June 2015

Student support for music therapy

Our first-ever Grade One-a-thon was a sponsored activity with proceeds going to charity. The students selected local music therapy charity Key Changes to receive the donation, and this week our intrepid organiser Catherine Underhill received a wonderful letter of thanks from music therapist Beccy Read - shared here for all the students who took part. Continue reading →

Meet the (modern) pianos

In the final instalment of our Meet the Pianos series for this year, David Owen Norris introduces some of our modern concert grands. Many people will find these more familiar-looking than our rarer historic instruments. But they're not all the same, and modern piano firms, just like their 18th-century counterparts, search to create instruments with their own characteristic sounds. Continue reading →

Performing Wellington and Waterloo

For our final performance event of the academic year, Catherine Gosney (year 2) led a fascinating concert commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo - mixing some familiar favourites with lesser-known gems. Here she tells us about putting it all together: I love the art of programming. Continue reading →

Grade One-a-thon – the results are in!

An update from finalist Catherine Underhill, who has organised our first-ever Grade One-a-thon: So results are in, and I am pleased to announce the results tally to - 14 distinctions 12 merits 5 passes Thank you to all the teachers, especially to those who taught instruments even though they were not participating and learning an instrument themselves - it could not have happened without you. It has been a hugely successful event. Continue reading →

New video – Composing for voices with Finnissy and EXAUDI

Back in March, our professor of composition Michael Finnissy joined the leading contemporary ensemble EXAUDI for a residency at the Britten-Pears centre at Aldeburgh. Along with EXAUDI's director James Weeks and soprano Juliet Fraser, Michael directed a course that gave young composers the chance to work directly with six of the singers from Exaudi in practical sessions as they developed new work and explored the challenges of composing for voices. Continue reading →

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