Creative Events Graduate revisits the Dockyard to meet students and see our new facilities

Creative Events graduate Charlotte Lam recently returned to Kent to see the new developments and talk to staff and students about her experiences and successes and how she put her learning into practice.

Charlotte Lam (left) talks to students about her career experiences
Charlotte Lam (left) talks to students about her career experiences

Graduating in 2010 with her degree in Creative Events, Charlotte then returned to her home in Hong Kong to undertake an internship with Katemagg and was shortly snapped up by EC Square PR and Events where she was PR and Events Executive. This exciting experience gave her confidence to set up an events company called AHHA Events & Projects, where she now project manages brand launches, provides media marketing campaigns and organises products launches.

During Charlotte’s recent visit to the UK, she took some time out from her busy schedule to come and talk to students about the experiences of her studies, internship and her recent business start-up. She reflected upon working some exhausting 14-hour days during her time with EC Square PR and Events, as well as producing events for clients such as Louis Vuitton with a group of current 3rd year students.

Charlotte also told students about AHHA Events & Projects recent work in designing and producing the Junghans Store opening in Macau, as well as the 60th Anniversary celebrations for Max Factor in Hong Kong, and how she has been able to apply her education into the real world.  “One of the main parts of my job is pitching ideas to my clients. I regularly put into practice my learning from my 3rd Year Project Pitch module, but I do find I have to be a bit sharper on the costs and budgets now!” said Charlotte during an informal chat with staff and students who enjoyed her candid reflections.

Director of Studies of Creative Events, Peter Hatton said “it was fascinating to hear how Charlotte now knows every venue in Hong Kong and its suitability for client events, as well as how she has had to become a tough negotiator with suppliers and contractors. The staff here are extremely proud of her achievements”.

During her visit she was treated to a guided tour of the School’s new facilities, where she was both surprised and impressed by all the additions since her graduation in 4 years ago. The tour encompassed the new Engineering Workshop and the Smithery studios, the audio studios and the workshop as well as the Hub and the new café, all of which was new to Charlotte, as the Galvanising Shop was the only creative space when she studied here.

The changes are phenomenal and it is exciting to see so many students together here in the workshop, they have such great facilities at their fingertips” said Charlotte, “I want to come back and study here all over again!

 

 

Claudia Molitor sound installation and composition premiere performance at Bristol New Music Weekend.

School of Music and FineArt Lecturer in Music, Dr Claudia Molitor attended Colston Hall last weekend to help launch the first ever Bristol New Music Weekend during 21st-23 February.

Claudia-Molitor_Colston Hall

Claudia’s sound commission ‘I dwell in sound and sound dwells in me’ was installed and a composition was given a world premiere by string quartet  Quatuor Bozzini on Saturday, 22 February.

Bristol New Music Weekend 2014 was the inaugural event to celebrate and showcase new and experimental music on an international art arena as well as working to create opportunities for emerging regional artists, organised by Colston Hall, Arnolfini, Spike Island, St George’s Bristol and the University of Bristol.

Claudia Molitor’s sound installation was designed to take its audience on a journey through the building. The installation ran throughout the space of Colston Hall, starting in the entrance foyer, leading visitors up through the new and down among the old buildings towards the final installation of the old ticket hall. ‘I dwell in sound and sound dwells in me’ is a playful look at the uncertainties and hesitancies involved in the creative act. Both ‘Listening’ and ‘Seeing’ are explored, in an experience that takes upon the musical experience as a multi-sensory encounter.

Additionally, on Saturday, 22nd February, the string quartet Quatuor Bozzini performed a premiere of one of Claudia’s compositions at St Georges Bristol as part of its Bristol New Music residency at the University of Bristol.

Claudia-Molitor_Colston Hall Flyer

 

Bristol New Music
Claudia at Colston Hall
Quatuor Bozzini

US Percussion Trio, ‘Line Upon Line’ visit and demonstration at Kent

As part of their UK Tour, the US percussion trio Line Upon Line will be visiting Kent and are coming to the School of Music and Fine Art.

Demonstrating contemporary techniques and a commissioned repertoire in a workshop open to all Music students, Line Upon Line will be providing an evening concert on Wednesday 5th March, 2014.

h1v9_imgres1_3

Line Upon Line Workshop
12-2pm
The Engineering Workshop

Evening Concert
6pm Concert,
Galvanising Shop

 

Formed in 2009, Line Upon Line percussion is committed to seeking new ways for percussion instruments to advance contemporary music. To date, the ensemble has commissioned and premiered a dozen new works for percussion.

Special Screening of Perestroika: Reconstructed by Director Sarah Turner at the ICA, March 2nd

Sarah Turner has been invited to the ICA London for a special screening to launch the LUX DVD/BluRay of both films ‘Perestroika’ and ‘Perestroika : Reconstructed’, followed by a questions and answers session.

The screening is open to all, to be held this coming Sunday, 2nd March
at the ICA, London, Cinema 1. Hosted by Helen de Witt, British Film Institute,
Head of Cinemas. The DVD will be on sale for a special discount price of £15.

Perestroika: Reconstructed is a ghost story that combines the genres of documentary, essay film and film poem.  Part psychogeography, part dream and part environmental allegory, the film explores the process of memory: both what we forget and how we remember. Sequence one constitutes the 2009 version of the film, whilst the second sequence constructs a new framing narrative that reinterprets and reconfigures both the imagery and the experience of the first.

Limited to views from the window of the Trans-Siberian train, both sequences of Perestroika: Reconstructed conclude at Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake, contrasting experiences of terror and apocalypse with those of beauty and tranquillity, the one contaminating the other. In this uncanny return, the instability of the environment is twinned with the instability of memory.

P123_stiched_Perestroika

 

‘A ruined hotel. A lake as big as a sea. And a death, never explained but by now as momentous to us, and as engulfing, as a black hole. What begins as a travelogue with philosophical trimmings turns into a puzzle picture worthy of Resnais or Antonioni.’
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times

‘Elegantly photographed, sound- designed to precise and goose- bumping effect, this is a rare and haunting work of memory-gleaning.’
Sukdev Sandhu, The Telegraph

‘Conceived with intelligence and arresting intensity’
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

LUX Special Screening:
Sunday, 2nd March
13.30
Cinema 1, ICA London
£8-£10
LUX Publication Page
LUX Facebook Page

Book to attend the screening:
ICA, London

LUX DVD/BluRay Release:
2 Disc Dual Format DVD/Blu Ray
DVD 9 PAL Region 0/ BD 50 Region 0
Perestroika, 2009, 118 mins
Perestroika: Reconstructed 2013, 178 mins
Plus new essays by Elizabeth Cowie, Sophie Mayer, and Paul Newland
Published by LUX
Price £22 individuals / £60 institutions

Purchase the DVD/BluRay:
LUX, Artist’s Moving Image
turner-PK-Front

 

MAAST plays tribute to electroacoustic composer Bernard Parmegiani

The School of Music and Fine Art’s ‘Music and Audio Arts Sound Theatre’ (MAAST) system is set to diffuse a sequence of electroacoustic works by the legendary French composer Bernard Parmegiani as an tribute to his music, during a 3-day Festival in March 2014.

Bernard Parmegiani_MAAST Tribute Event

The School’s research-focused sound diffusion system, designed to explore spatial sound, is set to relive some of the works of the late great pioneer of electroacoustic music, Bernard Parmegiani, who passed away last November. Hosted by LCMF, the event will take over a former carpet factory, a magnificent 20,000 sq ft space in Brick Lane, London.

Parmegiani’s rich body of work, spanning nearly 50 years, stands among the most important in electroacoustic music, influencing generations of artists within the academy and beyond it.

Following the success of the School’s recent Symposium on Acoustic Ecology, the School’s MAAST innovative diffusion system, comprising more than 30 loudspeakers, will once again be showcased from Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd of March.

Curriculum Lead for Music and Audio Arts and Director of MAAST, Dr Aki Pasoulas, along with Ambrose Seddon and Diana Salazar will be diffusing Parmegiani’s music from the 1970s on Saturday 22 March.. The influential electroacoustic composers and scholars Denis Smalley and Jonty Harrison, along with Peiman Khosravi will be diffusing Parmegiani’s works on the first day of the festival, Friday 21 March; while on Sunday, the director of the renowned Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), Daniel Teruggi, will conclude the 3-day tribute festival.

We look forward to this event and encourage anyone interested in attending to book tickets online (http://lcmf.co.uk) as soon as possible, because they are selling fast We hope this gives our MAAST system another enthusiastic performance and platforms the developments we are making in spatial sound out to a wider audience.

Any SMFA students interested in volunteering for the event, please contact Dr Aki Pasoulas as soon as possible. This will be a work experience not to be missed, as you will be working alongside the most distinguished and influential composers and scholars of music and audio art today.

Bernard Parmegiani (1927-2013)
 Parmegiani initially trained as a mime, a practice he often drew on when describing his music. It was Pierre Schaeffer who, in 1961, convinced him to start composing. In Schaeffer’s musique concrète, the building blocks of composition were not notes and rests, but recordings. Pieces were created through collage and the transformation of acoustic sounds on tape. It was this technique that Parmegiani developed so expansively from the 1960s onwards.

While Parmegiani found himself at the centre of Schaeffer’s GRM, he also led a parallel career, composing for film, television, and even for Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

 

 

Piano Master Class Visit from internationally renowned pianist John Snijder

This week BMus Music students were treated to a solo piano recital, introduced by School of Music and Fine Art Lecturer, Duncan MacLeaod.

John Snijder_Feb2014_compressedJohn Snijder2_Feb2014_compressed One hour of contemporary repertoire by leader of Ives Ensemble, the Master Class was held for BMus Year 1 students, but was open to all staff and students to attend.

 

There is a regular weekly offering of ensemble and choirs for the Spring Term:

  • March 13th: Big Band Concert (with Lisa Davies) – 6pm, Galvanising Shop
  • March 19th: Canterbury Choir (with Daniel Harding)  – 6.30pm Galvanising Shop
  • April 2nd: BMus Pop Performance – 12 noon, MidKent College Theatre & Chamber Choir & CME Concert (with Sarah Dacey) – 5.30pm Galvanising Shop
  • April 8th: Jazz Choir concert (with Brigitte Beraha)- 5.30pm Galvanising Shop

Performance Bulletin Spring_PDF
Updates on School of Music and Fine Art Performance, recommended gigs and events elsewhere, Opportunities and Calls for participation, funding and ticket offers.

Back for the 3rd year… the award-winning Skills Enhancement Week

skillsenhanceweek

Skills Enhancement Week Spring Term
Running in Week 18
24th-28th February 2014

Skills Enhancement Week 2014 (pdf)

Back for the third year running, the Student Skills Enhancement Week , which won a Barabara Morris Teaching Prize for Learning Support last year, is set to be another fun and packed week of employability-based events, training sessions, talks, lectures, workshops and to close the week with a bang, the University Concert and Big Bands: Bolero! concert at the Colyer-Fergusson Building in Canterbury.

Replacing what used to be known as ‘Reading Week’, students can come along and earn ’employability points’ to help enhance skills that could lead to futher employability.

Once again, we have been very fortunate in getting some exciting and industry recognised guest speakers to give talks along with our usual mix of study skills and employability- related workshops.

  • Monday 24th February 2014 – Day 1

09:00-17:00
Pro Tools 101 (day 1)
(Bridge Wardens’ College – BWC204)

10:00-14:00
Programme  & Module Information Fair
(Engineering  Workshop – Studio 1)

13.00-14:00

Introduction  to the 51Zero Film, Video and Digital Arts Festival
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – BWC203) 


13:00-14:30

Paraphrasing  Workshop
(Drill Hall  Library – DAO15)

  • Tuesday 25th February 2014 – Day 2

09:00-17:00 Pro Tools  101 (day 2)
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – BWC204)

12:00-13:30 Mock  Assessment Centre
(Pilkington  Building – PK017)

14:00-15:00 The  Challenge Network
(Keynes  College – KLT5 – Canterbury)

  • Wednesday 26th February 2014 – Day 3

09:00-17:00 Pro Tools  110 (day 1)
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – BWC204)

13:00-14:00 Writing Well  Workshop
(Drill Hall  Library – DAO15)

14:00-17:00 Local Arts  Professional Development Workshop
(Engineering  Workshop – Studio 1)

18:30-21:00 The Annual  Stirling Lecture
(Keynes  College – KLT1 – Canterbury)

  • Thursday 27th February 2014 – Day 4

09:00-17:00 Pro Tools  110 (day 2)
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – BWC204)

13:00-14:00 Choosing a  Career
(Keynes  College – KLT5 – Canterbury)

19:00-21:00 The Annual  Bob Friend Memorial Lecture
(Pilkington  Building)

  • Friday 28th February 2014 – Day 5

09:00-17:00
Pro Tools  110 (day 3)
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – BWC204)

10:00-12:00
Programme  & Module Follow-up Surgery
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – Student Hub)

13:30-15:00
Setting Up a  Creative Business
( Engineering Workshop – Studio 1)

19:30-22:00
University  Concert and Big Bands: Bolero!
(Colyer-Fergusson  Building – Canterbury)

To book a slot email: MFAReception@kent.ac.uk or call in at Reception, The Old Surgery
Call: 01634 888 980

Pro Tools Training Events

Also running are Pro-Tools 101 and Pro-Tools 110 Certified Training Courses.

 

24th – 25th February 2014
09:00-17:00 Pro Tools 101
(Bridge Wardens’ College – BWC204) 

Pro Tools 101 is a 2 day course delivering an introduction into Avid Pro Tools 10 Digital Audio Workstation software, with hands on projects and exercises to complete. Along with teaching you are also supplied with a certified textbook to keep. At the end of the 2 days there is an optional test to take, if passed, you will receive certification as proof for completing an industry recognised course.
There is a £50 fee for this course payable via  the online store (https://store.kent.ac.uk)

26th-28th February 2014
09:00-17:00 Pro Tools  110
(Bridge  Wardens’ College – BWC204)

Pro Tools 110 is a 3 day course delivering a more detailed look at the production techniques used in Avid Pro Tools 10 Digital Audio Workstation software, with hands on projects and exercises to complete. Along with teaching you are also supplied with a certified textbook to keep. At the end of the 3 days there is an optional test to take, if passed, you will receive certification as proof for completing an industry recognised course.
There is a £75 fee for this course  payable via the online store (
https://store.kent.ac.uk)

All Music and Audio Arts Year Group students are welcome to attend

Max of 16 people for the Pro-Tools 101 and 10-12 people for Pro -Tools 110 First come, first serve basis

To book a slot email F.Walker@kent.ac.uk

Visiting Artist Talk – Benjamin Jenner

School of Music and Fine Art welcome Benjamin Jenner for a Visiting Artist Talk on 20th Feb.

Thursday 20th February, 2014   6-8pm
BridgeWardens College Lecture Theatre
Open to: All Students and Staff.

Benjamin Jenner

Benjamin’s work investigates the fabrication and construction of geometric environments. The practice outputs offer proposals or diagrammatic descriptions via drawing and painting, of a traversable space rather than one fully realized. A sophisticated play with color and surface/ground illicit ideas of the monumental and prompt a navigation through space that incorporates a range of scales, often spilling over from 2D into accompanying maquette and model.

Benjamin Jenner lives and works in London. He studied BA Fine Art at Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts London and received MFA Fine Art from the Slade. Jenner won the Red Mansion Art Prize in 2008.

Recent exhibitions include Creekside Open 2013, selected by Paul Noble, APT, London (2003), Signs of the City, UBM HQ in collaboration with Drawing Room, London (2013), Translate/Transcribe, Central House of Artist, Moscow (2011), The Invention of Painting, The Centre for Recent Drawing, London (2011).

www.benjaminjenner.co.uk

View our Visting Artist Talks web page

51zero – Film, Video and Digital Arts Festival

Design your own cinematic festival experience!

Students are invited to join the pop-up consultation event during our award-winning ‘Skills Enhancement Week’ 24-28 February.

BridgeWardens College, Historic Dockyard Chatham
Monday, 24th February 2014
1-2pm

51ZeroWhat is your favourite film?
Where is the most interesting place you can imagine watching it?

51zero is working with local communities and students to design a festival of film, video and digital arts taking place in Medway and Kent. You are invited to join us at our pop-up consultation event.

Come and find out how to get involved and contribute to the 2014 festival programme.

 

Together we will explore ideas for content, locations, venues and more…

…popcorn on us.

Download the poster  51 Zero-invite-UniKent

 

Research Seminar – ‘Performing Live in Second Life’

Research Seminar_Nicholas Cook and Justin Gagen
Performing live in Second Life
by Professor Nicholas Cook with Justin Gagen

Tuesday, February 18, 2014
6-8pm

Bridge Wardens College, BWC201

Professor Nicholas Cook will provide a general introduction to music in the virtual world Second Life in his paper ‘Performing live in Second Life’ (co-authored with Justin Gagen) which focuses on relationships between music making in Second Life and in the real world.

Concerts in Second Life typically aim to replicate the conditions of live music in real-world venues. There are however significant technological constraints on such replication. For one thing, the music is made in the real world and streamed into Second Life. For another, the variable lag that is a basic feature of Second Life means that accurate synchronisation of images, gestures, chat, and streamed sound is impossible. Based on a case study of the virtual band Redzone (of which Justin is a co-founder), we argue that the most effective way to create liveness in Second Life is not to replicate the conditions of real world performance, but rather to reconstruct liveness based on the technological affordances of virtual reality.’

View the Research Seminar webpage.

The Research Seminar event is open to all students and staff.
View the Events Calendar

Next Research Seminar on 4 March 2014:
The Sounding Image: Interactivity in Audio-Visual Video by Dr Holly Rogers