Latest News
Music alumnus leads choir to victory in BBC competition
A school choir led by King’s alumnus Andrew O'Brien (MA 2004) has triumphed over hundreds of other schools to win the final of the Songs of Praise Junior School Choir of the Year Competition 2012.
Millions watched as pupils from Heath Mount School in Hertfordshire competed against two other schools in the final. The children, aged 8-13, performed the gospel song ‘Wade on the Water’ in the televised final, broadcast on the BBC at the beginning of May.
Andrew O’Brien is a professional tenor, teacher and conductor. He completed his MA in Visual and Performing Arts at Kings in 2004 under the guidance of Professor John Deathridge. After further studies at the Guildhall, he went on to tour internationally before joining Heath Mount School, where he has led the Music Department for the past three years.
Andrew said: “I have very fond memories of my time at Kings. The quality of teaching in the Department of Music both inspired me and gave me the best possible grounding on which to embark on a career as a professional tenor, teacher and conductor. My time there has engendered a love of learning, but also the wish to share my knowledge of and passion for music with the younger generation.”
The judges – former pop singer and vocal coach David Grant, ‘People’s Tenor’ Russell Watson, and conductor Suzi Digby had nothing but praise for the musicality of the children and the extraordinary bond between the Choir and their talented Musical Director.
Watch a clip of the choir singing ‘Wade on the Water’ on YouTube.
George Benjamin Appearances
In March this year, George Benjamin replaced an indisposed Pierre Boulez on a tour with Ensemble Intercontemporain which travelled to Freiburg, Brussels, Paris and Porto. The programme included works by Donatoni, Boulez and Schoenberg.
On 4 May 2012 he will make his debut with the Bavarian Symphony Orchestra in Munich, in a Musica Viva event, in works by Ligeti, Messiaen, Murail (the world premiere of his piano concerto, with Pierre-Laurent Aimard as soloist) and himself.
On 12 and 13 May 2012 George Benjamin’s music will be the subject of a retrospective at London’s South Bank Centre, part of London’s Cultural Olympiad festival.
Performers include students from the Royal Academy of Music, the London Sinfonietta and the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Collon and Benjamin himself. For further information please visit;
http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/festivals-series/jubilation-the-music-of-george-benjamin
Rob Keeley’s new CD Songs, Chimes and Dances has been released
Rob Keeley’s new CD, Songs, Chimes and Dances is now available from NMC Recordings. This recording presents a survey of Rob’s chamber works, from the Skalkottas tribute Bells of Halkis to the Satie-esque 'Gallic' of trio Oregon Moods, and features performances by a range of internationally-renowned performers.
To hear music from the CD, and to order a copy, visit the NMC website
The King's miscellany
Jane Chapman - harpsichord
7.30 PM, Monday 26 March 2012
Council Room, Strand Campus
Free entry
Inspired by The oriental miscellany, young composers from the Department of Music have devised a set of eight miniature works for harpsichordist Jane Chapman. Influenced by Indian ragas, baroque dance forms, Hindi film music, unmeasured preludes, Spanish flamenco, the santoor, Moravian folk song and more, this diverse collection reflects contemporary trends in composition, with an innovative approach to writing for the harpsichord today. Jane will also perform a thousand golden bells in the breeze by Silvina Milstein and Manoeuvring and finessing by Rob Keeley.
Miniatures by: Jean Beers, Christoforos Eleftheriadis, James Fogarty, Patrick Jones, Epifanios Koufteros, Naomi Lewis, Michaela Polakova and Matthew Sheeran.
For further details please see the Archives and Special Collections web pages.
King’s students success in Panufnik Young Composers Scheme
Three composers from the Music Department will have their music rehearsed at a workshop by the London Symphony Orchestra on 11 January, under the prestigious LSO Discovery Panufnik Young Composers Scheme.
Michael Langemann (MMus 2012) and Matt Kaner (BMus 2008) will have three-minute pieces rehearsed at the workshop at LSO St Luke’s, which forms the culmination of the year-long scheme. Both have received tutorials from Composition Director Colin Matthews, input from Composition Support Christian Mason, support from LSO players, and open access to LSO rehearsals and concerts over the year.
In addition, Ed Nesbit (currently working for his PhD with George Benjamin) was awarded a commission after participating in the Scheme in 2010, and his piece Parallels will be performed at the workshops.
Please see http://www.lso.co.uk/composing for more details and to book a free ticket to the workshops.
Call for Papers - Music and Multiculturalism in Britain: Ethnography, Empiricism and Everyday Lives
16 March 2012, St Davids Room, King's College London
Carolyn Landau (King’s College London) & Thomas Hodgson (University of Oxford) convene the above seminar.
Please email abstracts of up to 300 words for 20 minute papers, together with a short biographical statement & AV requirements, to carolyn.landau@kcl.ac.uk and thomas.hodgson@sjc.ox.ac.uk by Friday 13 January 2012. Read more
Bettina Varwig's Histories of Heinrich Schütz published this month
The book places the music of the celebrated Dresden composer Heinrich Schütz in a richly detailed tapestry of cultural, political, religious and intellectual contexts. Four key events in Schütz's career are used to explore his music's resonances with broader historical themes, providing a new kind of musicological writing that interweaves layers of historical inquiry from the seventeenth century to the present day.
The book was featured as 'music book of the month' by the Press in October.
Professor John Deathridge on BBC this week
Professor John Deathridge shall be in a feature on the BBC One Show at 7pm Monday, 31 October, about the 'Devil's Interval', which will include sequences in the King's College Chapel.
On Thursday 3 November on BBC 4, the Symphony series begins, and will air each subsequent Thursday in November. John is the Series consultant and will appear in it now and then, talking to Simon Russell Beale. He has been very involved with the series, however, writing the initial scenario and giving general advice.
Then on Saturday 5 November on Radio 3 John is doing a Building a Library on Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony from 9 to 9.45. This broadcast is meant to co-ordinate with the start of the BBC TV series the previous Thursday.
Martin Stokes appointed new King Edward Professor of Music
It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of Martin Stokes, who will become the Department’s new King Edward Professor of Music on the retirement of Professor John Deathridge. Martin will be joining the Department in September 2012. Read the full story.
News from George Benjamin and his former students
George Benjamin’s music has recently been featured in two contemporary music festivals in Europe – in “Auftakt” at Frankfurt’s Alte Oper, and at the “Klangspuren” festival in Austria. Find out all the details of his students achievements.
Premiere of Silvina Milstein’s of gold and shadows
Of gold and shadows was premiered by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group conducted by Oliver Knussen on Sunday 25 September at the CBSO Centre, Birmingham.
You can listen to Silvina talking about her experience of rehearsing of gold and shadows here. Read the full story.
New Chamber Music CD from Rob Keeley
Rob Keeley's latest CD of Chamber Music is now available from Convivium Records - beautiful performances by Rowland Sutherland and the Fidelio Trio. Listen and buy online from their website. The CD can also be found on Amazon.
World Premieres for current and former students
Four of George Benjamin's students at King’s College London will have important premieres in the next few weeks
Martin Suckling’s new song cycle will be played at the Queen Elizabeth Hall by the London Sinfonietta on May 28
Blai Soler’s new ensemble work will feature in a concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra on June 8
Edward Nesbit’s new violin concerto will be played at the Royal Festival Hall by members of the Philharmonia Orchestra on June 9
Christian Mason’s new cello piece will be performed by Jean-Guihen Queras at the Aldeburgh Festival on June 21
A pretty impressive list, I hope you agree...