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Singing success

Now back in term after the Easter break, we have heard some very good news from Hannah Woodhouse (year 3), who has been accepted onto The Sixteen's prestigious apprentice scheme: A couple of weeks back I learned the exciting news that I had been accepted onto the 2014/2015 Genesis Sixteen choral scheme for young singers. Continue reading →

Fauré in Winchester

Undergraduate singer and pianist Anna Stonehouse tells us about recording in Winchester cathedral for an upcoming Easter season broadcast by BBC 2: On Tuesday 25th March I took part in the ‘Passiontide Concert’,  singing Faure’s Requiem with the outstanding Winchester Waynflete Singers, teamed with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Recorded by BBC Radio 2, the concert will be aired on Good Friday, 18 April at 8pm. Continue reading →

Why ‘Happy’ makes us happy

Yesterday's Guardian featured an article asking the experts why Pharell Williams's single 'Happy' works so well.  Southampton's own Andy Fisher, Head of Commercial Composition, provided an analysis of the musical basis of the song's appeal - check it out here. And here's the video of 'Happy' for anyone who needs cheering up today. https://www.youtube. Continue reading →

Sea Slugs at School

Sax player Rob Kitney (year 3) tells us what Southampton-based band The Sea Slugs were up to just before the break: On Friday 7th March, The Sea Slugs made their way to Crawley to lead a workshop in afrobeat music with the year 9s at Hazelwick School. As a brief introduction to The Sea Slugs, we are a 15-piece afrobeat band, many of whom are currently studying at the University or have graduated in recent years. Continue reading →

Meter in the Midwest

Reader in Music Danuta Mirka has just returned from Indiana, where she was a distinguished guest at one of the largest faculties of music in America: Last week I stayed in the US, guest lecturing and teaching in the Music Theory Department of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington. Continue reading →

Made in Italy – Italian Madrigals Englished

Bass singer Chris Lusty (year 3) tells us how music for Tudor merchants came back to a real period house - Southampton's Tudor House Museum - during our Made in Italy weekend: On Saturday, the University's choral scholars, Cantores Michaelis, sang a selection of Italian madrigals by Luca Marenzio (1553 -1599) and Giovanni Maria Nanino (1543 -1607) that were translated and arranged into an English style by Albert Chatterley. Continue reading →

Made in Italy – From Rome to Venice

Many performance projects at Southampton are completely student-led, from the initial idea to final realisation. Natalie Davies (year 3) tells us about the final extravaganza of our Italian weekend, featuring rare Roman cantatas matched up with Vivaldi favourites: Having had just over two weeks to rehearse the Vivaldi Gloria with the choir, it was not without trepidation that we came together with the orchestra on Sunday for our last rehearsal before the evening’s concert. Continue reading →

Southampton saxes at the RCM

Last week undergraduate Kathryn Firth (year 2) and fellow saxophonists from Southampton went to  London with their tutor Dr Angela Space for a specialist masterclass.  Kathryn tells us what they learned: Last Friday (7th February), I travelled to London with six other undergraduate classical saxophone students from the university for a Saxophone Masterclass with Lars Mlekusch at the Royal College of Music. Continue reading →

Performing for a pro

Last week the Music Director of Carnival UK came to hear some of our undergraduate musicians.  Singer-songwriter Olly Lewis (year 3) tells us about performing for one of the region's top entertainment employers: When Dave Desmond from Carnival Cruises was invited to our weekly Jazz and Pop performance workshops, it was an honour to perform on behalf of Southampton's music department and to get professional feedback from him. Continue reading →

Pleasures and entertainments

Second-year PhD student Becky Gribble is working on a thesis about Thomas Linley Jr., a brilliant composer and childhood friend of Mozart’s who died in 1778 in a tragic boating accident at the age of only 22.  She has just returned from presenting her work at a prestigious international scholarly conference: Last week I attended the British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (BSECS) Conference in at St Hugh’s College in Oxford. Continue reading →

Happy new studio

Thanks to very generous donation to Maths, the new year is starting with a complete renovation and refurbishment of our recording studios. Senior lecturer Richard Polfreman reports on the progress so far of this exciting development:   The refurbishment of the recording studios began in December, shortly before the end of the Autumn term. Continue reading →