Federico Pendenza
Associate Lecturer in Music Education

Profile

Biography

Federico graduated from the Conservatorio di Musica “A. Casella” (L’Aquila, Italy) with a BA and an MA in Classical Guitar Performance in 2013 and 2015. In May 2014, he received an Erasmus grant that allowed him to study at Malmö Academy of Music (Sweden) under the guidance of Gunnar Spjuth.

Federico came to York in 2017 and has been living here ever since. He finished the MA in Music Education: Instrumental and Vocal Teaching at the University of York (2018) with distinction and completed a PhD (2023) under the supervision of Dr Liz Haddon at the
University of York with a thesis on Alexander Technique: “The Perceptions of Alexander Technique in UK Higher Education Music Institutions: Alexander Technique Teachers, Instrumental/Vocal Teachers, and Music Students (2023)”. An article based on this thesis,
examining music students’ views on Alexander Technique, was published in September 2024 in the International Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing.

From April to September 2023, Federico was part of a research team alongside Dr Liz Haddon, Dr Andrea Schiavio, and Dr Marianna Cortesi. Together, they investigated the social and creative initiatives provided by the Humanity Research Centre at the University of
York to support the wellbeing of Arts and Humanities students and staff. The project was internally funded by the Mentally Fit Fund Scheme at the University of York. During the same period, Federico also worked as a research assistant with Dr Liz Haddon on a project in collaboration with York REACH, evaluating cultural and creative education activities in some primary and secondary schools across York.

Federico joined ACT as an Associate Lecturer on the MA Music Education course in September 2023, having previously worked as a Graduate Teaching Assistant on the programme since 2019. Alongside his teaching, he is a member of Common Ground, a
collaborative research group that develops and evaluates music projects for refugees and asylum seekers. The initiative has been supported by the 2023 York Cultural Wellbeing Grants, the University of York, the Refugee Council, York City of Sanctuary, and Refugee
Action York.

Alongside his interest in research, Federico has always been an active performer and guitar teacher. He performed as part of a guitar and soprano duo (with the soprano singer Alessia Paolini) at institutions such as Istituzione Sinfonica Abruzzese, the conservatoires of music in Napoli and Roma, Accademia Romana della Chitarra and the Malmö Academy of Music. In 2009, he was awarded first prize at the 10th Guitar Competition “Città di Voghera” (Italy) in the guitar duo category. In 2012, as a soloist, he won the “Special Prize” at the 4th International Competition “F. Carulli” in Roma (Italy). He has collaborated extensively with the experimental group The Assembled (run by Professor Catherine Laws), the Arc Project, and the pianist Marianna Cortesi. In May 2023, Federico played a tribute to the classical guitar works of Reginald Smith-Brindle for the Late Music Festival in York, also performing a new piece by Chris Gander.

As a guitar teacher, he taught in the preparatory guitar program at the Conservatorio di Musica “A. Casella” in L’Aquila (Italy), 2015-2017. From 2017-2023 he provided one-to-one and small-group guitar lessons and led a guitar ensemble at the York Arts Education Music Centre. He is also a freelance classical guitar instructor at the School of Arts and Creative Technologies (University of York) and Durham University.