John Habron-James

Having trained as a composer and a music therapist, Professor John Habron-James has gradually moved into transdisciplinary research at the intersection of music education and music therapy. From 2009 to 2016, he was Senior Lecturer in Music at Coventry University and in 2017 joined the RNCM as its first Head of Music Education. In 2021, he became the College’s Head of Music, Health and Wellbeing. Along with a group of colleagues, John founded the International Conference of Dalcroze Studies (ICDS) in 2013 and chaired its Scientific Committee until 2023. He is currently Extraordinary Researcher in the MASARA (Musical Arts in South Africa: Resources and Applications) research entity at North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa (2018-2025).

• Music for health, including music therapy
• Music education (history, theory, practice, philosophy)
• Music and movement / embodiment / somatics
• Dalcroze Eurhythmics

John’s research focuses on the relationships between music and movement, and how – as a combined resource – these can help people of all ages and abilities to learn, feel better and flourish. In particular, he investigates the ways participants have engaged with and developed Dalcroze practice historically and how it is applied today.

A major recent project (2015-2020) investigated spiritual experiences in Dalcroze education and led to a series of five journal articles, co-authored with Professor Liesl van der Merwe, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

In June 2025, Boydell & Brewer published Navigating Landscapes of Dalcroze Practice: Histories of Music and Movement, a landmark study in the field of Dalcroze studies, co-edited by John along with Professor Emerita Selma Landen Odom (York University, Toronto) and Dr Johanna Laakkonen (Theatre Museum, Helsinki).

John is currently preparing a short-form book manuscript with cellist, teacher and dancer Marlies Muijzers. The study is a collaborative autoethnography about her experiences of chronic pain and disability within the contexts of Dalcroze teacher training and contemporary dance.