MUSIC NEWSLETTER APRIL 2015
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We are delighted to share with you some of the exciting opportunities provided by the Music department here at the University of Manchester. In this newsletter, we’ve included recent news and interviews with students and staff to give a sense of student life at Manchester as we approach the end of the academic year. Our students undertake the study of music at one of the highest-rated music departments in the UK. We offer state-of-the-art music making facilities and access to the finest international scholars and composers in the field, with expert instrumental and vocal tuition supported by an enormous range of concerts by professionals and students alike. What’s more, at Manchester you’d be joining a community of students all as gifted and as passionate about music as you! A Music degree from Manchester provides excellent training for a host of careers. We have an outstanding record for producing top-level professionals in a wide range of fields, as well as a proud tradition of nurturing some of the country’s leading musical talent. We very much hope to welcome you to Manchester in September. We extend our best wishes to you for success in your studies and summer exams.
Roddy Hawkins Lecturer in Music
Anne Hyland Lecturer in Music Theory & Analysis
1 CONTENTS The Student Perspective
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Alumni Testimonials
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Interview with Dr Anne Hyland
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Concerts and the Arts in Manchester
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Studying Here
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Contact Us
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The Student Perspective By the end of the second year, most students have worked out where their strengths lie and what options they wish to specialise in during the third year, as well as making plans for life after graduation.
Ellie hadn’t conducted before arriving at Manchester; along with composition, it’s shaped her future.
What are you working on right now? “I am currently working on my final composition which is a piece for seven upper voices and tubular bells. I'm also preparing scores to conduct in the Estival concerts and the tours (orchestral and choral).” What is the most exciting and nerve-racking thing about this final part of the year? “The fact that all of this work counts for such a large part of my overall degree grade. Plus the idea of going out into the real world in a few months time!”
3 What are your plans for the six months after graduation? Have you anything lined up for the next year or more? “Next year I'm taking up the post of Musical Director for Hallam Choral Society and am hoping to find more work as a conductor in the area. I'll also apply for a Masters course in conducting for the following year.” How has your degree and your time at the University of Manchester helped you towards these next steps? “I began conducting at the University and the opportunities and tuition I have had here to develop my skills have been unparalleled. I am so grateful for the experience.”
What memories will you cherish most from your time in the Music department? “The concerts: in particular, the MUMS Opera 2015 Handel's Acis and Galatea and the performance of Mozart's Requiem. I will miss the fun and friendly atmosphere in the department too.” What will you miss the most once you graduate? “Being around such talented musicians and friendly faces on a daily basis. Having the opportunity to work with all of the ensembles in the department as a conductor.” What will you miss the least?! “Essays!”
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The Student Perspective
Some students, though, can’t get enough of essays! Beth has explored a range of topics during her third year, and is set for a career in business following graduation. What are you working on right now? “I'm doing my dissertation on arts council and central government-led counter-terrorism strategies involving the arts, another essay on Wagner's influence on Irish literature around 1900 and another on the relevance of Adorno's aesthetics today. I'll also have some Spanish exams next month and an advanced study Verdi exam.” What is the most exciting and nerve-racking thing about this final part of the year? “A lot of the work seems to have built up quite quickly and most of my grade depends on the work I do in the next 5 weeks.” What are your plans for the six months after graduation? Have you anything lined up for the next year or more? “First I'll be teaching in Spain for 3 weeks and then working for a charity called NCS with young people. In October I start a 3 year graduate trainee scheme with accountancy firm KPMG in the deal advisory division, which involves advising businesses on mergers, insolvencies and other major transactions.”
How has your degree and your time at the University of Manchester helped you towards these next steps? “I've been a member of the trading and investment society and have studied Spanish as part of my course.” What memories will you cherish most from your time in the Music department? “I've made lots of lovely friends who I'm going to maintain contact with after graduation- though there are a few socials I'd rather forget!” What will you miss the most once you graduate? “The fact that a lot of my work can be done from home.” What will you miss the least?! “Staying up late to get things done at busy times!”
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The Student Perspective
James is a singer on the ‘joint-course’ programme. He is just about to finish the MusB with us before completing the last year of his GRNCM at the Royal Northern College of Music. What are you working on right now? I’m currently working hard on my dissertation on the relationship between Freudian Psychoanalysis, Sexuality and Schoenberg’s monodrama Erwartung. I’ve also got my final recital coming up at the RNCM and my exams to study for (Aesthetics and Wagner in European Thought and Culture) so at the moment, there is hardly a moment’s rest!
What is the most exciting and nerve-racking thing about this final part of the year? Without a doubt the most exciting part has been the fact that the lecturers largely give free reign as to how we interpret the questions. This has led me to write some intellectually stimulating essays and get to grips with some of the really dense and seminal musicological literature. Of course, one of the most nerve-racking times has been getting back essays that I have taken a risk on - thankfully so far, it’s paid off!
What are your plans for the six months after graduation? Have you anything lined up for the next year or more? At the moment I have to make a choice as to what postgraduate course I do next year. I currently have offers for the MPhil in musicology courses at Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge. I also have an offer from the London School of Economics for a diploma in accountancy and finance. To be honest, I am just getting through the year and then making up my mind. I’m sure the choice will become clear.
How has your degree and your time at the University of Manchester helped you towards these next steps? Without the academic rigour and breadth of the Manchester Music Degree program and the high regard in which both it, and its lecturers are held, I would not have such an abundance of options for next year. Being on the Joint Course with RNCM has also enabled me to (attempt to) perfect my time management skills and diplomacy (and of course my singing!). Having been on the joint course, I feel very well prepared for either further study, or indeed, working life. What memories will you cherish most from your time in the Music department? Without a doubt the most fun I have had has been sparring in lectures with both students and lecturers alike. If the university has taught me anything, it’s that there are numerous ‘right’ points of view - as long as you feel ready to defend it! I feel that the course actively encourages alternate ways of thinking and that even the lecturers are willing to be swayed if you can make a strong enough case for your hypothesis. What will you miss the most once you graduate? Manchester. It really is the perfect student city. I felt unsure coming to such a big city to study (even though I come from London) as I had always imagined I would end up at a campus university. In reality, the city is exactly what you make of it. With some of the best live music performances on every week, some fantastic bars (which unlike London, we can afford to visit every now and again) and a student infrastructure second to none, there really is nothing more you could ask of your place of study. What will you miss the least?! The rain! Bring a decent coat - it’s too windy for an umbrella! [We’ve just had a (not uncommon!) week of glorious sunshine – Ed.]
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Alumni Testimonials “My course exposed me to an incredibly wide range of music, which really opened my eyes (and ears) to what was out there. I had A LOT of performance opportunities, which was a big bonus. Perhaps most importantly, the department provided me with a safe, supportive environment where I felt I had the space to spread my musical wings and really work out where I was heading musically. Invaluable.” Marcus Farnsworth (MusB, 2005): Baritone; awarded first prize in the 2009 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition, and the Song Prize in the 2011 Ferrier Competition. “The conducting opportunities at The University of Manchester are unrivalled anywhere else in the UK – the chance to have so much contact time with ensembles with the guidance of expert teaching is fundamental to developing skills required to stand in front of musicians with confidence.” Jamie Phillips (Joint Course, 2012/2013): Associate Conductor, Hallé Orchestra; Music Director, Birmingham Festival Orchestra.
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“The core skills in research, writing, attention to detail and organisation have been the most helpful aspects from my time at Manchester. Second to this is the can-do attitude that was instilled from such a vibrant, supportive and busy environment in Manchester’s Music department. Working hard and having ambition are qualities that all the staff and the students at Manchester cultivate and share.� Holly Hunter (MusB, 2009): Voicelab Manager, Southbank Centre, London
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Interview with Dr Anne Hyland Anne Hyland is Lecturer in Music Theory & Analysis. She arrived with us in September 2014. What did you do before Manchester? “Before joining Manchester, I held a lectureship at Royal Holloway, University of London, and before that, at Trinity College, Dublin.” What’s been your most enjoyable teaching experience this year? “Teaching Schenkerian theory to a group of brilliant (and sometimes bemused!) second-years.”
What research are you working on at the moment?
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“I'm currently working on a video project for the Society for Music Analysis which aims to bring music analysis to vast numbers of people via the web. My talk explores how music analysis can aid our understanding of the ways by which music shapes our perception of time.” Why Manchester? “Manchester's music department is lively and challenging, and its academic staff are creating some of the most exciting new research and composition.”
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Concerts and the Arts in Manchester Our amazing string quartet in residence, Quatuor Danel, has been working with staff and student composers this April, with the recent launch of the CD ‘New Music Manchester’. We’re really excited because they’ve just signed a new contract with the University which means they’ll be performing at the Martin Harris Centre and working with us all for another five years! As we look to the summer, culture vultures from across the world are looking forward to the biennial Manchester International Festival. There’s a new opera by Damon Albarn, a Bjӧrk spectacle, a ballet score by Jamie XX, a new opera by young British composer Mark Simpson, as well as a sound installation to be held at the University’s Whitworth Art Gallery, created by Arvo Pärt and artist Gerhard Richter.
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Estival and MUMS Once the formalities of exams are out of the way, June sees the Music Society (MUMS) stage Estival, Manchester’s largest annual festival of classical music. The new Estival website will be launched very soon. Follow MUMS on Twitter. MUMS recently held elections for next year’s committee, and they’re already busy making plans for 2015-16!
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Studying Here The MusB is a dynamic, well-established and highly regarded three-year course which admits students of a high calibre. It can also be studied in full as part of the renowned ‘Joint Course’, a four-year programme run with the RNCM. We also run the BA in Music and Drama, which enables students to make the most of everything that happens in the University’s Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama. The Music department provides excellence in musicology and ethnomusicology, composition, and performance.
15 The flexibility of our courses enable you to develop existing interests while discovering something new and revelatory. Regular updates in the course content reflect the latest research in music scholarship. Our internationally recognised academics, together with our roster of professional instrumental and vocal tutors, provide the platform for excellence in both practical music making and academic study. For details of individual course units, visit the website.
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CONTACT US ug-music@manchester.ac.uk Undergraduate Admissions Office School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Room A19, Samuel Alexander Building The University of Manchester Oxford Road Manchester M13 9PT United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)161 275 4987