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Print versionAppointments for PhD graduates
Two recent PhD graduates of the Music Department have been appointed to keenly-contested permanent lectureships in prominent UK universities.
Dominic McHugh has been appointed Lecturer at the Music Department of the University of Sheffield. A graduate of the BA and MMus programmes at King's, Dominic was supervised by Cliff Eisen in his 2009 PhD thesis on Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady, which is currently being adapted into a book for a major academic publishing house.
Áine Sheil's appointment as Lecturer at the University of York follows posts at Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork. Also an MMus graduate, Áine's 2004 PhD thesis on the reception of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in the Weimar Republic was supervised by John Deathridge.
The Department congratulates both of them on their appointments and looks forward to their contributions to the discipline.
Further details of graduate study in the Music Department can be found in the online prospectus:
MMus Music
Music Research
Graduate Composition Programme 2011-12
In the coming academic session graduate composition students would benefit from an enhanced provision of professional workshops for the performance of their compositions and a programme of seminars and study days with the contribution of distinguished guest speakers from outside King’s.
New doctoral students together with students in their second year of research will have the opportunity to join a new round of the ‘Composers Advanced Training Programme’, an innovative programme of doctoral training in composition, which -- in addition to the traditional one-to-one supervision system -- involves group discussion both of completed compositions and work in progress, thus providing a forum for the lively exchange of artistic views and cutting-edge cultural debate.
Students currently taking part in ‘Composers Advanced Training Programme’(funded by the Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation and the Radcliffe Trust) commented:
"Regular timetabled sessions have enabled us to interact and bounce creative ideas off each other and get invaluable feedback.
As a result of these seminars there is a genuine community of composers within the department and this is set to greatly enhance the pedagogical structure, which may otherwise be lacking.
The opportunity to present music in a semi-formal way to my peers has been invaluable.
Being exposed to the work of other fellow composers, in some cases closer to the later stages of PhD research, has provided me with a clearer perspective of what is required for successful submission.
I greatly welcomed such an informal forum for criticism and sharing my research.
In analyzing each other’s music we learn about our own and come across ideas we might not have had otherwise."
All M.Mus., CAMS and doctoral students will be invited to have a work for small ensemble rehearsed at a workshop and final year doctoral composers will have the possibility of having substantial works for medium size ensemble rehearsed. In addition to several weekends and a concert with the ensemble Lontano conducted by Odaline de la Martinez (ranging from five to eleven players), we anticipate a workshop with a string quartet and another for the rehearsal of works for voice and instruments. Archival recordings of the works played on these occasions form an important part of students’ portfolios of composition.
Battle of the Big Bands
Offbeat rhythms and improvisations once filled the air of London’s clubs, when jazz music was a vital ingredient of city life. Recently, however, this energetic genre has diminished as our radio stations and clubs become dominated by pop music. The musicians of this event will revive big band jazz by taking part in this exciting competition.
Battle of the Big Bands will be taking place in Central London in Tutu’s nightclub just off the Strand. Jazz music will be brought to life by big bands from the University College London, City University, Royal Holloway, University of London and King’s College London as they each give a thirty minute set.
Adjudicating the event will be jazz composer Mike Mower, Ronnie Scott’s trumpet player Mark Armstrong and West End drummer Elliot Henshaw. You will also be able to take part in the rivalry as an additional vote will be given to the audience. Doors open at 6pm and there will be a DJ set to finish off the event by JackLNDN, a resident DJ at the London club, Fabric.
Tickets cost £10 or £5 for students with all profit going to Nordoff Robbins – a charity that transforms many lives through music therapy. To guarantee a place book your ticket at the King’s College London Students Union webpage http://www.kclsu.org/ or email kgladstonesmith@gmail.com if you have any other questions regarding this event.
• The event:
o Date: 27/03/2011
o Time: 18:00 – 23:30
o Ticket prices: £10 non-student, £5 – student
o Location: The Macadam Building, Surrey Street, Strand, London, WC2R 2NS
• Tickets are available from the King’s College London Students Union webpage http://www.kclsutickets.org/
Cliff Eisen on BBC Radio 3
Cliff Eisen's series 'A History of Mozart in a Dozen Objects', originally broadcast on BBC Radio 3, is available to download as podcasts from the BBC website.
The podcasts are available here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/mozart
Cliff Eisen's homepage
The podcasts are available here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/mozart
Cliff Eisen's homepage