Dr Christopher D. Lewis SFHEA

I am the School Director of Education in the School of Creative and Digital Industries. In this role, I develop learning and teaching practice across all taught areas of the curriculum of the school and have responsibility for overseeing and identifying where teaching enhancements can be made. A key part of my role is in supporting colleagues to consider ways of developing and enhancing their pedagogy, achieved through a critical reflection of the student learning journey in their specialist areas.

Before joining Buckinghamshire New University, my creative arts background and my industry experience has included work as a professional recording artist (harpsichord) on a series of acclaimed orchestral/solo recordings for the world's largest independent classical music label, Naxos Records. This series was hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “pioneering”. As an academic, I taught across the music and creative arts programmes at Solent University and was based for five years at the University of Chester as a Senior Lecturer in the department of Music, Media, and Performance. My primary teaching interests relate to twentieth century musicological (classical and popular) topics and modern British cultural histories. In my H.E. teaching experience, I have taught widely across the performing arts and creative industries curricula.

I have served as an enhancement advisor to a range of HEIs that have included University of Northampton, BIMM University, University of Lincoln, Teesside University, Royal Marines School of Music, and international H.E. providers. I am external examiner to Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and to the University of Chichester. I serve as academic consultant to the University of Hull/Leeds Conservatoire and am a certified External Examiner by Advance HE.

At the University of Chester, I held the post of University Public Orator, where I wrote and delivered speeches on behalf of dignitaries, including Professor Dame Sally Davies, Sir Stephen Hough CBE, Valerie Masterson CBE, and Baroness Floella Benjamin OM. Dr Gyles Brandreth described my speech writing/delivery skills as "reliably pitch-perfect in tone, content & delivery".

My professional affiliations include as a Ted Speaker, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the Higher Education Authority and an Honorary Fellow of The Guild of Musicians & Singers. Educational qualifications include an undergraduate from McGill University (Canada), a master’s qualification from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a doctorate in musicology from the University of Southampton. I hold Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning (PGCHE) from the University of Chester. My PhD was jointly funded (University of Southampton, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and National Trust) and focused on the role of the harpsichord in the British classical music scene of the mid-twentieth century.

A complete list of my professional experience can be found on my LinkedIn.

• Director of Education (Creative and Digital Industries)