To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.
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Composing music is hard. Actually, I believe that if you start to find composition easy, it may be likely you are taking shortcuts, and missing opportunities to develop as an artist. Composing music should be hard. Over the last couple of years, however, I have found a way of making the process of writing music seem a little less intimidating.
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Join OCA tutor Desmond Clarke on the 18 November to see the Chimera Ensemble in concert at the University of York.
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On 11 June, I took a group of enthusiastic OCA students to a Gamelan workshop at the South Bank Centre in London. This was a hands-on workshop, where we were able to try the instruments and rehearse a piece of music…
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A news item from this week probably quietly slipped past most people, announcing the death of soprano Marni Nixon. For those unaware of her body of work, I can assure you that you most probably have enjoyed the fruits of her labour at some point, and perhaps without even knowing it!
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Whilst preparing a piece for the recent Composition Workshop, Jerry Mayle decided to pursue a slightly different path than what was originally called for. Jerry asked tutor Andy Glover-Whitley in advance about the possibility of making changes and he got more than he bargained for in the process…
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We are pleased to announce a new addition to our foundations suite of courses: Foundations Music.
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One of the most fulfilling experiences available to composers is the opportunity to collaborate with designers of new musical instruments, composing new music to practically test their characteristics and to help develop the instruments and repertoire further. The processes involved with research and development are as beneficial to the composer as they are to the […]
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During a recent conversation with colleagues, chatting about compositional process, it dawned on me that as creators we all have very unique and personal ways of working. Whilst finding a comfortable and productive creative method is a great benefit, it is perhaps all too easy to slip into continually using the same approach and potentially […]
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As many composition tutors will tell you, the key to developing properly as a composer is to be able to hear the music you are writing. This presents the distance learning student with a particular problem, namely, where to find performers. Students, writing for instruments they don’t play, have to be able to network in […]
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This post features music composed by Edinburgh based music student Jamie Dunnett. He writes as follows. “Night Music was written specifically for OCA tutor and professional flautist Carla Rees to play at the composition workshop in November 2011. The brief was to write a piece, up to 3 minutes long, for unaccompanied flute. “The workshop […]
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