Performing Musicology: call for conference papers

Performing Musicology - an RMA study day on Friday 17 June 2011 Call for papers

This study day is jointly arranged by the Royal Musical Association, City University London, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Details from the website are quoted below:-

This Study Day, to be held on Friday 17 June 2011, aims to provide a forum for research students, performers and academics to discuss issues of topical interest in Performance Studies and to find ways in which musicology and performance may be more closely intertwined. The day will consist of research papers, lecture recitals and a keynote presentation by John Rink, Professor of Musical Performance Studies at the University of Cambridge. We hope to end with a roundtable discussion, where auditors will have a chance to ask questions. The Call for Papers and registration form are available on this website. Abstracts from those wishing to present must be submitted by Tuesday 1 March 2011

Lottery fund will inject £1 million into Scottish movie industry

Read the article in The Herald today, Weds 29 December 2010.

Obituary: Jim Hastie, dancer & choreographer

Jim Hastie, Born 28 October 1936; died 17 November 2010. This obituary appeared in The Herald on Wednesday 29 December 2010.

Journeys Across Media 2011 (Conference)

Department of Film, Theatre & Television, University of Reading - Call for conference papers (deadline: Friday 30th January 2011)

SPACE IN OUR TIME:

EXPLORING THE FRONTIERS OF SCREEN AND LIVE PERFORMANCE SPACE

Journeys Across Media 2011 Friday 6th May 2011

Announcing the 9th annual international conference for postgraduate students, organized by postgraduates working in the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading. The conference "seeks to address issues of space in performance, media and wider society and instigate discussions about space across disciplines, practices and fields of research."

• Discussion forum for current and developing research in film, theatre, television and new media.
• Offers the opportunity to gain experience of presenting your work at different stages of development;
• The Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading offers an active, friendly and supportive research environment.
• This year JAM will be guest-editing the Autumn issue of Intellect’s Journal of Media Practice;
• In 2012 an associated journal to the conference will be launched, providing further opportunities for new researchers to publish their work and interact with established scholars.
• Non-presenting delegates are also very welcome.

This is a call for postgraduates engaging in contemporary discourses around space to submit papers for the JAM 2011 conference; topics may include, but are not restricted to: Cross-disciplinary/inter-disciplinary spaces National/International space; Globalisation Centrality – Marginality of/in space Gendered spaces Space and memory Critical masses (people in space) Space as a character Absence/non-place Time and Space in performance Architecture and performance Immersion and illusion in contemporary performance spaces Space in Contemporary art Ownership and accountability Ontology of space CALL FOR PAPERS Please send a 250-word abstract and a 50-word biographical note for a fifteen-minute paper to Amanda Beauchamp, Becki Hillman, Tonia Kazakopoulou, Martin O’Brien and James Rattee, at jam2011@reading.ac.uk. Proposals for practice-as-research presentations/performances are warmly invited; these have to conform to the 15-minute format. We would appreciate the distribution of this call for papers and wider promotion of this conference through your networks. Journeys Across Media is supported by the Standing Committee of University Drama Departments (SCUDD) and the Graduate School in Arts and Humanities, University of Reading.

Whittaker Bear takes control

The Student Union's mascot needed a name. And it was decided that he should be called Whittaker, after one of our first Principals.

Meet Whittaker, as he introduces himself to staff and students around the building - this is a picture of a recent Library visit.

Our esteemed Principal Whittaker.

Early English Books Online (contains music)

TRIAL OF SIGNIFICANT E-DATABASE FOR RSAMD MUSICIANS! Hmm, Early English Books Online. Maybe, like "Whittaker", you assumed that this database was – as it says – books, not music. Wrong!

“Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.”

EEBO provides URLs to some of the most significant early English printed music sources. Look at the examples I've given below. RSAMD Whittaker Library requested a trial to the database, but we only have the trial for the rest of December 2010.

• Staff and students can try the database from WITHIN the RSAMD building:- Just click on http://eebo.chadwyck.com

The Music & Academic Services Librarian urges staff and students to make the most of this trial & send her your feedback. You can see the potential value in contextual studies.

• Imagine – you’ve been asked to look at different editions of something. You manage to find the first edition of an early English piece like Purcell’s Sonatas.
• Or with a click of the mouse, you’re sitting looking at the same edition of the Plaine and Easie Guide that Morley’s peers first read. Time travel was never so much fun.

Here are some examples of what you'll find:-

• Cantiones, quae ab argumento sacrae vocantur Tallis, 1575
• A plaine and easie introduction to practicall musicke Morley, 1597
• A breefe introduction to the skill of musick Playford, 1654
• Sonnata's of III parts Purcell, 1683
• Sonatae XII pro diversis instrumentis Finger, 1688
• Deliciae musicae. Anon. Imprint: London : Printed by J. Heptinstall, for Henry Playford, 1695. An ode on the death of Mr. Henry Purcell ... Blow, 1696
• Ten sonatas Purcell, 1697
• Parte prima sonate a violino e violone o cimbalo dedicate all altezza serenissima electorale di Sofia Charlotta Corelli, 1700

BUFVC Learning on Screen Conference & Awards

Learning on Screen Conference and Awards 2011

The BUFVC Learning on Screen Conference & Awards 2011 will be held at the British Film Institute (BFI) on London’s South Bank on Thursday 24th March 2011.

This year, in a break from the traditional two-day event, the 2011 Learning on Screen Conference & Awards will take place within a one-day programme. This is in keeping with the current need to reduce costs, whilst still broadening and enhancing knowledge and teaching techniques.

• Conference themes
• Registration

Deadline extended for entries Following last week's announcement that Avid is the new sponsor of the Student Production Awards category at the Learning on Screen Awards 2011, the entry deadline for all categories has been extended. Extended entry deadline: Monday 17 January 2011 For further information, including qualifying period and information on how to enter please see Learning on Screen Awards 2011. Shortlisted entries will be showcased at the Learning on Screen Awards ceremony at the National Film Theatre (BFI Southbank), London on Thursday 24 March 2011.

Greentrax - Ian Green's autobiography launches today!

Literally just launched: Ian Green’s autobiography: ‘From Fuzz To Folk - Trax Of My Life’ Find out more - the book is being ordered for the RSAMD Whittaker Library, naturally! ----- On a different note - Greentrax would like to post tour dates of any Greentrax artists, so please do get in touch with Greentrax if you have news for them!

Margaret Bennett, Perthshire

RSAMD Scottish Music students will be excited to learn of Dr Bennett's new book about Perthshire reminiscences. Visit Margaret Bennett's website here. The recent poor weather has delayed Margaret's book-launch, but Whittaker will post details on this blog as soon as they become known. Here's the latest on Margaret's own website:-

Due to the severe weather conditions the A.K. Bell Library has advised us to cancel (or postpone) the launch of our Book & CD,

In Our Day...Reminiscences and Songs from Rural Perthshire by Margaret Bennett, Doris Rougvie and friends.

We hope to hold an event at a later date and the exhibition will still go ahead. The book and CD will be available, price £10, at the A.K. Bell Library, Comrie Development Trust (CDT), Amazon, Footstompin’, Coda Music and various bookshops (ISBN: 97819076760204). For those of you who would have liked to purchase one at the launch, Grace Note Publications will send you one and, as a gesture of goodwill, will cover postage.

Please visit Margaret's website to order a copy of her book meanwhile.

Scotland's Songs

This information is being passed on courtesy of RSC NewsFeed - eNews from the JISC Regional Support Centres in Scotland. The rich heritage of Scotland’s song tradition is now appearing online courtesy of Learning and Teaching Scotland. Here you’ll find lyrics, tunes and recording for more than 130 songs in Scots and Gaelic. At Scotland’s Songs you can discover the richness of our traditional songs and music, understand themes in Scottish music and find out more about Scotland’s instruments, like the bagpipes and the clarsach. And in a companion piece from the same source you can enjoy Scotland’s Stories. As the site says, Scotland is a treasure house of stories, myths and legends and on this site you’ll fins a selection of Scotland’s finest all beautifully illustrated and developed with the help of the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

Edinburgh Zoo Penguins don't mind the weather ...

Edinburgh Zoo Penguin Cam As the weather worsens over the next 48 hours, it has been suggested we should watch how the penguins deal with it ...!

Theta Music Trainer - train your ear

Theta Music Trainer - music games for musicians. (You can subscribe, to get more, but some of this is for free!)

Trainee teachers might find this useful for individual or group-teaching.

Tobar an Dualchais - A Kist o' Riches

Just launched yesterday - Definitely Whittaker's highlight of the week!

http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/

This website contains thousands of oral recordings recorded in Scotland and further afield, from the 1930s onwards. The items you can listen to include stories, songs, music, poetry and factual information.

Internet Library of Early Journals

Whittaker is never happier than when he's searching for contextual cultural stuff in old journals. (Best of all, the electronic versions aren't dusty and can be accessed from home ...!) Definitely a must for scholars of 18th and 19th Century Britain.

Life goes on

While central Scotland was plunged into Arctic subzero temperatures this week, and public transport sank into a reluctant rubato, goodness knows how Sibelius and Shostakovich got around in earlier times and colder places! Despite all this,

• RSAMD marched on
• the Whittaker Library opened every day

Saturday opening hours are the same as always: 10 am - 4 pm.

If you are deterred by the slippery pavements, why not stay warm at home, and renew your books online to avoid fines? Visit your account via the Library Catalogue. Any problems, please email the Library: Library@rsamd.ac.uk.

Learning on Screen Conference and Awards 2011

The BUFVC Learning on Screen Conference & Awards 2011 will be held at the British Film Institute (BFI) on London’s South Bank on Thursday 24th March 2011. This year, in a break from the traditional two-day event, the 2011 Learning on Screen Conference & Awards will take place within a one-day programme. This is in keeping with the current need to reduce costs, whilst still broadening and enhancing knowledge and teaching techniques.

http://bufvc.ac.uk/events/learningonscreen

The Learning on Screen Awards celebrate and reward excellence in the use of moving image and related media in learning, teaching and research.

• Showcase your work in front of industry professionals and members of the education sector. • Gain recognition for your work. • Win a cash prize (winners of the two student awards categories only).

All shortlisted entries will be showcased at the Learning on Screen Awards ceremony at the BFI Southbank on Thursday 24 March 2011.

Learning on Screen 2011 categories:

• Student Production Awards (cash prize) - Outstanding productions, on any theme, made by students as part of a course or training activity.
• General Audience Education Awards - Content delivered as general factual and documentary production that is judged to be valuable for use in learning (broadcast, non-broadcast & multimedia).
• Course & Curriculum-Related Content Awards - Content created for use among specific target groups of students who need to obtain particular knowledge and skills or who are at a specific stage in a course of learning.
• Premier Award - Presented for an outstanding production that most effectively meets its specified educational objectives.

Deadline for entries is Monday 20 December 2010.

39 ways to creativity, by Hugh Macleod

Hugh is a cartoonist - a creative, it goes without saying. He has written a book about creativity. He also blog-posted his key 39 ways to creativity. Want to be [even more] creative than you already are? Visit his blog! GapingVoid.com - the homepage.

The TESEP Project (another one for teaching & information staff!)

TESEP: Transforming and Enhancing the Student Experience Through Pedagogy (JISC weblink click here.) The summary report of this JISC-funded project extends to 24 pages. Whittaker Live will quote only the opening paragraphs - click on the link to read the whole document.

Introduction

The TESEP Project started in 2005 and has enabled three institutions (Napier University, Edinburgh’s Telford College and Lauder College) to explore how the transformation of learning, teaching and assessment practice in further and higher education can be driven by e-pedagogy.

TESEP focused on two simple ideas:-

1. To make a real difference to the learner experience, we must engage learners in active and self-directed learning at an early stage in their studies, and [...] encourage them to take responsibility for their learning;

2. Some e-learning approaches can play an important role, particularly where learners can use technology to locate their own material and enable collaborative work [...]

Transforming an institution’s learning, teaching and assessment approach is a complex task. TESEP [...] demonstrated that it is feasible to drive institutional transformation in learning and teaching using pedagogy.

Learning Literacies for a Digital Age (LLiDA)

Learning Literacies for a Digital Age was a brief project (2008-2009), funded by the JISC. The project investigated learning literacies in UK Higher and Further Education - i.e., “the range of practices that underpin effective learning in a digital age”. Based at Glasgow Caledonian University, there were various reports produced as outputs to the project. Follow them up here.

Resources and tools for creating podcasts

The very helpful, very innovative people at Leicester's Beyond Distance Research Alliance have put together a whole host of useful tools for online learning.

Try this page - Resources and Tools for Creating Podcasts

But Whittaker would be remiss if he didn't give you weblinks to BDRA itself. So, here goes:-

• BDRA (Beyond Distance Research Alliance);
• Media Zoo - different learning technologies, from familiar to experimental;
• Carpe Diem - a collaborative, innovative, prize-winning way of planning learning programmes.

In the four years since its inception, Beyond Distance Research Alliance has made remarkable progress, and has become established as one of the UK's leading learning technology research and development teams.

Full list of projects - here.

Your hearing matters!

 The Royal National Institute for the Deaf - RNID - has changed its name - it's now Action for Hearing Loss. But as well as the action we want taken by medics and politicians, it pays to look after your own hearing. So - take some action!

Check your hearing on the RNID/Action for Hearing Loss website today! Quick, free, confidential.

Talking of name changes - did you know that the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) has been replaced by the Equality Act? The RNID/Action for Hearing Loss website is a good place to keep up to date with these changes. Keep an eye on their Rights and Duties page.

• Click here for the RNID/Action for Hearing Loss homepage.
• Top Tips on how to be Deaf-Aware

Scottish Poetry Library - Poetry Issues

The Scottish Poetry Library is getting into the mood for winter and Christmas festivities. Here's how they begin:-

Let it snow, let it snow, let it..

Fix up some quick Christmas quotes, get ready for the January verse-speaking competitions, and settle down to order some new poetry stock.

Visit the website here.

Jazz Education Network Annual Conference in New Orleans

2nd Annual Jazz Education Network Conference: Honoring Performance in the Birthplace of Jazz! January 5 – 8, 2011 The Roosevelt Hotel – New Orleans, LA

Jazz instructors may already know about this event - it's only a month away! - but here are the details in case you'd missed it.

Jazz Education Network Annual Conference