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Musical Mondays

by Harry Matthews, Music undergraduate student.  Mondays at Southampton always seem to be the busiest days of the week for me. On one Monday recently I started my morning rehearsing new pieces for my ensemble with David Owen Norris. The piano and percussion ensemble rehearsed ‘Workers Union’ by Louis Andriessen and a brand new work by third year composer Millie Aldridge. Continue reading →

Composition PhD partnering

by Ben Jameson, Composition PhD student. During the summer of 2015 I was working on a piece called Construction in Metal, for electric guitar and Guitar Hero Xbox controller, that was due to be performed in November of that year. As usual during the compositional process, I was periodically sending drafts to my supervisors in order to get valuable advice and feedback on my progress and how well the piece was working. Continue reading →

Evan Parker @ Southampton

On Tuesday 19th April, Evan Parker, the legendary saxophonist and forefather of British Free Jazz, met with Southampton University Music Department students prior to his enthralling recital in Turner Sims. He shared insights on his commitment to raising ecological awareness through touring Europe by train, free improvisation, and finding your musical identity. Dr Thomas Seltz, Head of Jazz and Pop. Continue reading →

Ekanayaka Visit

On Monday 18th April, Dr Tanya Ekanayaka, a classical pianist and composer from Sri Lanka signed to Naxos records gave a recital in Turner Sims concert hall and led a workshop with Southampton University Music Department students on the topics of piano performance, composition and improvisation. Dr. Thomas Seltz, Head of Jazz and Pop. Continue reading →

Opera for All Ages

By Catherine Gosney (3rd Year BA student in Music) As a student who loves opera, the University of Southampton offers an extraordinary faculty of music. The head of department is Prof Francesco Izzo, one of the world's leading opera scholars and general editor of the critical edition 'Works of Giuseppe Verdi'. Continue reading →

Another week, another piano

Professor David Owen Norris reports on another interesting week! Since I appeared on Radio 3’s special folk-music In Tune from the Ralph Vaughan Williams Memorial Library last month, I’ve been inundated with RVW-related things, from articles with confidential theories concerning which I must not breathe a word, to happy anecdotes. Continue reading →

Saxophone Masterclass

America saxophonist, Professor Jonathan Helton (pictured far right) visited Southampton on February 23. It was a fantastic morning full of saxophone talk and playing. Finalists Wayne Hau, Emily Cox and Laurence Astill and second-year student Hannah Brierley all performed for the masterclass. Following the class Dr. Helton and his duo partner, cellist Stephen Thomas played an exciting lunchtime concert of music for saxophone and cello. Continue reading →

Aesthetics, Athletics and Advertising

I always like going out to schools and colleges to meet sixth-formers and their teachers. It’s usually amusing, informative and largely straightforward. Some sort of entertaining academic talk aimed at the 17 and 18 year olds, and an outline of what it’s like to study music at university, career prospects, and so on. I do quite a lot of them, and they usually go very smoothly: everyone has a good time. Continue reading →

David Owen Norris learns a thing or two from Jane Austen

David Owen Norris is a pianist, composer, broadcaster, impresario, and Professor of Musical Performance at the University of Southampton. Always a pleasure to visit Chawton House, the home of Jane Austen’s brother, which now houses the International Library of Women’s Writing. I had a meeting with the director, Dr Gillian Dow, to discuss ways to mark this year's 200th anniversary of the publication of Emma. Continue reading →

Bastien Terraz Concert

Bastien Terraz is a freelance double bass and electric bass player and teacher based in Southampton. He is a Southampton University music graduate (BA 2001, MA 2002) and has taught Jazz & Pop bass in the department since 2001. I’ll be playing the Monday lunchtime concert on March 14th this year. Now, I’ve done this about 5 or 6 times before, and whilst I’ve led or co-led the band almost every time in the past, this time it’s going to be a little different. Continue reading →

Jon Gingell in Wonder.land

Jon Gingell teaches guitar at Southampton as well as working for the National Theatre and in many other high-profile freelance roles.  He is a Southampton Music graduate. I have been working as programmer and copyist at the National Theatre on the recent production of ‘Wonder.land’, a new musical based on Alice In Wonderland created by Rufus Norris, Moira Buffini and Damon Albarn. Continue reading →

Conductus III

Professor Mark Everist has been leading the ‘Cantum pulcriorem invenire’ (CPI) project at the University of Southampton since 2010; it has brought to life the repertory of twelfth- and thirteenth-century poetry and music – known as the conductus – through research, performance and recording. Continue reading →

Danzón in Mexico Week

As part of the University of Southampton’s, ‘Mexico Week’ in November 2015, a danzón workshop was held at Turner Sims, organised by the University’s Music department and led by danzón expert Dr Hettie Malcomson. Danzón is a popular form of Cuban and Mexican dance and music, and a precursor to modern styles such as the mambo and the cha-cha-chá. Continue reading →