be hosting this year’s conference in collaboration with the MA Music Therapy Programme team at the University of South Wales Prifysgol De Cymru.
Keynote: Professor Hilary Moss, Professor of Music Therapy at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Ireland.
We’re delighted to welcome Professor Hilary Moss, the 2027 Tony Wigram Travelling Fellow, who will deliver this year’s keynote address “Music therapy: a shared endeavour. Why collaboration and co-working matters in research and practice.”
Why “Collaborative Pathways”?
How research is developed matters just as much as what it discovers.
Music therapy research is evolving, with growing recognition of the importance of involving people with lived experience, and those close to them, in shaping research from the outset.
Since our last conference in 2025, we’ve seen an increasing number of research proposals that place collaboration and participation at their heart. Some projects are fully co-produced, with participants actively involved throughout the research process, using approaches such as action research. Others are exploring these principles through focus groups, consultation and the piloting of research tools. At this conference, we want to bring these different approaches and perspectives together: creating space to share learning, challenge assumptions, exchange ideas and explore how more collaborative approaches to research can strengthen practice and shape the future of music therapy.
Who’s speaking?
Discover the researchers, music therapists and practitioners sharing their work, experiences and perspectives. Explore the programme and find out what we’ll be discussing.
Meet the speakers and view the programme
Join us
This is a public conference and everyone with an interest in music therapy is welcome. Whether you’re involved in research, work in clinical practice, have personal experience of music therapy, or are interested in its wider potential, we’d love you to join us.
Come and discover new research, share perspectives, make connections and be part of a wider conversation about where music therapy goes next.
Stay for the reception after the conference to meet speakers, exchange ideas and develop new connections.