Category Archives: Uncategorized

Interview with Jade Bailey

This interview took place online on 14 August 2020 between Dr Erik Nyström, Admissions Tutor for the BSc in Music, Sound and Technology, and current BSc student Jade Bailey.

Erik Nyström: I’d like to welcome Jade Bailey for an interview. Jade is a second-year student on our BSc programme and – amongst many other things – a very talented sound designer and studio composer. Her recent piece ‘Conversations’ is linked here: https://soundcloud.com/user-659425751/conversations-by-jade-bailey

Jade, could you tell us a bit about what brought you to our BSc programme?

Jade Bailey: Hi Erik, thank you for inviting me to chat today! When I was applying for university I initially struggled with choosing a programme, I knew I wanted to study within music but was unsure whether to take a 100% sound design route or to study music more broadly. Upon attending multiple Open Days at City, I found that the BSc Music, Sound and Technology programme had everything I was looking for – featuring a wide range of practical and written modules whilst also offering sound design and composition as core modules, which was very important to me.

EN: Great, what kind of background experience in music or sound and technology did you have?

JB: Prior to studying at City I had only studied Music at GCSE Level, but I have always had a keen interest and passion for music having played piano from a young age. I had developed a strong interest in music technology, such as music production and sound design whilst studying for my A-Levels and began producing and composing my own music – which lead me to pursue a degree in Music Technology!

EN: That’s great, many of our incoming students have similar background experience,and have also no doubt been through the decision anxiety of what route to take in university. You mention the combination of practical and written modules, have you found it rewarding to be able to link theory and practice?

JB: Yes definitely! I’m a firm believer that you need an equal balance of theory and practice, especially on a course like Music Technology. It’s essential to learn the theory behind specific skills, such as within Studio Recording and Composition, in order to be able to put these ideas into practice effectively.

EN: I agree, and we try to link theory and practice as much as we can. Critical thinking and listening is also important for creativity. Which modules have you enjoyed the most so far?

JB: I’ve really enjoyed all of the modules I have taken so far, but my favourites have definitely been Sound Design and Studio Composition, as these modules do a great job of merging theory with creative practice and allow a lot freedom in terms of creative expression. Another of my favourite modules has been Electronic Dance Music, which taught the origins of EDM in Techno and House music and culminated in a field trip to Fabric which was fantastic!

EN: Yes, the field trip to Fabric is a favourite for many I think. I’ve never been there daytime! 🙂 You’ve certainly done well in sound design and studio composition, are these interests that you are hoping to pursue in your future as well?

JB: Absolutely! The Sound Design and Studio Composition modules have definitely helped me find ‘my sound’, so to speak. Before joining City I had never encountered electroacoustic composition as studied within Studio Composition – and now it is my favourite part of university study! This is a prime example of the wide range of knowledge and sound practices I have been introduced to on the BSc programme, and has definitely been one of the most rewarding parts of my degree so far!

EN: That’s great, and electroacoustic music is something that City has been doing since 1975, so we should be a good place for that! You mention your ‘sound’ could you tell us a bit about what techniques and software you like to use in your work?

JB: Of course! I primarily use Logic Pro X when composing, as it is the DAW I am most familiar with. Whenever I am composing I like to go on sound walks as well as use field recording techniques to gather sound material, as I don’t use samples in any of my works. To do this, I use my Tascam DR-05X which I have found perfect for field recording as it is so light and portable! In terms of techniques, I often take elements of what I have learnt whilst studying sound design on board when I am composing as this definitely helps widen the range of sound material I can gather. For example, one my recent pieces ‘Enniscrone’ uses the sound of my hands on my bedroom carpet to mimic the sound of ocean waves!

EN: Wow, that’s great, I had no idea, it’s really quite mind-blowing how deceptive sound can be! For readers, Enniscrone can be heard in the linked here: https://soundcloud.com/user-659425751/enniscrone-by-jade-bailey. I remember you made a very impressive sound design piece with granular synthesis as well in year 1. What are you planning to do for your Major Project in the final year?

JB: My Major Project in Composition will be based on the concept of “The Musicality of the Mundane”, in which I am planning to undertake extensive critical listening and field/studio recording sessions in order to unveil the musical qualities (such as pitched/rhythmic/sonic qualities) that everyday, non-musical objects possess. I am also planning to present these findings in a series of hyper-real electroacoustic compositions.

EN: That’s very interesting. Were you always drawn to the hidden musicality in everyday sounds or is that something that you’ve discovered more during your studies?

JB: I would say this is something I have discovered since joining City, more specifically since joining City University Experimental Ensemble. Without sounding overly-dramatic, this ensemble has definitely changed the way I hear and appreciate sound. Since joining CUEE I have frequently found myself paying closer attention to the sounds around me than I had prior to joining the ensemble. Also, within the composition modules I have studied we are often asked to consider the bridge between sound and music, and how the two concepts are different. This method of teaching, coupled with my newfound appreciation of sound has certainly inspired the concept for my Major Project.

EN: I see, that makes sense. Do you have any advice for incoming students?

JB: My main piece of advice would be to get as involved in the music department as you can, whether this be in the form music-making with other students, attending the various extra-curricular activities and events taking place in the department, or volunteering to help out at a department event. One of the first things I noticed when I joined City was the strong sense of community within the music department. Everybody knows everyone, regardless of your year of study and whether you study the BSc or the BMus – so make sure to get as involved as possible!!

EN: That’s really good advice, Jade. We do place a lot of value in community and there is a really wide range of interests among students in the department. Thanks so much for your time Jade, and sharing so many insightful views!

JB: No problem! Thank you so much for having me!!

EN: Thanks Jade, and I wish you a great experience in year three!

 

Interview with Alex de Lacey

Image may contain: Alex de Lacey, close-up and outdoor

This interview took place online on 14 August 2020 between City’s Head of the Department of Music, Dr Ian Pace, and BMus graduate Alex de Lacey.

Ian Pace: I’d like to welcome Alex de Lacey for the second interview today. Alex graduated from the City BMus in 2014, and from the MA in 2015. He is now a Lecturer in Popular Music at Goldsmiths, University of London. Alex’s research examines Afrodiasporic music practice in the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on grime. He completed his PhD, entitled Level Up: Live Performance and Collective Creativity in Grime Music, under the supervision of Professor Tom Perchard and Professor Keith Negus earlier this year, has published with Global Hip-Hop Studies and has chapters forthcoming in Popular Music History, and Critical Digital Pedagogy. Alex is a journalist, and writes for Complex, Red Bull, and Songlines. He is the DJ for grime crew Over The Edge, with a monthly show on Mode FM.

Alex, welcome! You are very active in musicological fields relating to popular musics today. Does this have any roots in your study at City?

Alex de Lacey: Hi Ian – yes, it definitely does. I spent a lot of time at City studying jazz and popular forms, and my undergraduate dissertation examined grime music, which has since led onto my Masters and PhD research. The grounding in popular practice with Miguel Mera worked well alongside practical application in a variety of ensembles. The UG degree also offered broad horizons, with modules on music from the Middle East, Japan, Korea and China, and this helped me hone in on the ethnographic aspects of my later research.

IP: I’d be really interested to know more about the latter, and the relationship between your current work and study of Asian musics?

AdL: While my research now doesn’t directly overlap in terms of the music itself, a dedicated and considered approach to (what was at the time for me) unfamiliar practice has helped strengthen the way I conduct ethnography.

Nonetheless, there is, though, an interesting relationship between grime music and music from East Asia. Grime artists often employ exoticized compositional tropes that supposedly infer a “Far Eastern” sensibility. This often boils down to pentatonic scales, shakhuachi flutes, and the use of vocal samples from Manga and Karate films (which is quite reductive and problematic in many ways). The subcategory of “Sinogrime”, for example, is often contested regarding this and I wrote briefly about this in my PhD. There is definitely scope for further research here.

IP: What drew you to City in particular when you were looking at places to study?

AdL:  I was really in two minds before joining City. I couldn’t decide between it and another institution. But on the open day I had a really warm, frank and enlivening discussion with Professor Steve Stanton. His passion for the course, and for students, was so encouraging, and I feel that was also reflected in the department as a whole when I joined that September.

Outside of that conversation, it was definitely the opportunity to have Guildhall tuition alongside my academic study, and the range of ensembles on offer. I worked with Maria Camahort for a year on classical guitar, and studied musicianship with Laurie Blundell and Barak Schmool. These experiences provided me with a strong ear and skills in musicianship that have proven invaluable in my creative practice.

IP: What might you say to an 18-year old today thinking about studying music in higher education?

AdL: While it’s an uncertain time, I’d still highly recommend studying music. The varying skillsets developed within a music degree, through performing, composing, and musicological work, are vast. This means that you’ll be learning new things every day in a rich and exciting environment, and it’s also very attractive for employers. Music teaches you to work as a team, helps enliven the creative mind, and also encourages critical thinking on a range of issues (be they sociocultural, with respect to music theory, or otherwise).

I was initially studying an UG Degree in Mathematics at Durham, but moved to City to study music after the first year, because I was studying something I felt I should be studying, rather than what I actually wanted to do. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

IP: Alex, many thanks for your time. Do you have any links to your work, or other things in which you are interested, which you would like to share?

AdL: I have recently published a paper with Global Hip Hop Studies on Australian grime practice. It’s open access, and available here: https://www.ingentaconnect.com/…/0000…/00000001/art00007

My twitter handle is @delaceymusic.

Thanks Ian!

Meet our Instrumental and Vocal Teachers

At City, we have a great team of visiting instrumental and vocal teachers, many of whom also teach at the leading London conservatoires.

We also have two ensembles in residence, a large number of departmental ensembles and offer regular workshops and masterclasses with high-profile visiting performers and composers.

Read some short interviews with a selection of our visiting performance teachers.

Alena Walentin

Alena, could you start by telling us something about your current performance projects?  I recently recorded my debut solo album and also a second album with my wind quintet Atéa. Both albums will be released later this year which I’m very much looking forward to! I will also will be recording with my chamber duo partner harpist Anne Denholm for a planned release next year. As well as recording, I have some masterclasses and performances coming up in Denmark, the USA and in the UK, including with Ian Pace at City! Right now, I’m in the middle of a tour of Wales with Mid-Wales Opera as part of the Ensemble Cymru playing Puccini’s Tosca. So some really exciting and enjoyable projects.

What is the highlight of your music teaching career so far?  I feel that each conservatoire and university I teach at is unique and each offers a different but wonderful experience. When I was a student I had no idea that such an important part of my career would be teaching, but now I teach and give masterclasses in so many amazing places and I absolutely love it. I feel very humble and honoured to be teaching at City as well as at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Junior Royal Academy of Music and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire as well as giving masterclasses in different countries. I think sharing one’s knowledge is so important and it’s a very special, incredibly happy feeling when you hear your students progress and see that they enjoy playing the instrument!

What were the most important things you learned from your own teachers? It would be very hard to identify one single thing – they all together form one thing! Everything from intonation, the technical side of playing the instrument, posture, breathing, rhythm, dynamics etc are all incredibly vital to being able to express the composer’s intentions to its fullest. But if I had to pick the very most important thing, it would be the feeling that I’ve had from when I first started to play the instrument: that music always should come first, technique second. Instrumentalists, of course, need a flawless technique to be able to be professional, but the musical part should always take first place. When an audience member comes to a concert, they might not know much about the instrument and how hard certain passages or aspects of the playing might be. However, they feel the music! And if one can make them cry, laugh, smile from real enjoyment or bring back to them sacred memories – that is what it’s all about and is the reason why we learn the instrument. And that is why I always aspire to be a musician, an artist and not an instrumentalist. And I wish to all the students out there to remember why they love music so much and why they want to play the instrument.

Thank you very much for your time and good luck with your forthcoming tours!

You can find out more about Alena’s music at www.alenawalentin.com

 

Richard Uttley

Many thanks for joining us, Richard. Could you start by telling our students something about your current performance projects? One unusual project I’m particularly enjoying at the moment is playing Erik Satie’s ‘Entr’acte’ music from his ballet Relâche, which was written to accompany a silent film by René Clair. I’m playing it in the piano duet version with my friend and collaborator Kate Whitley, and we’re performing it live with the film. We spent a long time experimenting to work out how we could bring out as much subtle detail in the timing between the music and visuals as possible; it was a labour of love but that makes it so enjoyable for us to share the result with audiences. As well as being a pianist, Kate is also a composer and she’s writing me a piece that I premiered in a recital at City last spring. Other things I’ve got on the go this season include the Gershwin Piano Concerto, which I learnt over summer and played in the Queen Elizabeth Hall recently, and  a cycle of all ten Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin for a tour in Scotland next month.

What is the most exciting country you’ve played in? I’ve toured in China several times in recent years, and have given recitals in over twenty cities there. I didn’t get to spend a long time in any of them, but to play and travel in a totally different culture was a great experience and one I feel very lucky to have had through music.

What is the most memorable concert or other musical event that you have attended?   It was a concert at LSO St Luke’s (just round the corner from City, in fact) that was part of a Barbican festival in 2007 focussed on the music of Thomas Adès. I wasn’t living in London at the time but made a special trip to attend this concert as I was obsessed with Adès’s music back then. The concert included, amongst other things, the composer himself playing his mesmerising Traced Overhead (I had no idea until then what an incredible pianist as well as composer Adès is), and a very starry Les Noces, with Peter Donohoe, Rolf Hind and Katia and Marielle Labèque on the four pianos and an amazing group of Russian singers called the Pokrovsky Ensemble. If I could go back in time to hear concerts again I’d go to that one every week!

What would you most recommend students do beyond practising their instrument/voice and rehearsing?  Make the most of being in London. If you come to study at City you’ll be in the heart of an incredibly vibrant city, with world class food, theatre, concerts, museums and galleries – to name but a few – and this is a great opportunity to have experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. Students get cheap tickets too!

Thank you!

Listen to some of Richard’s music: https://soundcloud.com/richard_uttley/chris-willis-burning-up

richarduttley.com

 

Madeleine Mitchell

Many thanks for joining us, Madeleine. Could you start by telling us about your current performance projects? I’ve just completed a 3-week tour of the USA which included three performances of the Brahms Double Concerto and two concerts in San Francisco – a trio concert and my recital programme ‘A Century of British Music’ ranging from Elgar and John Ireland to Grace Williams (1906-77) and a piece written for me in 1993 by Michael Nyman. In coming weeks, I’m focusing on Grace Williams’  Violin Sonata in several concerts, coinciding with the release by Naxos of my latest album of her chamber music, all premiere recordings, with my London Chamber Ensemble, recorded here in the Performance Space at City. In fact, we held the album release at City last year at City.

What is the most exciting place you’ve performed in? I’ve played in over 50 countries so there are many exciting places to choose from, including the extraordinary German Cultural Centre in Madagascar (at the invitation of the British Ambassador), the Sydney Opera House and representing the UK at a festival of British Culture in the Lincoln Center, New York just after 9/11. New York is particularly dear to my heart since I was a Fulbright/ITT Fellow there years ago.

What were the most important things you learned from your own teachers? (a) that to be a complete musician, you have to be open to the other arts; (b) that your body is your instrument; (c) that, as the great Jascha Heifetz put it: ‘to be a great artist you need the nerves of a bullfighter and the concentration of a buddhist monk’

Madeleine Mitchell is a leading international violinist, who has performed as soloist and chamber musician in over 50 countries, including with major orchestras. She has made many recordings, some of which have been nominated for BBC Music Awards, and has collaborated with composers including James MacMillan and Michael Nyman. As well as teaching at City, University of London, Madeleine is also a Professor at the Royal College of Music

Thank you very much for your time!

Find our more about Madeleine’s work at: www.madeleinemitchell.com

 

Shirley Smart

Thanks for joining us today, Shirley. Could you start by telling us something about your current performance projects? Sure. I am currently performing with my trio/quartet, with whom I recently released my first album, ‘Long Story Short’. We have quite a few performances this year, and hopefully a tour next spring. I’m also writing material for my next album, although that may take a while to be ready for performance! Long Story Short is available here: Long Story Short

Other projects which I lead/co-lead are a duo with reeds player James Arben – this is a freely improvised project, mostly as a duo, but sometimes with guests. We have recorded quite a bit of music recently, so may well release an EP or an album with that.

I also have a jazz string trio with violinists Matt Holborn and Richard Jones. This is a relatively new project that we have been trying to put together for about 2 years. The three of us felt that string players in jazz often get overlooked. Matt and Rich are both amazing jazz violinists, but also very different players so it’s an interesting balance.

Another group I play in is Issie Barratt’s band Interchange, which is an all-female dectet that she founded in 2016, in order to address the imbalance of gender in the jazz world. We were all commissioned to write a work for the group, and the album ‘Donna’s Secret’ was released earlier this year.

My final, and one of my favourite bands ever, is the trio ‘Sawa’, with vocalist Alya Al-Sultani and pianist Clemens Poetzch. This was founded in about 2015, and is a unique synthesis of Iraqi folk music, jazz, chamber music and free improvisation. As Clemens lives in Germany, we don’t get to play together that often, but I love it when we do! Our EP is here : Sawa EP

What is the most exciting country/venue/space that you have played at? I suppose, having lived in Jerusalem for 10 years, that would have to count in its entirety as the most exciting (and challenging) place to have existed musically in. It was incredibly fertile and I was involved in all sorts of things, from jazz to classical Arabic and Turkish music, all of which inform my musical activities now.

What is the highlight of your teaching career so far? It’s difficult to pin-point one particular thing, as I get different things out of different contexts, and they all present different challenges! I really enjoy teaching at the RCM Junior Department, where I do a lot of improvisation work, since this is very marginalised in classical education – although I think it is better than it was 15 or so years ago.

A couple of particular highlights were a workshop I gave for Jazzlines in Birmingham a few years ago – the students were so keen and eager to learn! We worked on a North African tune completely by ear, and performed it at the end of the session in the Symphony Hall Foyer. The group included Xhosa Cole, who recently won the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year. He came up at the end and extracted a list of everything I knew about world music – he was so keen to absorb everything he could, which is an absolutely fantastic attitude to have!!

What would you recommend students do beyond practising their instrument/voice and rehearsing?  Learn to use your time well. And be on time for things. The music profession, especially the session world, is very highly time-constrained, and being on time is a central part of your professionalism and a really good habit to get into early. So much is about taking responsibility for yourself, being respectful to others, and learning to discuss any issues – musical or otherwise – calmly and professionally as well.

My website is here : Shirley Smart

Thank you very much and good luck with your forthcoming projects!

 

Workshop on Interrogating Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Music: BAME routes into and through Higher Education

On 28th May 2019, City hosted a workshop on ‘Interrogating Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Music: BAME routes into and through Higher Education’.

The event was co-organised by the Royal Musical Association, the National Association for Music in Higher Education and the British Forum for Ethnomusicology, and is one of a number of recent initiatives aimed at addressing issues of equality, equity and diversity in University Music Departments and conservatoires, with a particular focus on BAME under-representation.

The afternoon was attended by about 30 delegates, with representatives from Music HE institutions and the wider music industry, including organisations such as the Musicians’ Union, Live Music Now, the Incorporated Society of Musicians, Sound and Music, London Music Masters, Chineke! Foundation and The Third Orchestra.

The discussion was very wide ranging and covered a number of areas from pre-university to academic careers. Ideas and recommendations coming out of the workshop will be taken forward to a larger event to be held in the autumn.

The event was linked to the Department’s 2019 Distinguished Lecture, which followed in the evening, on the topic of diversity in British Orchestras and delivered by Chi-chi Nwanoku, OBE.

The work of Michael Finnissy: 2019 Book Launch at City

by Chloe Davey, BMus Year 2

The evening of Wednesday 26th June 2019 saw an exciting new book launch, and a celebration of the work of British composer Michael Finnissy, with the added honour of having Finnissy himself in attendance. The launch involved talks by those who contributed to the book, along with outstanding performances of some of Finnissy’s works.

The book, titled Critical Perspectives on Michael Finnissy: Bright Futures, Dark Pasts, was edited by City’s Head of Performance Dr Ian Pace, along with composer and musicologist Dr Nigel McBride. It consists of chapters written by several performers, musicologists and composers (many of whom were in attendance at the event), all portraying their perspectives on Finnissy’s complex and contemporary work.

The music began with Philip Thomas’ performance of Finnissy’s First Political Agenda, and the concert consisted of several other performances of Finnissy’s works, including Chi mei ricercari for cello and piano, played by Neil Heyde and Zubin Kanga. The works of Chris Newman also featured, and were performed by Lauren Redhead.

Philip Thomas

With Michael Finnissy present at the concert, a world premiere took place of his new 2019 work, Fourth Political Agenda. This was performed by Finnissy himself, along with Ian Pace and Philip Thomas.

Michael Finnissy

Lauren Redhead

Dr Ian Pace closed the evening’s performances with Finnissy’s highly complex Piano Concerto No.4; the exceptional performance had audience members standing in applause.

Ian Pace

The evening as a whole was an excellent opportunity to launch the new book and acknowledge the commitment of the book’s contributors, as well as celebrating the work of Michael Finnissy in his presence. Many thanks to Leo Chadburn, Ian Pace, Laudan Nooshin and many more for making the event possible!

Some of the book’s contributors.

Again & Again: Musical Repetition in Aesthetics, Analysis and Experience

Andrew Simmons, Music PhD Student

City Music department recently played host to an international conference investigating the wide-ranging topic of musical repetition. The two-day event, which took place in the last week of April (25–26th) was conceived, organised, and expertly choreographed by the department’s very own Christine Dysers. Christine, who is currently in the final stages of her PhD project, brought together academics from such far-flung universities as Louisiana State University, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and Melbourne University with the aim of stimulating a broad, interdisciplinary conversation about musical repetition at both local and global levels.

 

Many of the City Music staff kindly chaired sessions, sifted through abstracts (of which there was an overwhelming number), coordinated Skype presentations, and generally helped to ensure the smooth running of the event. Attendees praised it as ‘the first conference I’ve been to that actually ran to schedule!’

Highlights of the conference included keynote presentations by Professor Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis (University of Arkansas) and Professor Tilman Baumgärtel (Hochschule Mainz), a lunchtime recital by pianist Mark Knoop, and evening concerts by the City Pierrot Ensemble and Explore Ensemble.

Congratulations go out to Christine and the Music staff for organising such a wonderful conference!

See full details of the conference here: https://againandagain.london/

 

.   

City Chamber Choir Trip to Paris, April 2019

by Iona Mitchell, BMus Year 1

On the 15th April, a small group from City’s Chamber Choir travelled to Paris to participate in a concert of joint choirs. The choirs came from all over Europe, including Belgium, Paris, and the UK.

The piece was the Schubert Mass No.6 in in E-flat major (D.950) and was performed as part of the Festival De Printemps PSL. The concert was held in the Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne which was so beautiful and made the five soloists sounded incredible.

Overall the concert were great fun and an amazing experience to be surrounded by other great singers and to be led by such an enthusiastic conductor.

Thanks to Alex Lingas and Jacob Collins for running the rehearsals and preparing us, and to Alex for accompanying us to Paris!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can watch a clip from the concert here:

[Festival PSL] ✨Souvenir du concert de mardi 16 avril au Grand Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne avec les chœurs invités de Cambridge, Londres et Namur 🗣 : la Messe en mi bémol majeur de Schubert a résonné en direction de Notre Dame de Paris, à quelques mètres de là, 🎼 précédée du double Concerto pour alto et clarinette de Max Bruch avec l'Ensemble CONTRASTE 🎻🌼🌸 Le Festival de Printemps PSL a pris fin hier soir avec deux concerts : l'ensemble vocal I Dodici (Cambridge) à l'École normale supérieure – PSL et le chœur de clarinettes de l'IMEP Institut Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie à la chapelle du Lycée Henri-IV. 🎉Merci à tous de votre venue et de votre participation au succès de cette 4° édition du Festival💃📆 En attendant le printemps prochain, vous avez rendez-vous avec l'OCPSL, Ravel, Anthiome, Poulenc et Vincent Warnier, le 13 juin en la Cathédrale de Saint-Louis-des-Invalides.🎥🎞 merci à Jean-Luc Votano pour la vidéo

Posted by Orchestre et Chœur Paris Sciences et Lettres on Thursday, 18 April 2019

 

Interview with Jazz and Improvisation Ensemble Leader, Shirley Smart

Thanks for joining us today, Shirley. Could you start by telling us something about your current performance projects?

Sure. I am currently performing with my trio/quartet, with whom I recently released my first album, ‘Long Story Short’. We have quite a few performances this year, and hopefully a tour next spring. I’m also writing material for my next album, although that may take a while to be ready for performance! Long Story Short is available here: Long Story Short

Other projects which I lead/co-lead are a duo with reeds player James Arben – this is a freely improvised project, mostly as a duo, but sometimes with guests. We have recorded quite a bit of music recently, so may well release an EP or an album with that.

An extension of that project is a quintet, which adds pianist Alexander Hawkins, drummer Jon Scott and bassist Liran Donin. We gave our first gig recently and we all felt it worked, and there will be more coming with that project soon. A freely improvised group is so dependant on implicit understanding and trust between the musicians, so we were all very happy that this worked.

I also have a jazz string trio with violinists Matt Holborn and Richard Jones. This is a relatively new project that we have been trying to put together for about 2 years.The three of us felt that string players in jazz often get overlooked. Matt and Rich are both amazing jazz violinists, but also very different players so it’s an interesting balance.

Another group I play in is Issie Barratt’s band Interchange, which is an all-female dectet that she founded in 2016, in order to address the imbalance of gender in the jazz world. We were all commissioned to write a work for the group, and the album ‘Donna’s Secret’ is due for release later this year.

My final, and one of my favourite bands ever, is the trio ‘Sawa’, with vocalist Alya Al-Sultani and pianist Clemens Poetzch. This was founded in about 2015, and is a unique synthesis of Iraqi folk music, jazz, chamber music and free improvisation. As Clemens lives in Germany, we don’t get to play together that often, but I love it when we do! Our EP is here : Sawa EP

What is the most exciting country/venue/space that you have played at?

I suppose, having lived in Jerusalem for 10 years, that would have to count in its entirety as the most exciting (and challenging) place to have existed musically in. It was incredibly fertile and I was involved in all sorts of things, from jazz to classical Arabic and Turkish music, all of which inform my musical activities now.

What is the highlight of your teaching career so far?

It’s difficult to pin-point one particular thing, as I get different things out of different contexts, and they all present different challenges! I really enjoy teaching at the RCM Junior Department, where I do a lot of improvisation work, since this is very marginalised in classical education – although I think it is better than it was 15 or so years ago.

A couple of particular highlights were a workshop I gave for Jazzlines in Birmingham a few years ago – the students were so keen and eager to learn! We worked on a North African tune completely by ear, and performed it at the end of the session in the Symphony Hall Foyer. The group included Xhosa Cole, who recently won the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year. He came up at the end and extracted a list of everything I knew about world music – he was so keen to absorb everything he could, which is an absolutely fantastic attitude to have!!

I also had Jacob Collier in some of my improvisation classes at the Royal College of Music when he was about 14, and I remember him turning a large metal cupboard into a drum kit for one lesson! He has the type of mind and creative ability that was always going to flourish, but it was an interesting experience to see it that young, and watch it in action.

 If you could give one piece of advice  to music students, what would it be?

Learn to use your time well!! And always try to be specific about what you are practising, and what needs working on. Reserve some time for developmental work, which can take time, rather than only learning stuff for upcoming gigs. I guess that’s 2 pieces – but never mind!

What would you recommend students do beyond practising their instrument/voice and rehearsing?

Again, learn to use your time well. And be on time for things. The music profession, especially the session world, is very highly time-constrained, and being on time is a central part of your professionalism and a really good habit to get into early. So much is about taking responsibility for yourself, being respectful to others, and learning to discuss any issues – musical or otherwise – calmly and professionally as well.

How has the music world changed since you were a student?

This is a huge question, as things are very different in different parts of the music world. I think in many ways the creative scene has become more open. There’s a recognised renaissance of British Jazz, and some really exciting bands around, as well as some really interesting cross-over-y type projects. Also, the development of the technological side of things – sites like YouTube have increased access to music and made releasing videos much easier.

I don’t want to get into the impact of streaming and so forth, although that’s definitely a topic worth discussing, and any students who are making and releasing their own music should absolutely be aware of the models of companies like Spotify, which is terrible for independent artists, although it’s also a really useful resource. Bandcamp is much better for musicians, as most of the revenue from sales actually goes to the bands, so I now try and make sure that as many people as possible know this. People tend to buy music from iTunes or other sites because it is easy and familiar, but it’s awful for musicians as the artist gets something like 3% of the revenue – as opposed to 85% from Bandcamp. This is a big change since I was a student.

My website is here : Shirley Smart

Meet our Instrumental Teachers: 10 Minutes with Richard Uttley

The third in our series of interviews with visiting instrumental and vocal teachers at City features pianist Richard Uttley.

Many thanks for joining us, Richard. Could you start by telling our students something about your current performance projects?

One unusual project I’m particularly enjoying at the moment is playing Erik Satie’s ‘Entr’acte’ music from his ballet Relâche, which was written to accompany a silent film by René Clair. I’m playing it in the piano duet version with my friend and collaborator Kate Whitley, and we’re performing it live with the film. We spent a long time experimenting to work out how we could bring out as much subtle detail in the timing between the music and visuals as possible; it was a labour of love but that makes it so enjoyable for us to share the result with audiences. As well as being a pianist, Kate is also a composer and she’s writing me a piece that I’ll premiere in a recital at City this spring. Other things I’ve got on the go this season include the Gershwin Piano Concerto, which I learnt over summer and played in the Queen Elizabeth Hall recently, and  a cycle of all ten Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin for a tour in Scotland next month.

What is the most exciting country you’ve played in?   I’ve toured in China several times in recent years, and have given recitals in over twenty cities there. I didn’t get to spend a long time in any of them, but to play and travel in a totally different culture was a great experience and one I feel very lucky to have had through music.

What is the most memorable concert or other musical event that you have attended?   It was a concert at LSO St Luke’s (just round the corner from City, in fact) that was part of a Barbican festival in 2007 focussed on the music of Thomas Adès. I wasn’t living in London at the time but made a special trip to attend this concert as I was obsessed with Adès’s music back then. The concert included, amongst other things, the composer himself playing his mesmerising Traced Overhead (I had no idea until then what an incredible pianist as well as composer Adès is), and a very starry Les Noces, with Peter Donohoe, Rolf Hind and Katia and Marielle Labèque on the four pianos and an amazing group of Russian singers called the Pokrovsky Ensemble. If I could go back in time to hear concerts again I’d go to that one every week!

What is the highlight of your music teaching career so far?   I started teaching when I moved to London in 2008 and I still have one of my very first pupils, who was a complete beginner when I began working with him. He’s still young but now an excellent pianist and fine musician with genuine curiosity for music of many kinds. Not a highlight in the sense of a one-off event, but I consider this a real achievement.

What was the most important thing you learnt from your own teachers?   How to control sound at the piano, and why that’s so important.

If you could give one piece of advice to music students, what would it be?   Listen to lots of music, and go to concerts. I learnt a huge amount from going to as much as I could while I was a student (and still do in fact), and even from page turning for other pianists! I think there was a time, in generations gone by, when everyone knew a lot of classical music simply because it was what was played at home and was talked about with knowledge and enthusiasm by many people. Unfortunately, today it’s much more likely that you’re going to have to find out about these things for yourself. The same rewards are there at the end of course, but you’ll probably have to be more proactive to find them.

What was the best thing about your own course when you were a student?   Individual teachers that I encountered. My analysis tutor was a PhD student at the time and I was so inspired by the way he thought about music and discussed it with us. When I got the opportunity to make my first recording I asked him to write me a piece – it was based on dance music and all my friends loved it, so it became a proper party piece for me. His name is Chris Willis and he recently scored Armando Iannucci’s film The Death of Stalin; the score’s all pastiche of 1950s music from the Soviet Union and has been winning worldwide acclaim so I’m quite chuffed to have spotted Chris’s genius early on!

What would you most recommend students do beyond practising their instrument/voice and rehearsing?   Make the most of being in London. If you come to study at City you’ll be in the heart of an incredibly vibrant city, with world class food, theatre, concerts, museums and galleries – to name but a few things – and this is a great opportunity to have experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime. Students get cheap tickets too!

Thank you!

https://soundcloud.com/richard_uttley/chris-willis-burning-up

richarduttley.com

 

Richard will be performing at City at the end of April

https://www.city.ac.uk/events/2019/april/richard-uttley

 

 

10 Minutes with Madeleine Mitchell

The second of our series of short interviews with visiting music staff at City features leading international violinist Madeleine Mitchell.

Many thanks for joining us, Madeleine. Could you start by telling us about your current performance projects.

I’ve just completed a 3-week tour of the USA which included three performances of the Brahms Double Concerto and two concerts in San Francisco – a trio concert and my recital programme ‘A Century of British Music’ ranging from Elgar and John Ireland to Grace Williams (1906-77) and a piece written for me in 1993 by Michael Nyman. In coming weeks, I’m focusing on Grace Williams’  Violin Sonata in several concerts, coinciding with the release by Naxos of my latest album of her chamber music, all premiere recordings, with my London Chamber Ensemble, recorded here in the Performance Space at City. In fact, the album release is this coming Friday at City:

 

What is the most exciting place you’ve performed in?

I’ve played in over 50 countries so there are many exciting places to choose from, including the extraordinary German Cultural Centre in Madagascar (at the invitation of the British Ambassador), the Sydney Opera House and representing the UK at a festival of British Culture in the Lincoln Center, New York just after 9/11. New York is particularly dear to my heart since I was Fulbright/ITT Fellow there years ago.

 

What is the most memorable concert or other musical event that you have attended?

I love opera, and Mozart in particular, so probably it has to be hearing Le Nozze Di Figaro for the first time, with Kiri te Kanawa’s beautiful soprano voice as the Countess, at the Royal Opera House.

 

What is the highlight of your music teaching career so far?

Devising and running Performance Seminars at the Royal College of Music, mentoring the graduate cohort of solo/ensemble instrumentalists for the last 10 years.

 

What were the most important things you learned from your own teachers?

(a) that to be a complete musician, you have to be open to the other arts

(b) that your body is your instrument

(c) as the great Jascha Heifetz put it: ‘to be a great artist you need the nerves of a bullfighter and the concentration of a buddhist monk’

 

What is the most important advice you would offer music students?

To make the most of all opportunities.

 

What was the best thing about your own course when you were a student?

I particularly enjoyed studying for a Master’s degree in Performance and Literature at the Eastman School, New York, where there were choices beyond the 1/3 in violin performance. I was able to study courses in the history of American architecture, as well as music history, chamber music, and so on.

 

What are your other major interests beyond music?

Art, poetry and travelling,

 

What would you most recommend that music students do beyond practising their instrument/voice and rehearsing?

Physical exercise, for instance, swimming, cycling, pilates, walking in the park, dancing (with earplugs!), going to museums and art galleries and other cultural events.

 

How has the music world changed your student days?

Unfortunately music education is no longer free and available to all which is a great tragedy. However, technical standards have risen and there is greater internationalism.

 

Madeleine introduces and performs excerpts from her album of chamber music by Grace Williams at 6pm on 1st March at City’s Performance Space, with a drinks reception afterwards. Reserve free tickets for the events here

Madeleine Mitchell is a leading international violinist, who has performed as soloist and chamber musician in over 50 countries, including with major orchestras. She has made many recordings, some of which have been nominated for BBC Music Awards, and has collaborated with composers including James MacMillan and Michael Nyman. As well as teaching at City, University of London, Madeleine is also a Professor at the Royal College of Music

Find our more about Madeleine’s work at: www.madeleinemitchell.com