Course A

Music Pot-pourri

Course organiser:Denise Burrow

Presenter:Various

Coupled with reading an article about an Acoustic Engineer checking our New Town Hall makeover plus my long involvement with music in various forms prompted me to offer to organise this Music Pot-pourri. The speakers are going to present wide ranging aspects around this topic that I could not even anticipate: a feast!

6 Jun:
Dr. Reuben de Lautour, Senior Lecturer and Head of New Music on 'Inside the Note'.This lecture is about notes - one note, actually. Obviously notes are important, but why talk about only one of them? Music is usually a lot more fun if we have at least a few to play with! We think of notes as the smallest indivisible units of music - kind of like musical atoms. In fact, inside each musical note is a hidden sonic universe, which is sometimes referred to as "Microsound." This presentation will use various tools - sonic microscopes if you like - to zoom in and reveal the hidden beauty that exists within every individual musical note. We will discover why notes sound the way that they do, and what gives each note its own special character.

13 Jun:
Dr. Francis Yapp, Lecturer in Musical Culture, UC on 'The Music of Resilience.'The role of music in forging character in both individuals and society has been extolled by writers from Plato onwards. In times of trouble, including disasters, music often plays a vital role. This presentation explores the way music has helped to rebuild communities after — or during —catastrophe. From a response in music to the 1732 Naples earthquake, to the place of Shostakovich's 5th symphony under the tyranny of Stalinism, to the Port-au-Prince community’s response in song to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Dr. Yapp will explore the importance of music in building resilience.

20 Jun:
Stephen Compton, Music Technician, Lecturer School of Music, on 'Sometimes in Audio, You Have to Make Waves to Make Peace.'Stephen will discuss and demonstrate amplified sound. Why do concerts and events sound the way they do and why are some concerts so loud? Are these sound levels dangerous or just unpleasant? What influences the choices made regarding audio volume and what can be done about it?

27 Jun:
Celia Stewart, Musical Director CSM, on 'The School of Music, Past, Present and Future.'The Christchurch School of Music is a Christchurch treasure that has provided a strong foundation for Canterbury musicians for 64 years. This presentation will look at CSM's unique past, the adaptions the School has made as student needs have diversified and its hopes for the future.

4 Jul:
Assoc. Prof. Glenda Keam, Head of School of Music, on 'Creativity.'At the heart of music-making, art-making, responses to life’s challenges and all manner of ways to ‘play’, lies creativity. However, defining creativity and – in educational settings – teaching creativity is complex and problematic. Referring to statements by composers and other creators about process and the creative act, and a range of philosophical, psychological and scientific reflections on creativity at large, this talk discusses some of the approaches we may take to supporting our students’ development as creative artists and some of the inherent pitfalls and dilemmas in such an undertaking.