Category Archives: Music

In the Merry Month of May

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Today is May 1st, or ‘May Day’, traditionally the first day of summer (not that you’d know it to look at the weather!!). And what better time to remind you of a few musical and entertainment events coming to campus this month to help get you in a sunny, summer mood… or at least, help take your mind off your exams!

Bank Holiday Monday (May 7th) sees the return of Freefest, the Student Union’s annual free pop festival, featuring a host of dazzling musical acts from across the country at the Student Union from noon until 6PM.

For those of a more classical bent, the University Choir will be holding its Summer Concert on Friday May 11th, featuring the premiere of a new sporting anthem, the winning entry in the University’s Choral Composition Competition, as well as performing a selection of classical and modern works (starts at 7.30PM).

On Monday 14th May (7-10PM), Speech Bubble, the Student Union free-form spoken word spectacular, returns for the third and final time this year. Don’t forget that as it’s an open mike session, you can take part too!

Finally, on Wednesday May 16th Tasmin Little (violin) and Piers Lane (piano) will be performing in concert at the Cope Auditorium (7.30PM). Internationally renowned soloists, they will be teaming up to treat the audience to a selection of Brahms, Respighi and Strauss.

For full ticket details, follow the relevant links.

See you there!

Happy St. Cecilia’s Day!

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As today (November 22nd) is Saint Cecilia’s Day – the patron saint of music who inspired such legendary composers as Henry Purcell, Benjamin Britten and George Frederic Handel to put pen to music sheet – what better time to remind you of a couple of musical events occuring at the University between now and Christmas?

On Wednesday December 7th (7.30pm) Maxim Rysanov (viola) & Ashley Wass (piano) will be playing selections from – among others –  Bach, Faure & Debussy. Recognised as one of the world’s best and most charismatic viola players, Maxim Rysanov was last year’s soloist at the BBC Last Night of the Proms, which was televised live across the globe.

On Monday 12th December (7.30pm) it’s the University Choir Christmas Concert, which this year contains an international flavour,  featuring Ariel Ramirez’s  Navidad Nuestra, a folk drama of the nativity story told in the rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America. The Choir will also perform a selection of festive songs from around the world and a sprinkling of well loved carols to sing along to, with a guest spot by the University String Orchestra.

Both events take place in the Martin Hall Theatre and full details with ticket prices can be found on the Arts at Loughborough site here.

Musical Events this Term

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The Navarra Quintet

There’s a wealth of live concerts for classical music lovers at the University’s Martin Hall Theatre this Autumn.

This Wednesday (12th October) the Navarra Quintet will be playing selections from Haydn, Britten & Beethoven. Winners of the Outstanding Young Artist Award in 2008 at the MIDEM Classique Awards in Cannes, they have gone on to perform at major festivals across Europe and Australia.

On Wednesday 16th November the London Handel Players present An Evening at the Palace of Reason – a recreation of music-making at the Court in Potsdam of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, including music by J.S. Bach and his son Carl.

And on Wednesday 7th December Maxim Rysanov & Ashley Wass will be performing a variety of French melodies on viola and piano, including work by Schumann and Dubugnon.

Further details, ticket information and performance times can be found at the University Arts site. Don’t forget that the Library has a wide range of material about every form of music from classical to rap, including a variety of CD’s in our Media Collection.

Drawn on Stone : History of the Nineteenth Century Sheet Music

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A forthcoming event at the Loughborough Public Library should prove to be of vast interest to students of music history and the art of printing, as print historian Ian Porter holds a presentation entitled Drawn on Stone : History of the Nineteenth Century Sheet Music.

In addition to his talk, Mr Porter will be displaying his collection of sheet music from the period while explaining its social significance and discussing the development of lithographic printing.

The talk is being held in the Meeting Room at the Loughborough Public Library on Thursday 9th September between 6.45PM until 7.45PM. Admission is free, but to book a place you will need to contact the Public Library on 01509 212985.

Forty Years of Festivals

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The Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival

The Glastonbury Festival, probably the most famous pop music festival in the world, ended yesterday evening, marking its fortieth birthday in the process.

Based on the site of a dairy farm six miles east of the normally sleepy Somerset town of Glastonbury,  it’s the largest open-air music and performing arts festival in the world, with a record (sorry!) 178,000 people turning up for the three-day event this year.  It encompasses not just music but also a broad spectrum of performing arts including comedy, drama and dance (and a wide variety of mud-themed entertainment when it rains!)

This year’s headline acts included Muse, Scissor Sisters, Orbital (with a guest appearence from  Dr Who star Matt Smith) and Stevie Wonder, and the last forty years have seen bands and performers from the very pinnacle of the music world, including Oasis, Paul McCartney, The Smiths, David Bowie, and… Rolf Harris.

To find out more about the Festival and its history, why not visit its website. Alternately, you can find out more via some of the databases in Metalib, including Nexis, BHI, and the music journalism resource Rock’s Backpages.

And if you want tickets for next year’s festival, you’ll have to be quick off the mark – this years’ all sold out within an hour when they went on sale earlier in April!