Music and Dance at the University of Surrey - January/February 2008

Wednesday 9 January 2008

The films last approximately 35 minutes and will be shown twice with a talk about dance for camera in between. The overall timing will be around 90 minutes. Ticket holders can come for one showing or both, including the talk.

Dance made for camera is a place where choreography and screen practice reside together. Screen Dance crosses boundaries of categorisation and can be viewed as artist, film and video, avant-garde film, experimental film or contemporary dance practice.

Dance films constantly question the distinctions of what exactly is a dance film but also question what is dance? Some feature no obvious dance at all with viewers often asking ‘where is all the dancing?’ This encourages debate, repositioning of boundaries and the opening up of a whole new world of creativity. The films curated for this special showing are energetic, full of movement; they make us think about movement and what dance means to us individually. They all have a strong sense of style – in art design, costume, set, location, and character. In some films there is less focus on a traditional dancing body and more about the movement of the camera and the relationship between film and choreography.

In the main dance films are made by women, who are carving out an enclave within the male dominated film/media industry. They are interested in the choreography within the frame of the camera rather than the choreography itself.

• Wednesday 23 January at 7.30 p.m.
• Austin Pearce Lecture Theatre One, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
• Tickets £5, £3 students
• Box Office Tel: 01483 686876

Croser Hughes Chamber Music Award

This annual competition for the performance of chamber music with keyboard always attracts a high standard of entry and exciting repertoire. Guest adjudicator, Ruth Harte FRAM, senior piano professor at RAM for many years, and senior examiner for the Associated Board, has the final say at the end of a highly-charged evening of music-making. The winners and highly commended will perform at 8.00 p.m. on Friday 8 February at the United Reformed Church, Portsmouth Road, Guildford.

• Wednesday 6 February at 1.10 p.m. and 4.00 p.m.
• PATS Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
• Admission Free

Lunchtime Recital

Normally given by undergraduate and postgraduate students specialising in performance, the repertoire at these concerts is extremely varied. Take a mid-day break and hear some familiar and not so well known works.

• Wednesday 13 February at 1.10 p.m. (finishing at approximately 2.00 p.m.)
• Wednesday 20 February at 1.10 p.m. (finishing at approximately 2.00 p.m.)
• Wednesday 27 February at 1.10 p.m. (finishing at approximately 2.00 p.m.)
• PATS Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
• Admission Free

Free for All

An informal and relaxed evening which shows the enormous range of musical styles and the huge talents of the various bands and performers within the University of Surrey Department of Music and Sound Recording. We really can’t describe an evening which might include Morris dancing and folk music, cover versions or new works, experimental jazz, electronic improvisation, solo singer/songwriters…

• Wednesday 13 February at 7.30 p.m.
• PATS Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
• Admission Free

Annual Cathedral Concert – University of Surrey Symphony Orchestra and Choir

By kind permission of the Dean and Chapter.

• Mahler – Symphony No 2 in C minor, Resurrection>
• Rachel Nichols – Soprano>
• Stephanie Lewis – Mezzo-soprano
• Russell Keable – Cnductor

During his lifetime Mahler knew success as a conductor, but his creative energies erupted in symphony and song with astonishing power. Schoenberg wrote: ‘The first time I heard Mahler’s Second Symphony I was seized, especially in certain passages, with an excitement which expressed itself even physically, in the violent throbbing of my heart. And I was overwhelmed, completely overwhelmed.’

• Saturday 16 February at 7.30 p.m.
• Guildford Cathedral
• Tickets: £12 full, £10 senior citizens, £5 concessions
• Box Office Tel: 01483 686876

Joyce Dixey Composition Award

This annual concert of compositions by students of the University of Surrey Department of Music and Sound Recording is competitively performed for an award presented by the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society (MCPS). The award will be adjudicated and presented at the final on 16 April.

• Tuesday 19 February & 4 March from 3.00 p.m. – 6.00 p.m. (Preliminary)
• Wednesday 16 April at 7.00 p.m. (Final)
• PATS Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
• Admission Free

Ensembles Concert

Sometimes less is definitely more! Student conductors direct an entertaining and diverse programme of classical works for ensembles and small orchestras. A chance to hear an interesting range of works played with enthusiasm and verve. Among the works to be performed is Stravinsky Dumbarton Oaks.

• Wednesday 27 February at 7.30 p.m.
• PATS Studio One, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH
• Admission free

Media Enquiries

Peter La, Press Office at the University of Surrey, Tel: +44 (0)1483 689191, or Email mediarelations@surrey.ac.uk