Music and audio arts winter newsletter 2014

Department of Music and Audio Arts

Admissions Newsletter - Autumn 2014 Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to the Autumn Edition of the Music and Audio Arts Admissions Newsletter!

With the autumn term now in full swing here’s a quick update on the exciting activities and developments that’s happened so far this academic

New Practice Facilities & Studios Following the formal opening of our 5.2 million-pound stateof-the-art facilities, the University is continuing to invest in the Department of Music and Audio Arts. This year, we have new practice facilities with five new pianos, an audio computing suite with 20 new iMac workstations, and an acoustic rehearsal room. In addition we also have two new audio postproduction studios. These are equipped with industry-

year. We’ll continue to post updates on our

standard facilities that ensure our graduates have relevant

website (www.kent.ac.uk/smfa/music) and you can

experience preparing them for the contemporary workplace.

also find us on Facebook and Twitter @UniKentMFA so be sure to keep an eye out. In the meantime if you do have any questions or concerns please feel free to get in touch – MFAadmissions@kent.ac.uk We hope you enjoy this newsletter and have a great winter holiday.

Duncan MacLeod, Department admissions officer.

Music and Audio Arts

Masterclasses and Guest Lectures The Department of Music and Audio Arts run an active programme of guest lectures and workshops. These provide an opportunity to meet internationally renowned academics, composers and performers who are experts in their field. This term saw bass guitarist Ace from Skunk Anansie give an outstanding masterclass working with our popular music students. We have also welcomed 3rd Ear Music Production, a company that produces music and mixed media events around UK and in prominent international venues, who talked to our students about their work.

Composition workshop with guest ensemble Octandre The University of Kent recognises the importance of professional development and employability and as such has provided the opportunity for students to work with established professional ensembles. The spring term will see some of our students working closely with the London-based contemporary music ensemble Octandre [below], where they will have the opportunity to try out new material. These will then be developed into full compositions that are formally performed in the summer term as part of the School of Music and Fine Art Final Degree Show.

Performance Workshops Gabriella Swallow, our Lecturer in Cello, brought her group, Classical Kicks, to present an exciting workshop for our students. The creation of violinist and vocalist Lizzie Ball, Classical Kicks is a unique programme of classical music performance which has an exclusive quarterly residency at the world renowned Ronnie Scotts Jazz Club in Soho, London.

Department Trips

EMPLOYABILITY Here in Music and Audio Arts at the University of Kent we take pride in the fact that 96% of our graduates are in employment or further study within six months of graduation. To give our graduates the best chance to develop their employability skills, each term we have an Employability Week. During this week, we invite professional musicians and music industry specialists to talk to our students about their particular careers, offering advice and guidance and highlighting current employment opportunities.

Each year we represent a wide variety of careers, including sound design, audio programming, music production, performance, composition, music education, arts administration, community music, music for film, new media and computer games, amongst many others.

We run a series of student trips within the UK and abroad throughout the year. So far our students have enjoyed a trip to London visiting the Tate Modern and participating in a Gamelan workshop [below] at the Southbank Centre. A trip to Paris is scheduled in the new year.

Music and Audio Arts

Music Technology and Performance The introduction of our new Music Technology and Performance module gives students the opportunity to work with the latest technologies to explore live electronic music and laptop performance. Students develop a detailed awareness of this growing area of music, trying out and exploring new interactive techniques culminating in a series of live performances to an audience.

Medway Music Society The Music Society at Medway is one of the most active student union societies within the University and has won countless awards in recognition of their work providing a music activities/events at Medway. These include Big Band, Choir, Battle of the Bands and Open Mic nights as well as the ever-popular Rockaoke (Karaoke with a live band!). The Society provides excellent music making opportunities for all students in an informal and social setting and we encourage all students to signup – further information can be found on their Facebook page; https://www.facebook.com/groups/musicsocietymedway/ Pro Tools Training – Enhanced employability opportunities!

As a Pro Tools authorised training centre, the Department of Music and Audio Arts is running short courses again this year. Pro Tools 101 and Pro Tools 110 are being offered to students at a vastly reduced cost. For those students wanting to work in the music technology industry, these qualifications are an important addition to your degree.

Staff News The University of Kent prides itself on being a research-led university: staff are actively involved in external high profile projects that provide student opportunities and enrich teaching. November saw head of performance and pianist Kate Halsall [left] make her Hudderfield Contemporary Music Festival debut where she premiered a number of works for piano, ensemble and electronics featuring a new work by Lecturer Duncan MacLeod. Dr Paul Fretwell has been shortlisted for two international composition competitions and his CD Northern Loop was commercially released earlier this year. Dr Claudia Molitor’s is currently working ona new commission for the British Library and her new installation Vast Still Whiteness will premier in the Spitalfields Winter Festival in December.

New Staff Appointments The Department of Music and Audio Arts is continuing its expansion of academic and instrumental teaching staff. We’re delighted to welcome film music composer and producer Richard Lightman [right] as our new Lecturer in Popular Music. Richard has composed for a myriad of artists, films and television series and provided the sound design for a number of Hollywood films including An American Werewolf in London, Herbie Goes Bananas, Superman, Flash Gordon and Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We also welcome Ruth Goller who will be teaching bass guitar. Ruth performs regularly with leading UK bands, such as Acoustic Ladyland, Melt Yourself Down and Andreya Triana amongst others. She also writes a monthly column for Bass Guitar Magazine.

Music and Audio Arts

Scholarships This is a quick reminder that the University offers a number of Music Scholarships up to the value of £5,000, which can help towards extra instrumental/vocal tuition as well as purchasing instruments. The University’s extracurricular music department (Making Music at Kent) administers these scholarships and early application is advisable – further information can be found at www.kent.ac.uk/music/scholarships.html

Did you know?

The Medway region has a rich and diverse history of music making from the Rochester Cathedral Choir (founded in 604AD) through to the Medway Delta Bands that included groups such as the James Taylor Quartet. The music scene in Medway continues to thrive with venues such as the Tap ‘n’ Tin and Brook Theatre alongside Medway Festival of Music, Homespun Festival and Rochester Castle Concerts. Students are encouraged to get involved where possible and this year has seen a number of student bands performing at the Tap ‘n’ Tin as well as other venues, both locally and in London.

Get in touch!

If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact us: Department of Music and Audio Arts School of Music and Fine Art The Old Surgery University of Kent Chatham Historic Dockyard Kent. ME4 4TE UK tel: +44 (0)1634 888980 email: MFAadmissions@kent.ac.uk Web: www.kent.ac.uk/smfa/music Twitter: @UniKentMFA