RESEARCHER
CONSTANTLY SEEKING
Tracy has carried out research projects in the fields of music, history, and military subjects. She has a continual quest for a deeper understanding of the many subjects that interest her, and she is committed to discovering not just the facts, but the meanings behind them - and to share both the knowledge and the human stories.
Tracy has been praised for her ability to make complex or specialised topics accessible and interesting to non-specialists. Her passion for sharing her findings in musical ways, beyond just research, is what drives her along her path.
AREAS OF RESEARCH
Tracy completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Melbourne (Australia), combining music subjects with sequences in Fine Arts and Classical Studies. She subsequently graduated from Monash University with a Master of Arts in Public History and Heritage degree, completing units in:
Issues in Public History
(compiling a history of the Rising Sun badge);
Methods of Public History
Completing an exploration of historic homes featured in the novels of Martin BoydMuseums as Exhibiting Institutions
Researching and presenting a proposal for an exhibition Home Fires Burning; Australian women in WWII
Advanced Topics in History and Biography
Researching and completing a biography of her ancestor, John Banks Shepherdson, first schoolteacher in South Australia
Society, Culture and the Study of Australia
Studies of heritage sites in Maldon, Victoria and heritage proposals for Camberwell, Victoria
Source Materials in Australian Studies
Authored chapters on collections pertaining to music and military history in Straight to the Source: A Guide to Sources for Victorian History. 1995. Monash Public History Group, Clayton, Victoria.
THESES
Tracy’s Masters thesis, 'And the Band Played on...': band rotundas of Victoria (1996), was commissioned by Heritage Victoria and explored the history and social significance of band rotundas throughout the state.
In 2020, Tracy returned to the University of Melbourne and completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Music in 2021 before commencing a PhD in Music Performance (Conducting). Her thesis, (Re)Integrating the music of Australian Heritage women composers, comprises a video folio of conducting performances (50%), a dissertation (50%) with supporting materials as hosted on this website. Expected completion: February 2028.