Free Classical Music Library Download - Vaughan Williams

Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis This week's free download from Classical Music Library is Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Christopher Seaman, conductor. More information about this piece is available on their music blog.

Turning academic ideas into business

Turning Academic Ideas into Business by Neil Harris - the latest career posting from jobs.ac.uk.

Glasgow City Read - free copy of Edwin Morgan Poems

More from the Aye Write! Festival:-

The Glasgow City Read 2008 - pick up your copy from any Glasgow public library!

"Following the success of last year's Small Island Read, we once again invite the whole city to share in a mass-reading experience by visiting any Glasgow library and picking up a free copy of this year's choice - From Saturn to Glasgow: fifty favourite poems by Edwin Morgan. The City Read is open to everyone - adults, children, students, pupils and teachers can all take part and a series of poetry themed events, readings and workshops will be on offer in the run up to Aye Write! We hope to make this year the most successful yet, with people all over the city reading and talking about the book and getting involved in all that's on offer, so pick up your free copy and join in."

Logo reproduced by kind permission of the Aye Write! Festival

The 39 steps: Neil Cooper talks to Maria Aitken

In The Herald today (26th February), Neil Cooper interviews veteran actress Maria Aitken, who is director of "The 39 steps", at Glasgow's Theatre Royal and Edinburgh's King's Theatre. This is Patrick Barlow's adaptation of the original John Buchan novel.

Glasgow Music Festival

If you're not taking part yourself, you probably have a sister, cousin, pupil or neighbour who is involved in this major musicfest. Visit the website, and support musicians of all ages and stages. The sheer amount of organisation involved in making this happen is impressive. Anyone for a career in arts administration ...?

Aye Write! Festival Friday 7th - Sat 15th March

If you're in Glasgow and you're interested in the written word, then the Aye Write! festival is a must. Visit the website to see what's on, and you're sure to find something that appeals.

FifeSing 2008

Pete Shepheard has just advised us of the details for this year's FifeSing. To quote his own words:- "FifeSing2008: The Fife Traditional Singing Weekend Friday 16 May, Saturday 17 May and Sunday 18 May at the Fife Animal Park, Birnie, Collessie, Fife Full programme details are now online at: http://www.springthyme.co.uk/fifesing You can also download a pdf file of the brochure: http://www.springthyme.co.uk/fifesing/brochure.pdf "

Popular music : the age of multimedia

... by Andrew Blake, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of East London. New book in the Whittaker Library. The blurb begins, "Is there too much music?", and looks at "the spectacular growth in the availability of music, the ways in which the traditional music industry has fought to regain its control, and the ways in which the rest of us ... use music in this age of abundance." Read the publisher's blurb here.

Multiculturalism - collection of essays

The Whittaker Library has just received a collection of essays about multiculturalism in music and dance, entitled "Music in time". (It comes from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.) Take a look in our catalogue if you'd like to see the contents of this book.

HOST UK - working with international students

HOST UK is a UK charity which works to offer hospitality to students visiting from other countries. It describes itself in this way:- "HOST UK works with international students, who are studying at UK institutions, to give them a short visit in a British home. All of our hosts are volunteers and they host because they enjoy meeting people from other cultures and places. HOST is a registered charity. More than 100 Universities and Colleges nationwide subscribe to the HOST Programme and most pay for their students to go on a HOST visit because of the value that it adds to their international students' experience of studying in Britain. Thousands of international students apply each year for a visit, sometimes several times over, and their pictures and stories, which you can see on this website, tell us how much they enjoyed their visits." Visit the website if you'd like to find out more.

Energy Saving

So, how do you save energy - short of staying in bed, that is! Think green - visit Energy Saving Secrets (.co.uk) http://www.energysavingsecrets.co.uk/ NB The Thrift Guru would welcome your suggestions. Answers on a used envelope, please ...

Cora Bissett (RSAMD alumna) directs at Oran Mor

Hephaistos, Oran Mor, Glasgow : reviewed by Shona Craven in The Herald today.

From the Arches to the Tron : Andy Arnold

Andy Arnold talks to Neil Cooper in the The Herald today.

Job applications: sending a covering letter

Once again, jobs.ac.uk comes up with an informative and helpful briefing. Visit the website here. Image from Stuart Wright's flickr photostream, with thanks.

Peter Mountain, former Head of Strings, RSAMD

Peter Mountain's autobiography has just been published and is in stock in the RSAMD Whittaker Library.

• Find out more about the book on Amazon
• Find the book in the Whittaker Library

Great Scots - film festival

Carmody Wilson writes in the Herald today about the Glasgow Film Festival, which begins this Sunday. Read the preview of the festival here.

• Glasgow Film Festival 2008 - website
• Wikipedia looks as though it needs more info about the festival. Make your contribution?

BFI Media Courses

You can search for postgraduate courses in the media industry, on the BFI website. Here is the Media Courses and Multimedia Courses Directory, for postgrad courses.

BBC Vision Design Trainee Scheme

Did you know the BBC has a Vision Design Trainee Scheme? Visit the link!

Graeae - Static, previewed

Static is a new co-production between Suspect Culture and Graeae Theatre Company 14 February – 10 May, 2008 at Glasgow Tron Theatre.

Neil Cooper talks to writer Dan Rebellato in The Herald today.

Talking about teaching music

Dr Munro has given the Whittaker Library two books of conference papers, from the Estonian Academy of Music. It's hard to make conference papers sound zippy and cool, but if you're interested in techniques of teaching, then there's probably a lot here to interest you. (Relax! The papers are printed in Estonian and English.) The Estonian Academy of Music has a department called the Institute of Interpretation Pedagogics, and these papers come from recent conferences about music pedagogy.

• Just type "Estonian Academy of Music" into our

library catalogue's search-engine.

Image by Karin Elizabeth, from Flickr

Orff Summer School

Visit www.orff.org.uk to find out about the Summer School this year:- University of Cumbria (Lancaster) 28th July - 1st August. (Especially interesting to music teachers and students on the BEd. course here at RSAMD.)

Whittaker Live User Survey

Please take a few seconds to complete our quick survey - on the sidebar to the right of this posting. Your opinion counts! Thank you.

RSAMD student Gareth Williams and Scottish Opera

Gareth is one of the five composers involved in the Scottish Opera project, "Five first nights in an hour and a quarter". Read Michael Tumelty's interview with Derek Clark today in The Herald. (Weds. 13 February 2008). All power to your elbow, Gareth!

Slave songs revived - concert at Edinburgh's Queen's Hall

'A concert inspired by slavery-related items in the [National] Library's music and manuscript collections takes place at Edinburgh's Queen's Hall on 17 April.' News from "Discovery" - the National Library of Scotland's quarterly magazine, issue 7 (Winter 2008). Find out more about this event by clicking the link. Visit the Queen's Hall homepage to find out about all their events and news.

Internet users could be banned over illegal downloads

Breaking news! See the Times Online today, 12th February 2008. Thanks to the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals for alerting us to this news.

Job opportunities for Glasgow Musicians

Rage Music, a Glasgow firm, is looking for:-

• Producers
• Composers
• Male and female vocalists for radio ads

Visit their website - contact them - who knows where it might take you?

National Review of Live Art, reviewed

TRAMWAY THEATRE Mary Brennan reviews the National Review of Live Art in The Herald, 12th February 2008. Read her review here. Image by permission of The Herald.

Knuston Hall - opportunities for leisure-based learning

The Whittaker Library has just received the April-September listing of courses and events at Knuston Hall, Northamptonshire. Visit their website to find out more. Courses are provided for all kinds of leisure pursuits - so, take up reflexology, learn about lace-making, or send your adult pupils on a music course to stretch their horizons ...

NYOS launches future stars

The National Youth Orchestra of Scotland has asked us to help promote two forthcoming gigs. Here's what they say:- "NYOS FUTURES - CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS The contemporary chamber ensemble of The National Youth Orchetsra of Scotland performs and explores Harrison Birtwistle's Secret Theatre. William Conway will conduct the ensemble in this dramatic and controversial piece and will then dissect the music with the audience allowing them to fully appreciate this work. This NYOS event promises to be a revelation as NYOS Futures unveil the secrets behind this contemporary masterpiece. STUDENT TICKETS ONLY £2 Studio Theatre, Perth Theatre Saturday 16 February 2008, 7.30pm Box office: 0845 612 6324 Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh Sunday 17 February 2008, 2.30pm Box office: 0141 332 8311" For further info, please contact NYOS via their website.

Would you emigrate to further your career?

Plenty of musicians do seek work abroad - think of the people in German orchestras, for example. So - would you emigrate? The Emigration Option by Roger Jones Thinking of moving abroad for work? This jobs.ac.uk article offers advice on finding a job and making the move. (http://go.jobs.ac.uk/link/emigration/ ) A survey by YouGov discovered that 54% of Britons would like to go and live abroad. Such a move, however, involves serious planning, and the more research you do before you go the happier your landing is likely to be.

Image by kind permission of jobs.ac.uk.

Mudcat Cafe - trad music website

The Mudcat Cafe is an American website, which traditional musicians might find useful for its digital traditional music database, and its Mudchat forum.

30 day trial to the BBC Motion Gallery

Looking for moving images in connection with your studies/ research? The Whittaker Library at RSAMD has set up a 30-day trial to the BBC Motion Gallery. (Click on the link to visit their home-page.) Highlights:-

• moving archive spanning 70 years from the BBC
• worldwide content and footage
• over 30,000 clips (250 added weekly).

As a higher education institution, RSAMD is eligible to subscribe.

We need to know if you would find it useful! RSAMD staff and students should contact Library staff (library@rsamd.ac.uk) for login details if you wish to access this trial.

Seeking work?

S1jobs.com and jobs.ac.uk are good places to start looking. Plenty of help about your job-searching and career-developing strategies, too. For example, these jobs are currently listed by S1jobs.com:- Visiting Specialist Teacher of Drama, Music, Art or PE Aberdeenshire Music Instructor (Piano/Keyboard) Stonehaven

You may also wish to look at the useful links posted to the right of this weblog.

Graeae - new production

"A story of love, loss and compilation tapes Static tells the story of a young woman who has lost her husband. Discovering a compilation tape that he made but never gave her, she becomes convinced it contains a secret message. What could the tape mean – and is he trying to communicate with her from beyond the grave? Static fuses music, dialogue, sign language and audio description to explore our complex response to love and loss. It is steeped in a love of music from Sonic Youth to The Smiths, The Ramones to The Rakes and from Girls Aloud to the Goodies (we've all got to have our guilty pleasures). Static is a new co-production between Suspect Culture and Graeae Theatre Company " 14 February – 10 May, 2008 - visit the Graeae website for further details. Information taken from Graeae website, with acknowledgements.

Music: Hebrides Ensemble, RSAMD, Glasgow

4th February - reviewed by Amy Parker: "Star rating: *** This afternoon concert at the Academy was a collaborative affair with conductor William Conway, a handful of members from the Hebrides Ensemble and students of the RSAMD's Sinfonietta..." Read the rest of the review in The Herald.

• Hebrides Ensemble website

ANKUR PRODUCTIONS forthcoming multi- cultural event

Welcome to Ankur Productions Mehfil "Mehfil (Urdu for ‘artistic gathering’) an evening of international music, poetry and storytelling. Ankur is delighted to present its second Mehfil, featuring:-

• Palestinian singer and musician Reem Kelani (accompanied by classical and jazz pianist Bruno Heinen),
• Scottish Gaelic singer Catriona Watt,
• Iranian poet and musician Vida Kashizadeh,
• Bangla-English rhythm poet and storyteller, Shamim Azad.
• Acclaimed Palestinian singer and collector of traditional songs, Reem Kelani, will headline the evening. "Reem has a voice of such power and passion that if it were one degree more intense, it would burst." (Rootsworld)

February 29th 2008. CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.Tickets: £7 (£4). Box Office: 0141 352 4900

Ankur Productions was founded in 2004 by its Artistic Director, Lalitha Rajan. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Ankur aims to create pioneering artistic work that speaks to our contemporary shared experiences, where different languages, cultures and voices collide and cross-fertilise. We work collaboratively and across art forms to produce artistic creations that attract new audiences to experience the arts."

Information quoted from Ankur website.

The Herald - local and national news

Keep your finger on the pulse - you can read The Herald online! http://www.theherald.co.uk/

Stanza : Scotland's poetry festival

Visit the StAnza website to find out more: www.stanzapoetry.org

There is a Preview event at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh: Friday 22nd February, 7.00 pm. Free admission.