I’ve had a particularly busy patch at Uni at the moment. I’m doing lots of composition work for an upcoming workshop for Composing for Moving Image next Monday. Workshops are something that all students in every year have. In a composition workshop each person bring the composition they are currently working on and has their piece played so that everyone gives and receives feedback. It’s really useful as it gives us a chance to get valuable feedback on our pieces and means we can develop them further ready to submit in our portfolios at the end of the year. Sometimes a person’s piece is actually played live by professionals and in others it might be based on the computer, like my current work for a short film. My whole Composing for Moving Image class was given the same 12-minute film which we have all been hard at work building a soundtrack for – so it’s going to be really interesting to hear the different interpretations.
To start the week I attended The Annual Saddlers Dinner at Saddlers Hall. It was hosted by the Worshipful Company of Saddlers which is one of the oldest of the City of London Livery Companies. They have a longstanding relationship with City University. Saddlers Hall where the dinner took place is a beautiful building right by St Paul’s Cathedral. We were given a tour and talk and learnt a bit about the history of the Company and their longstanding relationship with the University. We were shown some of the beautiful silver and gold treasures that are kept at Saddlers’ Hall and saw some historic and beautifully made saddles. It was quite a privilege. There was a lovely three-course dinner and we all sat next to past or current members of the Company. It was very exciting to be part of it and to meet so many interesting people. I was very proud to be selected as a student to represent the University at this event.
Earlier this week I was also performing in a lunchtime concert with the Chamber Music ensemble I am part of. We have been rehearsing a whole term, so now it was time for our lunchtime concert. I am one of two flutes, in this ensemble, along with two clarinets, two violins, a cellist and soprano. We performed some Berlioz along with a piece from Bizet’s Carmen and some pieces for string trio and wind quartet. The concert went really well so everyone’s hard work paid off!
I’ll be finishing this week with a Performance Workshop which is for students doing Solo Performance. Those of us that are doing Performance each have to play our instrument for 5 minutes after which we each get feedback – good and bad! These workshops are really useful not only do you get a chance to hear constructive feedback on your playing but you also get critiqued on your performance etiquette too, which is such an important element! You can get feedback on your posture, your entrance/exit on stage, the way you hold yourself and also things like your position on stage and bowing. All of which can make quite a difference both positive or negative to one’s performance. It’s also a nice chance to hear your peers play!
I may be coming to the end of one busy week but I’ve got plenty more on the horizon!
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