Stephanie Pearl

Doctoral Student

PEARLIE PhDJ is a part-time PhD researcher at the Royal College of Music (RCM), where she is the first to undertake doctoral research through DJ practice. Representing the 1% of working-class women in UK postgraduate study, her work investigates the under-representation of women-identifying and marginalised artists in electronic music.

Alongside her research, Stephanie Pearl is the Digital Heritage and Technology Officer at the RCM Museum. She leads digital engagement, preservation, and outreach, developing the Museum’s online profile across emerging platforms. She oversees the digitisation of the Museum’s 14,000-item collection, including 3D-scanned and 3D-printed models that support long-term preservation, accessibility, and innovative digital storytelling.

Drawing on her MSc in Performance Science, PEARLIE’s interdisciplinary approach bridges psychology and musicology to explore how gendered experiences in music-making reflect and resist socio-political inequalities. Her distinction-awarded dissertation examined the psychological and well-being experiences of women and non-binary DJs. She has also applied music psychology to analyse participant engagement in hypnobirthing classes, collaborating with a facilitator and former midwife with experience in Nepal.

PEARLIE is an experienced producer, reporter, and music journalist with credits across the BBC, TED Talks, and major UK festivals. BBC Gold Standard qualified in videography, presenting, production, and journalism, she has produced for BBC West, BBC Bristol, BBC 6 Music, Radio 2, BBC Introducing, and documentaries featuring Sir David Attenborough. Her portfolio includes a self-produced multimedia project culminating in a 14,000-ft skydive with The Apprentice finalist Brittany Carter. She has interviewed the first British woman to climb Mount Everest and the only Obstetrics & Gynaecology consultant in the British Military, and writes widely on gender, sound, and culture.

She holds credits from the University of Glasgow in Playwriting and Dramaturgy, an MSc in Performance Science from the RCM, a Distinction in Production from the BBC Academy and Bauer Academy, and First Class Honours in Political Performance Art from the University of South Wales.

As part of the 29% of women DJs worldwide, PEARLIE often mixes exclusively women and non-binary artists, presents at conferences, and produces shows exploring feminist, queer, hauntological, and cultural themes, amplifying underrepresented voices in music practice.

Faculties / departments: Research