October 2015

Nun-ology at the Brighton Early Music Festival

Professor of Music Laurie Stras reports on the Brighton Early Music Festival and exciting developments relating to her research - including a thoroughly modern approach to funding early music recordings. Over the last two weekends, I have been along the South Coast in Brighton, heavily involved in events at the Brighton Early Music Festival (http://bremf.org.uk). Continue reading →

In praise of opera

Recent alumnus Beth Coopey describes her surprise discovery of Opera during her studies, and how that changed everything... I arrived at the University of Southampton with little interest in opera. I had sung a selection of arias but knew little about the operas from which they came. That soon changed: my opera experience here has been so immersive and wide-ranging that I am leaving as (probably!) a lifelong opera lover. Continue reading →

Coming soon – The Trembling Line

We are looking forward to the opening of Aura Satz's new show at the University's John Hansard Gallery, running from 3 December 2015 - 23 January 2016. The show, The Trembling Line, is the result of Aura's year as Artist in Residence at the university, sponsored by The Leverhulme Trust, and featuring collaboration between the artist, the Department of Music, and the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research. Continue reading →

Awakening Sleeping Beauty

Dr Kate Guthrie, who is British Academy Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department, tells us about her new article that has just come out: Last week, my article ‘Awakening Sleeping Beauty: The Creation of National Ballet in Britain’ came out in Music & Letters. Continue reading →

New recording of modern harpsichord

We’re delighted to congratulate Southampton postgraduate research student Christopher Lewis on the release of his new CD on the Naxos label. Christopher specialises in music for the revival harpsichord, and his PhD work is part of the "Making of the Modern Harpsichord" project sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the National Trust. Continue reading →

Bad Music in Oslo?

Can a piece of music can be inherently bad, or are all such judgements purely subjective? Associate Professor in Composition Matthew Shlomowitz reports on a recent premier in Oslo addressing such issues. I was commissioned by the Ultima Festival in Oslo to compose a forty-minute work for the Plus Minus Ensemble, a group I direct with English composer Joanna Bailie. For this commission I decided to do something different: instead of writing a piece, I wrote a 'lecture-piece'. Continue reading →

Currently browsing