On Monday, a special guest visited, Judith Weir. Seeing her music visually and listening to some of her compositions live was inspirational for me. I really enjoyed the jail folk inspired compositions played by the cello. This was because it explored many extended techniques of the instrument, something that I am very interested in. I […]
I thought the event was very inspiring. It made me think about using extended techniques in my own compositions. I very much enjoyed the King Harald Saga, it was very compelling. It told a short story of Harald Hadrada, but the message behind the piece was the futility of war. I didn’t really like the […]
Register Your Interest For Next Year’s Summer School! If this year was your first time attending the Summer School, you can now register your interest for next years programme ahead of the application period! Please do not feel discouraged to register or apply if you have already been once, for students are allowed to attend […]
To close the Summer School, the audience of parents, students and tutors witnessed performances from the World Music group. Having waited patiently all week, it was finally time for the largest group of the Summer School to unveil their cross-cultural compositions! The concert began in a similar fashion to the Vocal Music group; the students […]
“ The Judith Weir workshop session was very informative! I enjoyed listening to the pieces, and it was a great opportunity to take inspiration for future compositions of my own. Judith not only talked about her history as a composer, but also had some of her pieces played by one of the tutoring musicians at […]
Laura’s Bronze Arts Award Review As part of my Bronze Arts Award, I chose to review a workshop put on by Laura Bowler, a professional composer, musician and theatre director, for an hour and a half. The event took place within the Purcell school of music main hall on 01.08.2017. I recorded my thoughts about […]
Olivia’s Thoughts on the Week The Sound and music Summer School has been amazing. The amount of talent I’ve seen during the course of the week is phenomenal, everybody was as talented as each other and everyone was their own individual. I can’t thank enough the amazing tutors and musicians that were there throughout the […]
As part of the Jazz composition group, I have composed a small jazz piece for a sextet which I managed to finish today. I have never composed for jazz before so it was an amazing experience as I have learnt so much from the tutor group sessions and the tutorials such as different modes, chord […]
Incredible. The second group to perform on the final day were the Instrumental Group, lead by David Horne and accompanied by musicians Richard Harwood (Cello), Tom Kemp (Violin), Hannah Grayson (Flute) and Anna Hashimoto (Clarinet). The compositions presented by the students were jaw-dropping. I found myself (much like the audience) completely stunned by the intricacy […]
I’m reviewing Orphy Robinson workshop/session at the SaM summer school, which took place on Sunday 31st July 2017. I thought that the workshop was very interesting, engaging and fun as he showed us a new way of expressing our ideas and making music called conduction. I particularly enjoyed the active side of the session as […]
As part of the Jazz group, it was really nice to have a refreshing overview of the theory involved at the start of the week, such as multiple different modes, chord symbols, chord functions, and so on! This helps greatly as I had a slightly rusty understanding of it all before, but having completed the […]
The composition for screen taster session was a really useful insight into writing for short film clips under pressure. I thought that having hit points in the film notated in a part really helps with linking the music and the film, which is the most essential part of writing film music.
I’m having a great time at the SaM composition Summer School 2017 so far! I just finished writing and recording a score for a short film for solo cello. Corinna is an amazing player to just be able to pick up all of these random compositions and record them within a very short amount of […]
This is my first year at the Sound and Music Summer School and I love it! Everyone is very friendly and all the sessions are really interesting, despite sometimes being quite challenging! I am most certainly learning something new every day! My only criticism is that the taster sessions are really short, and I would […]
The SaM Summer School has been great so far! I’ve found the taster sessions most enjoyable, as we got to explore composing for different genres of music. I’ve also learnt a great deal from the workshop sessions too, as we’ve been able to associate with other musicians who play the same instruments. The musicians are […]
At the SaM Summer School, we spent the mornings of the second and third days doing taster sessions to try other types of composition! One of those was composing film music. Our task? To compose a piece of film music for a short 25 second snippet from film The Grand Budapest Hotel! We had 25 […]
I had a great time in the Film Taster Session! I am very interested in writing film music, so getting the opportunity to do this was very enjoyable! I think one of the most exciting things about this taster sessions is being able to write a piece and then have it recorded in The Purcell […]
The film’s setting of a snowy mountain gave me the idea to use harmonics and different bow positions, with large spaces of silence, to create impression of the icy atmosphere within the setting. It was very exciting to hear it performed!
In the Film Music taster session, we had 30 mins to write a short piece that would accompany a film clip. This was the first time I’d participated in such an activity, and in doing so I got to experience what it might be like to be a film composer! Aidan Goetzee, the film taster […]
The final day of the Summer School commenced with performances from the Vocal composition group, and I think it’s safe to say everyone was blown away! The majority of students within this group had never written specifically for the voice before (as in, entirely for the voice – the only other instrument used was a […]
Let me set the scene – the jazz sextet were intimately set up in a corner of the room, candlelit tables seated the students on the main floor and the stage had been converted into a raised seating area. The lights were low and the atmosphere thick, and everyone was treated to Friday night gig, […]
Woah. That was quite something. The audience has been spoilt by the quality of the Film Group’s recitals this evening! Each student had a three minute long clip that a live ensemble performed in real time to the moving image. The compositions evoked an array of emotions, each and every one receiving an enormous round […]
I found the film taster session enjoyable, however also challenging because of the limited amount of time we had to complete our compositions! We needed to consider hit-points and represent actions that occurred in the short film clip to emphasise and convey emotions that the audience would understand. For my piece, I used quiet scalic […]
I can’t believe it! We’re already on day 6 of the Summer School! I’m not quite sure how it’s gone by so fast…but there’s still so much more to come! Today is the first day of final performances, which will be from the Film and Jazz groups this evening! Everyone’s been working tremendously hard towards […]
Orphy Robinson ran a performance workshop on Sunday 30th July during the SaM Summer School. It was about the ‘Art of Conduction’ – a process in which a conductor directs a musical ensemble who are simply reacting through improvisation to his/her gestures. I didn’t know what to expect from the workshop as I’d never done […]
I am currently working on a short marimba piece as part of the world music composition group. I wrote the first couple of bars myself, but it was then passed around the room at five minute intervals, so it has actually been written by six different people. It was an interesting exercise, because the piece […]
I am writing a clarinet piece as part of my work in the world music composition group. For the basis of the piece, the entire group passed around a melody that I started, and each student added to it to create a full piece. I found this really interesting as the end product reflected the […]
The taster sessions have been both informative and challenging. The Jazz session involved modes, jazz notation and improvisation, which meant we had to think on the spot and remember the notes and patterns. The film taster was also done under time and so we had a limited period in which to compose a solo cello […]
As part of the experience at the SaM Summer School, everyone has a chance to experience a taster session with the four tutor groups other than your primary one. In the film group, I had 25 minutes to write a short piece for solo cello to accompany a film showing a dramatic scene of a […]
The taster session for the film course involved us having to score a thirty second clip from “The Grand Budapest Hotel”! We had to write a solo cello line, which I have never done before (let alone writing for the moving image). The whole experience was brand new for me, and I really enjoyed it. […]
My first experience of the SaM Summer School has been absolutely fantastic so far. Opportunities and ideas come at you from all directions, and professional players are always on hand to help and give insight into the details of writing for their instrument. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the week, and hearing […]
Before you read Sami’s thoughts on Judith’s workshop, why not read the article on her session to get some context? It’s right here! Sami: I’m reviewing Judith Weir’s workshop concert/workshop at the SAM summer school, which took place on Monday 31st July 2017. Overall, I thought the event was both very engaging and interesting. I […]
Here at the Purcell School, things have been incredibly busy for our young composers! They’ve all begun work on their final pieces (which are already sounding INCREDIBLE), and they’ve been working with the tutors in their groups to develop and realise their ideas. To end the third day, the evening workshop session was lead by […]
I have really enjoyed the taster sessions, simply because they offer us as composers the opportunity to experience different styles and methods of composing. They really broaden your knowledge and open your mind to new ideas at the start of the week! In the jazz taster sessions, we learned about improvising in various modes, alongside […]
For the second and third days of the summer school, the morning’s activities involved us partaking in hour long sessions with all of the key tutor groups. One of today’s sessions was with the Film Group, and involved writing a short piece for cello to accompany a short film. Crucial moments were identified (known as […]
I think everyone found the film taster session enjoyable but challenging! Nonetheless, it deserves to be said that the staff were incredibly supportive and useful, offering detailed advice on how we should consider writing for the given scenarios of the short film we encountered. It was a deeply commendable experience.
The film music taster sessions tested my ability to write music in a limited time frame, and I ultimately found that I could do so. It provided me with an introductory experience to writing music that mimics the movements and actions within a 30 second film clip. The initial challenge of the task pushed me […]
Our guest-lead workshop yesterday evening was delivered by none other than master of the Queen’s music, Judith Weir. The session involved Judith giving us some insight into her early years as a musician and composer, featuring live performance examples of some of her earliest works by tutors working at the Summer School. She discussed her […]
It’s been fantastic to have the opportunity to work within the musical disciplines outside of my Key Tutor Group, such as Film Music. I’ve found that these stylistically varying sessions have broadened my knowledge of how to write for specific instruments and individuals within an ensemble. When working with film, I’ve also gained an understanding […]
Composing a piece as part of the 30 minute Film Group taster session proved incredibly challenging due to both time and orchestration restraints. Nonetheless, it was a valuable learning experience that offered incredible insight into the typically stressful conditions a film composer may encounter on a day-to-day basis. What really pushed me outside my comfort […]
During my time in the film group taster session, I learnt that silence can be just as effective as music when married with moving image. Despite only being an hour long taster session, we were taught how to compliment film with music by creatively thinking of sonic metaphors to the visual that reflect what is […]
To close the first day of this year’s Sound and Music Summer School, the students received an insightful jazz improvisation session from British jazz multi-instrumentalist, Orphy Robinson. Orphy kicked off the evening by getting each student to produce a completely spontaneous vocal sound on the spot! As a collective, the results were quite profound (make […]
With the wet and rainy weather we’ve had over the last week, the plants have been growing quick and strong over the last couple of days. I’m sure that this is a good omen for the week of compositions which will grow out of the Sound and Music Summer School at the Purcell School in […]
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