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Performance, Page 10

Summer in the Theatre

Continuing our 'What I did over the summer vacation' series, Catherine Underhill (year 3) tells us about her fantastic introduction to the music theatre business:  Back in May, I received an email from Youth Music Theatre (YMT) about a position of Assistant Music Director (AMD) for their shows over the summer. I knew a little bit about the company, so applied online and to my surprise I received an interview. Continue reading →

Coming Soon – Ben’s Fresh Klang!

Postgraduate composer Ben Jameson tells us about his upcoming performance in an exciting new music series:  Kammer Klang is a concert series that was founded by cellist and curator Lucy Railton in 2008, and is currently directed by percussionist and composer Serge Vuille. The series presents thematically linked programmes of new contemporary classical, experimental, improvised and electronic music. Continue reading →

Music’s War-Torn World

During the 2014-15 academic year we will be mounting a series of concerts commemorating the Great War.  Here our head of keyboard studies, Professor David Owen Norris, explains the background to his upcoming concert 'Dreams of Germany: Music's War-Torn World': Mark Wilde (tenor), Joseph Spooner (cello) and I are putting on a day-full of music at St John’s Smith Square, London. It’s called A Dream of Germany – Music’s War-Torn World. Continue reading →

A year in Baby SUSO

Emma Blundell and Tricia Mann (year 3) spent part of their final year as highly successful educational managers of the innovative Baby SUSO scheme.  Here's their report on how their work helped kids to participate in orchestral music: In 2010, Southampton University Symphony Orchestra's (SUSO) then President, Kat Hattersley, pioneered a pilot scheme called The Baby SUSO Project which aimed to bring orchestral music to children in local primary and secondary schools. Continue reading →

Transatlantic thoughts

US scholar-performer Dr Vivian Montgomery reflects on her stay in Southampton during a Fulbright fellowship:  As I near the end of my time in the UK as a Fulbright Senior Scholar, I’m astonished by both how much has happened and how much more I could do with another 6 months. I came to Southampton in January after 5 days staying in Durham Castle for the Fulbright Forum. Continue reading →

Reviving the modern harpsichord

Harpsichordist Christopher Lewis is working on a PhD as part of our 'Making of the Modern Harpsichord' project in collaboration with the National Trust.  Here he tells us about the newest addition to our keyboard room - a magnificent revival instrument by John Feldberg - and how it fits into his research: As the Early Music world continues to grow and move from strength to strength, what has especially pleased me is the growing resurgence of interest in the pioneers of the field. Continue reading →

Nuffield launch

Last Wednesday we had an event to mark the opening of the newly-refurbished Nuffield theatre Kitchen, a cafĂ© space that is housing the lovely Brinsmead baby grand that was given to us in the autumn.  Andy Fisher, our head of commercial composition, played Gershwin and accompanied postgraduate singer Lizzie Rogers in a sneak preview of some of the songs from his new one-woman show, Girl in a Crisis. Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

Composing new music for early instruments

Postgraduate composer Alex Glyde-Bates talks about the process of writing his new work 'Objet d’Art' for Trio Aporia, which was premiered at the Turner Sims Concert Hall during our 'MUSIC @1PM' concert series: Last summer I was approached by flautist Stephen Preston to write a new ten-minute work for his new trio, Trio Aporia, to go in a concert of other new works to mark the 250th anniversary of the death of French composer and influential music theorist Jean-Philippe Rameau. 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 →