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The Last Post

We have really enjoyed running this blog for the past six years, but find that we are increasingly keeping in touch with you through different channels and in more interactive modes. We are leaving the blog archive here for you to enjoy, but if you’d like to know what we’re up to now, come find us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. We’d love to hear from you and tell you about our latest news. The post The Last Post appeared first on SOUNDINGS Music at Southampton. Continue reading →

Schubert, Singing and Sexuality

David and the masterclass students with Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside Music’s Dr David Bretherton was the mastermind behind last week’s Schubert concert and masterclass – participants heard fabulous music, explored issues around composers’ sexuality, and watched our students learn from international artists: During LGBT History Month 2019, the Department of Music and Turner Sims Concert Hall held two Schubert events connected to my Arts and Humanities Research... Continue reading →

Composing, Line upon Line

Postgrad composer Olly Sellwood travelled to Texas last month to workshop his new piece for percussion: This January I took a long ride over to Austin, Texas to take part in Line Upon Line’s winter composer festival and course. Line Upon Line (a percussion trio made up of Matt Teodori, Adam Bedell and Cullen Faulk) has been performing together since 2009 premiering, performing and recording works by composers from Aaron Cassidy to Jessie Marino. Continue reading →

When Harry Met . . . Part 4 – Drew Crawford

The last in Harry Matthews’s series of composer interviews in the runup to SHIFTS – now time for us all to perform in and listen to the concert tomorrow! Harry Matthews (HM): As a composer you have such a diverse and creative output. For you, is there a separation between the creative process of composing a film score and composing Waves Of… (the piece featured at the upcoming SHIFTS concert)? Drew Crawford (DC): The short answer to that is, no. Continue reading →

When Harry Met (Some More) Composers – Part 3, Lois V Vierk

Ahead of our big SHIFTS performance next week PhD composer Harry Matthews is interviewing 4 of the 5 composers involved in SHIFTS on 27th January at Turner Sims. In this third part he caught up with New York composer Lois V. Vierk whose work Red Shift will feature in Sunday’s concert: Harry Matthews (HM): I thought we could start by talking about your approach to structure. Continue reading →

When Harry Met (Some More) Composers – Part 2, Ben Oliver

Music’s own Ben Oliver tells about his compositions and other pieces on Sunday’s SHIFTS concert, and what it’s like for students and staff to play new music together: Harry Matthews: Let’s start by talking about the upcoming concert Shifts. What gave you the idea to curate a concert that focuses on aspects of minimalism? BO: We do performance projects quite regularly at Southampton where we bring in people to perform alongside our students. Continue reading →

When Harry Met (Some) Composers: Part 1 – Brona Martin

Ahead of our big SHIFTS performance next week PhD composer Harry Matthews is interviewing 4 of the 5 composers involved in SHIFTS on 27th January at Turner Sims (Steve Reich isn’t reachable on Skype this week!). In this first interview Harry caught up with electroacoustic composer and Southampton Teaching Fellow Dr Brona Martin to talk about her recent work Sowing Seeds (2018), which will be featured in the concert. Continue reading →

Sowing the Seeds of Community Engagement

Composition lecturer Dr Brona Martin tells us about an exciting recent commission and the sounds and connections it has fostered: Earlier this year I was commissioned by Seed Studios in collaboration with the Vonnegut Collective and the MANTIS Festival (Manchester Theatre in Sound), Manchester to facilitate some workshops in soundwalking, field recording and composition. Continue reading →

Panatical Pans

Malika Green is Director of Steel Orchestras at the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. With the support of a prestigious Fulbright award, she has been on a three-region tour researching youth steelpan pedagogy in Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, the UK.  In her travels she has had the opportunity to understand the benefits and obstacles that occur when using both Western European Art music practices and non-Western practices when teaching the steelpan. Continue reading →