Music plays a vital role in all our lives, whether through shaping our identity, connecting us to friendship groups or being central to our social lives. It also offers proven benefits to our wellbeing, a role that is keenly felt at the present time.

Music is probably the artform that our student population engages with the most. Each year it is gratifying to see the range of musical interests that exist and the commitment of the student committees and passion of the participants who are involved.  The ever=expanding number of groups and societies offers students the opportunity to connect with others who share a passion for music and provide an important escape from their studies.  Every evening in term-time the Cope Auditorium is alive with the sounds of different music, from jazz to rock to classical to choral; and the music practice rooms are filled with students practicing a wide array of instruments.

The lockdown came into force just as many music groups or societies were about to hold their annual showcase event and I was very sorry that many of them were cancelled. However, we are currently working with students to try to support them in other ways during the current time. We are developing an online performance with LSU Sing, who are recording individual parts at home and then compiling them into one performance. LU Arts also provides students with subsidised music tuition, some of which has continued online; and we support particularly talented and dedicated students through the provision of annual music scholarships. One of the cancelled concerts was the Music Scholars’ Recital, which always showcases the rich musical talent that exists at Loughborough. However, Isobel Lawson, a geography student has kindly sent in a recording of the pieces she would have performed at that concert. Isobel has a Grade 8 in classical singing and as well as performing in numerous choral groups is an active member of Stage Society and Shakespeare Society. I am sure you will agree from listening to her perform that she was a worthy winner of the award.

The interest in how music can influence or shape our identity or that of a physical place has been researched by  Dr Allan Watson from the Department of Geography and Environment.  Radar, our commissioning programme that invites artists to engage with academic research, has worked with Allan developing projects that articulate aspects of his research. In 2017, artist and designer Can Altay was invited to develop a project for our Market Town programme and became interested in how towns are shaped by particular genres of music that originate from them. He came up with the idea of creating a space or platform to bring together musicians from across the University and town, designing a pop-up recording studio and offering free recording sessions for a month. This piece of social sculpture was booked solid and led to participants performing in the town centre and creating an album of ‘Loughborough Sounds’. The project also had a distinctive graphic identity, which helped unite a disparate range of music. Allan wrote about the project: his essay can be found here , along with some images and recordings of the music. Can then took this idea to Istanbul where he installed a new recording studio. These projects highlight the importance of music in a similar way to the ever popular and expanding placing of pianos in station concourses. This was again something that originated as an artwork by Luke Jerram and has since become a worldwide phenomenon.

Finally, to anyone connected with Loughborough, if you have never seen the 1992 documentary In Bed with Chris Needham, I would highly recommend it as a bit of lockdown watching.  It captures teenage passion for music (in this case heavy metal) via the charismatic figure of Chris Needham.

Nick Slater
Director, LU Arts