Steve Halfyard

Professor Steve Halfyard serves as Head of BMus programmes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, holding a professorial position while teaching critical modules on Music History and Performance Practice after 1900, Film Music, Television Music, and Music in the Horror Film. They coordinate the Public Performance Project for fourth-year BMus students and instruct the BMus4 Research Paper, guiding advanced academic research in music performance and scholarship.

Education:

• BSc in Music (First Class Honours) from City University (1997)
• MA in experimental music theatre from the University of Birmingham (1991)
• PhD in experimental music theatre from the University of Birmingham (1997)

Steve Halfyard's research centers on music in horror, supernatural, and superhero films and television, with deep expertise in extended vocal technique and experimental music theatre. Their work investigates how music constructs narrative meaning, evokes emotional responses, and shapes cultural interpretations within visual media, particularly focusing on cult television and genre films through interdisciplinary frameworks bridging musicology, film studies, and cultural theory.

Recent publications demonstrate a concentrated exploration of horror and fantasy genres, with articles between 2020-2023 examining the intersection of music with abject theory, uncanny aesthetics, and sympathetic monstrous figures. This body of work reveals consistent methodological rigor through close textual analysis combined with horror studies frameworks, highlighting evolving scoring practices in contemporary television and film while establishing foundational scholarship in niche areas like vampire film scoring and supernatural sound design.

Awards:

• Long Mr Pointy for best book in Whedon Studies (2010) for "Music, Sound and Silence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
• Short Mr Pointy award (2016) for chapter in "Sounds of Fear and Wonder"

As Head of BMus, Steve Halfyard mentors undergraduate students through research papers and performance projects, fostering scholarly and practical skills. Their supervision extends to the Public Performance Project where students develop public-facing artistic outputs. While specific grant details aren't documented here, their editorial leadership on the Palgrave Handbook series and sustained publication record indicate significant research funding engagement. Current projects on HBO's television legacy and Game of Thrones music further demonstrate active scholarly momentum.