Northern Loop – a CD and iTunes release from Paul Fretwell and Ambrose Field

Senior lecturer, Dr Paul Fretwell concludes his  five-year collaborative project with  Dr Ambrose Field. Their CD, ‘Northern Loop’ is now available.

Northern Loop

Northern Loop is the final product of Paul Fretwell and Ambrose Field’s collaborative composition project, spanning five years of live performances at venues ranging from King’s Place in London, to churches in downtown New Orleans.

Field and Fretwell first started collaborating in 2004. ‘Jack Chorale’, their first piece together, is an electroacoustic work that plays with genre and expectation, bringing in regular beats, fragmented rhythms, spectral sound transformations, harmony and noise. This piece triggered a long period of exploration where they began to focus on the very small details within sounds.

Northern Loop plays out over a continuous 80 minutes, working tiny loops of audio material into a spectral tapestry where small details are brought to the fore, revealing different facets of the evolving sound textures. The work has seven movements, although these flow into one another. The component sounds were generated from studio recordings of source materials using techniques of time stretching, convolution and mutation. These processes typically result in long, continuously evolving sounds. The composers then extracted short clips from these longer files to create their loops, finding interesting timbres and melodic fragments from within the larger whole. This magnification of small spectral details forms the central technique of Northern Loop, which charts a journey from darkness to light over a carefully-planned harmonic structure.

Fretwell and Field’s describe their motivation: “We decided to pick a single structural constraint – one that is common to a variety of genres and well known – the loop. The loop, historically, has been a tool for innovation, particularly in its use by pioneering minimal composers as Steve Reich in the 1960s. The ubiquity of the loop today however is unquestionable, but we feel that its widespread use in popular culture is often unchallenged. We would like to rescue the loop from entertainment-level apps, musical “textural backgrounds” and “library background pads”, and provide, through use of that structure, a listening experience of subtlety and delicacy. The result is a kind of “self-similar”, thoroughly stripped-down minimal music, but importantly our type of structure is not algorithmically generated: this is intuitive music, assembled through aural judgment and collaborative discussion.”

Fretwell and Field’s CD Northern Loop can be heard and purchased on the Sargasso website.
Also available for download on iTunes.

Northern Loop Track List:

1. Dark Water​ ​14:41
2. ​Labyrinth​ ​06:48
3.​ ​​Plants and Pistons 05:00
4.​ ​​Tidal Life​ 14:39
5.​ ​​Expectation 09:47
6.​ ​​Renaissance Pulse 09:03
7.​ Glass Machine ​19:23

 

 

School of Music and Fine Art’s Barbara Morris Teaching Prize Success

Barbara Morris Prize benefits students in ‘Skills Enhancement Week’ – Learning Support 2013.

2013 Barbara Morris winners

 

 

 

 

 
Congratulations go to Dr Paul Fretwell, Director of Learning and Teaching and Employability and Events Coordinator, Ann Howe, the School’s  joint winners of the Barbara Morris Prize for Learning Support 2013, along with the Student Support Team at the School of Arts at Canterbury, for their dedication and input into the ‘Skills Enhancement Week’ in February, 2013.

Thirteen Kent academics were recognised for their teaching excellence at a ceremony at the University’s Canterbury campus on 3 October presented by Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, University Vice-Chancellor. ‘Teaching excellence is vitally important for all students. These annual awards recognise this. I congratulate all those who have received awards this year. The projects are first rate.’

The School of Music and Fine Art’s Skills Enhancement Week took place between Monday 18th and Friday 22nd February, which replaced ‘Reading Week’, provided an invigorated forum and a focussed few days of informative and inspirational events for students to be able to enhance their skills leading to improved employability. Students were able to earn University ‘Employability Points’ by attending these events and prizes were on offer to the student who attended the most sessions and the event went on to lead to a number of student placements and internships with organisations such as Microsoft Computer Games, Zealous, Earcom Ltd and other work experience opportunities.

The team were dedicated to securing an array of industry-recognised guest speakers who provided lively talks, along with a week’s schedule of mixed study skills and employability-related workshops.  Activities such as workshops on self-employment, entrepreneurship, developing partnerships and networking spanned the five days and there were personal and professional development workshops too, where students could learn about how to build and develop their online presence and how to ‘market’ themselves, hone their CV writing skills and learn about the Year Abroad possibilities.

The judging panel were impressed with the team’s employment-focussed student support, as the Skills Enhancement Week clearly enriched the student’s experiences and provided a model which could be emulated across other the other Schools. It was also deemed an excellent example of external engagement, benefiting both students and the University through collaboration.

‘The week proved to be a great success and was even opened up to other University students to attend’ said prize winner Ann Howe. ‘It provided a great opportunity for career networking for students with external industry employers and gave students a chance to think holistically about their education, develop an awareness of skills needed for future employment and to actively build their own employability’

For full details on all the 2013 University of Kent Teaching Prize Award winners and see for more images: http://www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/news.html?view=568

 

Image caption:
Winners of the Barbara Morris Prize for Learning Support 2013 (SMFA’s  Paul Fretwell 2nd right, Ann Howe 3rd right)

Sound Art Workshop at Tate Britain

Series of workshops ‘From Landscape to Soundscape’ 

claudia_molitor_Landscape to Soundscape

School of Music and Fine Art lecturer and composer, Dr Claudia Molitor, is leading a series of workshops at the Tate Britain, Manton Studio entitled ‘From Landscape to Soundscape’ throughout November, exploring contemporary thinking around looking, listening and interpreting sound.

Workshop participants learn a variety of techniques for collecting and recording sound and use these to explore the view across the river from the historic site of Tate Britain. With professional singing tutor Natalie Raybould participants learn how to vocalise these sounds to others and contribute to the creation of a new sound piece:  A Sonic View that translates what can be seen from Tate Britain into a unique soundscape.

This course is for people with an interest in sound art, music and performance though no prior experience is necessary. Singing ability is not required, only an openness to using your voice and working collaboratively to develop and perform a new sound piece. Workshop participants will take away new listening and vocal skills, and a recording of A Sonic View performance.

For more information, view the Tate Britain courses and workshops page.

From Landscape to Soundscape
Tate Britain, Manton Studio


2–3 November
16–17 November
23 November

14.00–18.00

Read more or book a place.

Sound and Vision Expert Philip Auslander presenting in Medway

Model Release-YES

As part of his one week engagement with staff and students during Week 3, University of Kents’ ‘visiting expert’, Philip Auslander will be presenting ‘Sound and Vision: The Audio-Visual Economy of Musical Performance’ Research Seminar.

Auslander is Professor at the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, Georgia Tech, Atlanta and internationally acclaimed for his writings on gender and theatricality in popular music as well as ‘liveness’ and performance in a mediatized culture. The talk is followed by a brief live music performance at the Galvanising Shop, School of Music and Fine Arts.

Christina Lagao and David Roesner will translate some iconic pop songs into a more intimate acoustic setting under the heading “Divas Unplugged”. This will act as an interlude to a drinks reception which will offer the opportunity for more dialogue and discussion.

Date:                     14-18 October (Week3)
Location:              Galvanising Shop, Chatham Historic Dockyard, Medway
Time:                     17.00-18.30

School of Music and Fine Art exhibiting at UCAS ‘Compose Your Future’ Exhibition

compose your future

The School of Music and Fine Art staff will be exhibiting at the UCAS ‘Compose Your Future’ Exhibition at the Central Convention Complex, Manchester on Monday 7th October 2013.
All are welcome to attend, from 10.00-15.00.

Come and meet us on Stand 8 and learn more about University of Kent and our courses in Music, Popular Music, Creative Events and Music Technology. 

With over 65 exhibitors, the 9th annual event of Compose your Future exhibition focuses on performing arts and related subjects and features live performances from current students, master classes and workshops for students interested in studying music, dance, drama and other performing arts related courses at university or college.  Watch live performances, take part in workshops and demonstrations

The event is set be attended by hundreds of sixth former pupils considering Higher Education.

Entry is free, but booking is required.

Attendees can also sign up to attend a Taster Day Session at our Chatham Historic Dockyard studios on 26th October 2013.

Further information on the exhibition:

Fine Art PhD Student Premiers at London Film Festival 2013

Research Student_film festival_zabriskie-point-001

Firstly, we would like to welcome Stephen Connolly, a new Fine Art PhD Research student to Kent at the School of Music and Fine Art. Stephen brings a wealth of talent and ambition to the School and we are delighted to announce Stephen’s latest film is about to premier at the 57th London Film Festival. There is an opportunity to attend the screenings in October at the London Film Festival Experimenta strand.
Artist filmmaker Stephen Connolly’s work investigates cinema and representation through place, politics and history, he explores relationships between the subject and institutions through landscape and the notion of the ‘ensemble’ in moving image.  A Central Saint Martins Fine Art (film/video) graduate, his single screen work has been widely shown internationally since 2002. He is starting a PhD in Fine Art as a Kent 50 Scholar.

I wanted to ‘play the stranger’ with the original film. I’ve put the story to one side and concentrated on other aspects of the movie – the landscapes, the documentary footage used and the kind of material that was used as research for the work. The aim is a peek into the “spectatorial” explains Stephen Connolly.

Attend the Screenings:
There is an opportunity to attend the screenings next month at the London Film Festival
Friday 12th October at ICA Screen 1  – 6.50pm
Saturday 20th October at  BFI Southbank NFT3 – 1.15pm

For more information or to book click here.

Kents first Symposium of Acoustic Ecology November 8- 9, 2013

A new symposium to celebrate the sounds and experiences of Acoustic Ecology is set to take place in Medway, during 8-9th November.
Registration is now open for booking.

The Symposium of Acoustic Ecology investigates soundscapes as complex sounding systems that change in space and time, and shape our understanding of the surrounding world. The event is proud to be endorsed by the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE).

The event, taking place over Friday and Saturday daytime and evenings on 8-9th November, will be held at various locations around the University’s Medway campus and the Historic Dockyard, and consist of talks by keynote speakers, including a special guest speaker – all experts in their field, 2 concerts, an array of installations and Listening Rooms, culminating in a finale concert held at the stunning Slip 3, Mezzanine building at the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Acoustic Ecology is a discipline studying the relationship mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment and the Symposium is first of its kind in Medway hosted by the School of Music and Fine Art, University of Kent.

Booking and Registration:
Online Registration is open now and available through the University of Kent web-store.
Register Now to secure your place.

Tickets:
Students of University of Kent – £10
Goldsmiths College -£10
Students – £20
Non-students – £40

For more information visit:   
http://acousticecology.org.uk

Contact:  
info@AcousticEcology.org.uk  Tel: 01634 888 980

ICA Student Placements available

 A fantastic opportunity has arisen for two students to undertake a work placement at the Institute of Contemporary Arts.

ICA_logo ICA front 
Gain valuable skills within the Digital Team supporting the Head of Digital with a range of tasks within video production and digital development. We have two voluntary placements for student internships, available for 3 months for a minimum of 2 days per week. 

  • Placement 1  – Digital Development
  • Placement 2 – Video

These are quite technical roles and would require students to have a certain level of understanding of how to operate video editing software and social media outlets. However, anyone with an interest in gaining experience of working within a communications department in an arts organisation is encouraged to apply.
Both roles are subject to a 2 week probationary period.

Student placements in ICA Communications Department will involve varied tasks focused on supporting the Head of Digital in all aspects of organising and forward planning the ICA’s digital activities as required. The successful candidates will work closely with the Communications Department providing proactive and comprehensive support in all aspects of online development and office management.

All students will be working closely within their team on general administrative and office duties which will enable them to gain a thorough and practical working knowledge of a Communications Department within a public visual arts organisation, and develop skills and experiences that are complementary to your studies.  
A full job description is available on request by emailing MFAReception@kent.ac.uk

Applications:
Please send your CV and covering letter to learning@ica.org.uk
by 5pm Friday 4th October.

Please note that this is a two day per week commitment: Please contact your course convenor/ year co-ordinator if you have any concerns about how you’d manage this internship requirement alongside your course commitments.

School of Music and Fine Art – Taster Day

UKM_FA_1738
Experience university life for a day – For FREE!

Saturday 26th October 2013
10am-2pm

The School of Music and Fine Art at the University of Kent are holding taster sessions for all of our undergraduate degree programmes on Saturday 22 October 2013, 10am – 2pm. 

These sessions are free of charge and are aimed at Year 12 and 13 students (or mature applicants) who are considering applying to university to study in a related area.

The sessions provide a great opportunity to see and use our wonderful new facilities on the Historic Dockyard, to meet and work with some of our academic staff and students, and to gain first-hand experience of the courses and opportunities we offer.

We are offering taster sessions in the following areas:

  • Music
  • Creative Events
  • Music Technology
  • Popular Music
  • Fine Art

Interested?
Please email us at getcreative@kent.ac.uk to sign up and be sent further details. We welcome interest from both individual students and from schools and colleges.

If your school or college would like to organise a taster day so that your students can get a feel for university life or an insight into particular courses, please email your requirements to getcreative@kent.ac.uk Taster days are generally subject specific but we are happy to be flexible in terms of both timings and content so that we can best meet your needs.

Double shortlisting for Kent in Times Higher Education Awards

The University of Kent has been shortlisted in the two categories for which it made submissions to the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards 2013: Excellence & Innovation in the Arts and ICT Initiative of the Year.

Kent’s shortlisting for Excellence & Innovation in the Arts is based on its recent programme of development, innovation and investment in this sector. This has resulted in the University not only consolidating its existing reputation as a first-choice arts destination for students but in it also becoming an arts champion and cultural hub forCanterburyMedway and the region. Kent’s successes in this area include:

Kent’s shortlisting for ICT Initiative of the Year reflects its commitment to develop and promote a high quality learning experience through innovative teaching methods. The focus of the submission is the development and use of ‘serious games’, or immersive technologies, to enable students and child protection professionals undertaking continuing professional development to practice and discuss difficult child protection cases in safe environments.

Developed by Professor David Shemmings and Dr Jane Reeves from Kent’s Centre for Child Protection, these games combine expertise from a number of the University’s units, disciplines and academic schools, as well as external experts from organisations such as Special Branch, Kent Police, Kent County Council, Kent Probation and Child Health Services (Essex). The resulting programme is considered to be a ‘trail blazer’ for Kent and is expected to set the standard for its future distance learning courses. Feedback from students, practitioners, local authorities, children’s homes, voluntary organisations, training providers and charities has also demonstrated the need for this new style of learning tool – one that is also a far reaching and impactful ICT solution to a range of virulent social problems.

Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, the University’s Vice-Chancellor, said: ‘This is further good news for Kent in a year during which the University has been ranked among thetop 20 in the UK. It is also further recognition of Kent’s academic strengths and successes, as well as the impact it makes upon society at all levels. I congratulate all those involved in the shortlisted projects and offer them my best wishes for the awards ceremony.’

The winners of the THE Awards 2013 will be announced during a ceremony on 28 November at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.