Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey

Dr. Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey is a Research Associate at the School of Languages, Arts and Societies at the University of Sheffield, where she holds a prestigious Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship. She simultaneously serves as Director of Performance at St Catherine's College, University of Oxford, and as Conducting Fellow with the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra. Her unique career bridges practical orchestral conducting with scholarly research, focusing on the social dynamics of musical performance across diverse cultural contexts.

Her research centers on the social-psychological and socio-political dimensions of orchestral music-making, examining everything from micro-level communication between performers to the geopolitical significance of orchestras. Dr. Ponchione-Bailey has pioneered innovative technological approaches to studying orchestral performance, developing specialized tools to capture musicians' real-time experiences and micro-timing data from large ensembles. Her groundbreaking work on the orchestral music of Afghanistan documents its history while actively supporting musicians in exile following the Taliban's return to power, ensuring this musical tradition continues to flourish internationally.

Dr. Ponchione-Bailey's scholarly output reveals a consistent integration of empirical research methods with practical conducting experience. Her publications demonstrate growing interest in how orchestral practices intersect with broader social justice issues, particularly regarding Afghanistan and environmental concerns. She has developed sophisticated methodological approaches that capture the complex, contingent nature of creative decision-making in orchestral settings, challenging traditional notions of hierarchical authority in performance.

• Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellowship
• Percussive Arts Society Composition Contest Winner (2004)
• Multiple Arts Council England project grants
• AHRC funding for 'Transforming 19th-Century Historically Informed Practice'

As an active conductor and advocate, Dr. Ponchione-Bailey has developed mentoring programs connecting Oxford students with Afghan musicians and led numerous projects using orchestral music to address social justice and environmental issues. Her 'We Are Water' initiative commissioned climate-focused compositions, while her work with the Afghanistan Women's Orchestra brought international attention to the plight of musicians under Taliban rule. She leads several significant initiatives including 'The Orchestral Music of Afghanistan: Looking Forward' and the International Campaign for Afghanistan's Musicians, while co-directing the Oxford Conducting Institute to advance conducting studies as a research discipline.