Online 'In Conversation' Series

We are pleased to share details of upcoming events in SIUK's 'In Conversation' Series:

Thursday 25 September 2025, 4-5pm (UK)

April Wu (Royal Holloway, University of London)

Thursday 27 November 2025, 4-5pm (UK)

Darragh Gilleece (Maynooth University & Royal Irish Academy of Music)

Thursday 26 February 2026, 4-5pm (UK) 

Wenchun Fan (University of Leeds)

Speaker Bios

APRIL WU is a final-year PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of London. She is interested in the fruitful exchange between listening and thinking, sounding and living, particularly in relation to the long 19th century. Her project explores the sonic reorientation of language, body, and thought enabled by the Lied voice, as she listens to instances of vocal disruption in lyric, Gothic, and vegetal modes, through which to reveal unexpected connections between Romantic and post-Romantic thought. She holds a BA in Music and an MSc in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford. She has presented papers at the RMA Music and Philosophy Study Group Conference, the London Conference for Critical Philosophy and the Society for European Philosophy Annual Conference. She is the editor of The Schubertian, journal of the Schubert Institute UK.

DARRAGH GILLEECE is a pianist, educator, researcher, and composer based in Ireland. He teaches piano in Maynooth University and is an Examiner for the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). Darragh previously was an Assistant Lecturer in Piano in RIAM. Darragh’s academic background includes a BA International in Music, which featured an Erasmus year studying at the University of Vienna, a Masters in Performance and Musicology, an Associate Diploma in Piano Pedagogy from RIAM, and a Licentiate in Piano Performance from Trinity College London. He completed his PhD in Musicology as a recipient of the prestigious John and Pat Hume Scholarship Award (supervisor: Prof Lorraine Byrne Bodley). For his PhD, he focused on Schubert’s piano duets and the role they can play in today’s world. He has presented for conferences hosted by the Schubert Institute UK and the Society for Musicology in Ireland, among others. Throughout his career, he has received several accolades, including awards from the Swiss and Austrian Embassies. Darragh’s pedagogical compositions have been published by QuietlifeMusic, The Royal Irish Academy of Music, and Universal Music Exams. He looks forward to the release of his sole authored piano repertoire book with Forsyth publications.

As a violinist and researcher, WENCHUN FAN completed her PhD at the University of Leeds in 2025, specialising in Schubert’s violin repertoire through a practice-led approach under the supervision of Dr Clive McClelland, Prof Michael Allis, and Dr Stephen Muir. Her doctoral research, recognised for its originality, has been presented internationally at venues such as the Schubert Research Center in Vienna, the SMI/ICTMD-IE Postgraduate Conference in Ireland, and the 7th PSN Conference in London, among others. Wenchun studied violin at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing with Prof Jia Zhang, Liwei Tan, and Wei Xue before pursuing postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester under the guidance of violinist Leland Chen, where she was awarded a full entrance scholarship and support from the China Scholarship Council. As an accomplished performer, she regularly gives solo recitals across the UK and China. Notably, she has presented several recitals for the Schubert Institute UK, collaborating with distinguished pianists Dr Simon Callaghan and Jordi Bitlloch, as well as with her chamber group, the Ink Quartet. With over eight years of teaching experience, Wenchun has guided students to achieve success in international competitions and secure admissions into prestigious institutions including the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Royal Northern College of Music, and other leading conservatories.