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Music Blog Posts - The Open College of the Arts

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Music and Maths 4: Probability and Composition thumb

Music and Maths 4: Probability and Composition

In the last blog post we looked at how strict processes can be used in composition, taking examples mostly from minimalist composers. In this post we’ll be looking at a more open-ended type of process: probabilistic decision making. In the process music we looked at last time, each rule had a single possible interpretation, exactly […]

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Foundations Music: Resources thumb

Foundations Music: Resources

Sometimes during study we can hit a stumbling block which we can’t immediately solve by ourselves. When this happens, please don’t suffer in silence or let your studies fall by the wayside. Instead, reach out to your fellow students or your tutor if you’ve hit a brick wall and don’t know how to overcome it. […]

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Composition Competitions thumb

Composition Competitions

December sees the latest awards ceremony for the Ivors Composer Awards, celebrating new works in jazz, classical and sound art by UK based composers which have had a UK première within the last year. The Ivors is one of the largest UK competitions with one of the widest application remits and as such attracts a […]

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Solo flute quartet thumb

Solo flute quartet

In October I will be undertaking an exciting tour of new work for solo flute and electronics. The works have been created in collaboration with composers from the UK,  USA and Ireland, and each piece creates a unique sound environment with the flute placed at the centre.

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Writing on music: Research and reflection thumb

Writing on music: Research and reflection

Research is an essential part of the music degree, and appears in various guises throughout all modules. Research points, essays, listening logs etc. all require the student to engage in some kind of research. 

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In conversation with: Robin Haigh thumb

In conversation with: Robin Haigh

Robin Haigh is a composer from London. In 2017 he became one of the youngest ever recipient of a British Composer Award at the age of 24. As well as being commissioned by the UK’s most prestigious ensembles and institutions such as the LSO, Britten Sinfoniaand Sage Gateshead, he has collaborated closely with leading ensembles of his own generation including the Ligeti Quartet and The Hermes Experiment.

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OCA Music webchat: Technology, techniques and instruments thumb

OCA Music webchat: Technology, techniques and instruments

Join OCA Music tutors Carla Rees, Chris Lawry and fellow music students for an informal web chat from the comfort of your own home. The chat will start at 6.00pm on Sunday 18 August 2019 and continue ‘live’ for at least an hour and a half. The chat will also remain open after that time for follow up conversations, or for those unable to be online at that time to catch up and read. 

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Spellspheres: Part 1 thumb

Spellspheres: Part 1

I thought I would use this blog as an introduction to Spellspheres; a large series of small works I started writing in early 2019. In future blog posts, I will discuss specific works in detail, but for now I am going to discuss the overall series and what I am hoping to achieve. 

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OCA Music: Flute recordings thumb

OCA Music: Flute recordings

As part of a developing collaboration with UCA’s music department, I visited the new recording studios at the Farnham campus on 27 March. I recorded some flute music by UCA composers as part of a film music project, and, in return, was given the opportunity to use the studio facilities to record solo flute works by OCA composers. Four students responded to the call for pieces.

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OCA Music web chat: Inspirational orchestration thumb

OCA Music web chat: Inspirational orchestration

Join OCA Music tutor Chris Lawry and fellow music students for an informal web chat from the comfort of your own home. The chat will start at 6.30pm on Wednesday 29 May and continue ‘live’ for at least an hour and a half. The chat will also remain open after that time for follow up conversations, or for those unable to be online at that time to catch up and read. The chat will provide an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas, inspirations and music, to highlight best practice in critical listening and compositional skills, and to engage with the wider OCA music community.

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