Conference 10-12 July, London: Electronic Visualisation and the Arts

We heard about this conference recently, and thought it might interest Whittaker Library patrons and other musicians interested in contemporary music.
More here...

Royal Conservatoire (RSAMD) Alumna releases Hyperion Debussy CD

RSAMD Alumna Lisa Milne has just released a Hyperion CD of Debussy songs:-

Debussy Songs 2

Sung by Lisa Milne, Lorna Anderson and Malcolm Martineau (the acclaimed accompanist who just happens to be the son of our own acclaimed accompanist Hester Dickson).

• Full details in the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Whittaker Library catalogue here.
• Hyperion link here.

Iain MacInnes plays Jig and Stumpie, from Highland Vocal Airs (1784)

© National Museums Scotland. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk.

Just one demonstration of why Scran.ac.uk is such an excellent resource!  Accessible to anyone associated with a subscribing institution.  (Like the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, for example.)

Iain MacInnes plays Jig and Stumpie, from Highland Vocal Airs (1784)

© National Museums Scotland. Licensor www.scran.ac.uk.

Just one demonstration of why Scran.ac.uk is such an excellent resource!

Coaching and mentoring at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

Coaching and mentoring


The Whittaker Library has added four new coaching and mentoring books to stock.  Find full details in our catalogue, here.  Great for staff development.


More about the authors:-

• David Megginson
• David Clutterbuck
• Janice and Graham Dexter
• Judy Irving

Plugging our Plug event (23-27 April at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)

A plug for Plug

at the

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

23-27 April 2012

'Whittaker' wants to promote this week-long event here on Whittaker Live, and hopefully to add more links as they become available.

Find out what 'Plug' is all about - contemporary compositions and innovative events - here.

Whittaker - a presence in the music library world

NOT ONLY does 'Whittaker'  provide you with quality performing arts information - and useful links to support study, teaching and research ...

... he now presides over one of the library offices, too.  Gazing benignly down over one and all, we hope he will be an inspirational presence.  This is a photo of a bust of William Gillies Whittaker.

Pet Shop Boys - Most Incredible Thing

The Pet Shop Boys have provided the sound track for the Sadlers Wells Ballet, The Most Incredible Thing.  The Whittaker Library at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland naturally has to buy that CD!  We do music, we do ballet ...
It'll appear in our catalogue when it arrives.

• Pet Shop Boys website

Forgotten letters: an anthology of literature by dyslexic writers

Edited by Naomi Folb.  Read more about it on News.Dyslexia.tv.


Are we the first library to add it to stock?   Whittaker Library has a copy!

Whittaker's Round-up

Last week was busy, so 'Whittaker' posted less than usual.  However, useful links were saved to Diigo, so they can be shared with you now.  Have you seen ....

• Early career researchers and the high-impact journal (blogpost from Patter, a Nottingham professor in Education)
• Wakefield Music Library gets a reprieve -and a new home (Rhinegold Classical Music news)
• Finishing a UK PhD within 3 years (blogpost by Martin Paul Eve, proving it can be done!)
• Soundcloud.com - saving and sharing soundfiles 'in the cloud'
• Glasgow Phoenix Choir (descendents of Glasgow Orpheus Choir) - reaches Diamond Jubilee
• BBC Your Paintings - sharing the nation's art collections
• Youth Music Forum Scotland
• Phil Bradley, CILIP President, on Social Media and Searching (slideshare)
• D-Maps.com - free maps from Daniel Dalet, a very helpful French cartographer. * Recommended

Embedded artist opportunities

For artists just starting out -

• Sound and music offer you three embedded artists opportunities - here. Sound and Music homepage (with the fab picture illustrated), here.

All change!

This week, 'Whittaker' has various appointments outside the library.  Meanwhile, the office allocations are being swapped around inside the library.

But don't worry!  If there aren't many more Whittaker Live postings this week, be assured there will be just as many as usual next week.

Letitia Hill loved her Selection of Irish Melodies ...

... but Letitia didn't have the complete set.  Nonetheless, she had them bound, sometime prior to 1830.  There are three parts of the Selection of Irish Melodies, a few single songs composed by Stevenson to texts by Moore, Walter Scott and T. Lyster; and a couple of songs by John Clarke.  All but one of the items was published in both Dublin and London, which suggests Letitia's book has an Irish connection.

Her volume of songs has just been added to our Special Collections.  (Is there a special rare books term for a volume of separately published items, bound by the collector, or do we just call it a "collector's volume"? ) 

http://prism.talis.com/rcs/items?query=letitia+hill+stevenson

The non-Irish item at the end of the volume?  Dale's Collection of Reels and Dances, no.17 (pp.65-68), published by Joseph Dale in London, and sold at 19 Cornhill opposite the Royal Exchange, and other venues.

Contents are summarised in the catalogue link above; however,a full listing of contents can be supplied on request.

Phoenix Choir Concert in Newton Mearns Glasgow

Conducted by the Royal Conservatoire's own Marilyn Smith,

A Gala Concert by the Phoenix Choir

 To celebrate the

Diamond Jubilee of the Choir

in

Broom Parish Church,

Mearns Road, Newton Mearns, Glasgow

Saturday 24^th March 2012 at 7.30pm

• Sponsored by Co-operative Funeralcare
• Tickets £10 (unreserved) to include Interval wine and shortbread
• Tickets available from the Church Office or at the door on the evening.

Scottish Charity SC003290

Does the library have a role to play?  I ask you! Of course we do! 

Read the JISC report here:

http://infteam.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2012/02/23/does-the-library-have-a-role-to-play-in-the-digital-humanities/

Here's how it begins:-

Does the library have a role to play in the Digital Humanities?

What role does the library have to play in the increasingly data driven, technologically evolving humanities?

Humanities and the social sciences have traditionally been disciplines aligned closely with the institutional library and its resources and services. Increasingly, in my conversations with librarians, there is a concern that while the library as a space remains popular, this masks a growing distance between the services the library provides and the needs and expectations of researchers (to say nothing of undergrads).

As subjects like digital humanities find themselves transformed by their engagement with technology, is the library facing the threat of redundancy?

There has been a flurry of research recently including the RLUK report: Re-skilling for Research and JISC Collections’ UK Scholarly Reading and the Value of Library Resources, exploring the evolving role of the library in supporting researchers....

Research Matters

Vitae Researcher Booklets,  and

Research Information Network
(now www.researchinfonet.org)

I have a load of free leaflets and reports which I’ve offered before, but still there are some left.  Rather than just throw them out, I’ve left them at the library enquiry desk.  If they don’t go from there, I’ll put them in the café-bar next week.  (We have copies catalogued in library stock as well - AND they're available online, see links above.)

Staff or students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are welcome to come and take any of the following:-

• The creative researcher
• The balanced researcher
• The engaging researcher
• Social media: a guide for researchers
• E-only scholarly journals
• Reinventing research?  Information practices in the humanities
• If you build it, will they come?  How researchers perceive and use web 2.0
• E-journals, their use, value and impact
• The role of research supervisors in information literacy

Don’t forget to keep an eye on Whittaker Live at http://whittakerlive.blogspot.com over the vacation.  Term might stop – ‘Whittaker’ doesn’t stop blogging about performing arts related weblinks!

Reminder: Tobar An Dualchais

Tobar An Dualchais

Kist o' Riches

In Tobar's own words, it contains,

"over 26,000 oral recordings made in Scotland and further afield, from the 1930s onwards. The items you can listen to include stories, songs, music, poetry and factual information."

Tobar An Dualchais (Kist o Riches) also has a Gaelic website here.

The resource was tweeted today by Chris Holme @HistoryCompany:-

"What Alan Lomax @librarycongress @TobarDualchais and Pete Seeger helped build in Scotland: http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/"

(Chris Holme's History Company is effectively a consultancy - find out more here:- http://historycompany.co.uk/)

Early Books of Scottish Songs

Internet Archive and the NLS Digital Gallery
Whittaker mentioned these resources a year ago, but if a week is a long time in politics, then what is a year in a Higher Education institution?!

The National Library of Scotland's Glen Collection is an invaluable source of early Scottish song and other music.  It has been digitised on the Internet Archive. Here's the link. (If you forget it, then you can go to the Internet Archive homepage and search on nlsmusic).

Additionally, the NLS has started digitising its own scores for itself - there's a page for their Digital Gallery; scroll down to Early Books of Scottish songs, like this:-
<> 

Early books of Scottish songs Three early books of Scottish (and some English) songs with melodies and illustrations. Includes songs with words by Allan Ramsay.

Imagine: How creativity works

Imagine: How Creativity Works / Jonah Lehrer

New book, which was reviewed in Sunday Times yesterday. Looks just the kind of thing to interest our creative types at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, so we'll order it.

Read more about the author's ideas at Frontal CorteX, hosted by Wired.com.

Doctoral study and following the 'rules'

An interesting post on The Thesis Whisperer, the acclaimed Australian research blog.

Following the 'rules' (or not), by Mary-Helen Ward.

Edinburgh International Festival

'The Edinburgh Festival'

(actually, the Edinburgh International Festival)

9 August - 2 September 2012

The programme for this summer is available now.  Here ...

Airs and graces (and red-nosed faces)

Misplaced my Airs!

Laden with cold, 'Whittaker' dragged himself out of bed this morning to get on with his extra-mural musicologist obligations.  Because 'he' was fuzzy-headed, he couldn't FIND the Alexander Campbell airs that he'd carefully copied out and stowed away after 'his' last speaking engagement.  Arghh!  Must devise a better filing system at home.

Finally, 'he' found them (so the next speaking engagement is assured of musical examples!), but not before he also found his own arrangement of a few airs into a suite for flute, viola and cello.  Hmm.  Interesting.  Wonder what they sound like?  Wonder how they'd fit in at a book-launch?

New Book (pending)

Some time in 2013, there will be a book by Karen McAulay, called Our Ancient National Airs.  It's based on my PhD thesis but with the addition of a completely new chapter (with which I'm rather enamoured, but then again, I'm biased).  I want to get this into the blogosphere because, naturally, I want lots of people to read it!  Right now, I'm revising and finalising the manuscript for submission: only six weeks to go!  And I've been selecting images.  Share them here?  Not on your life!  Buy the book!

The book covers Scottish song collecting from 1760-1888.  It's not just about Alexander Campbell (though he's one of my many favourites).  It's about published and a couple of unpublished collections.  And there are English as well as Scottish collectors.  To follow the story of A Music Librarian's First Book, you can read my own personal blog, True Imaginary Friends.  I'm sure I'm blissfully unaware of what's ahead of me after Submission Day!

Bertil Palmar Johansen - Strings

CD of contemporary Norwegian string compositions added to Whittaker Library stock:-

Bertil Palmar Johansen CD, 'Strings'.  The final track, 'Lyar: for cello solo' is particularly lovely.

• On a spring string (6:20) -- String quartet no. 1 : Songs of the nightingale (10:00) -- Cantus for violin solo (5:58) -- Ricercare for string trio (17:00) -- Capriccio for viola solo (10:39) -- Duo fantasies (for two violins) (11:00) -- Lyar for cello solo (9:24).  (See catalogue entry here ...)

• More about Bertil Palmar Johansen - visit his website.
• Music available through the Norwegian Music Information Centre, here.  The Norwegian name is MIC Norsk musikkinformasjon (just so you know!)

Sound Lab Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra

City Halls, Glasgow - Wednesday 21st March at 8 pm.  Details ...

Q: But what is an improvisers orchestra?, you might ask.
A: That's where you benefit by being a student or staff member of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Go to RILM (the database giving you details of scholarly writings about music) and search on Improvisers Orchestra to see what other improvisers are up to!

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:  You can also look at the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra's own social media pages:-

www.facebook.com/GlasgowImprovisersOrchestra

www.twitter.com/GIO_Glasgow

Scottish Folk Tunes for Guitar

The Whittaker Library just bought this - looks fun!  Useful for encores, and not difficult.  It comes with a CD.

See details on Amazon or Schott, the publisher's website.

Find it in the Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Flipping

 Flipping

There's a new buzzword - 'flipping'.  Flipping the classroom, and now, Flipping the conference. 

What's it all about?

Using technology to deliver what used to be delivered in the classroom (or conference).  And then spending classroom (or conference) time talking about what pupils (students, delegates) have already had the chance to view.

• LearningConversations.co.uk on the concept of the flipped classroom
• YouTube on 'The Flipped Classroom':- 

"Peer into Aaron Sams' classroom as he explains why he flipped his classroom. Aaron Sams, along with Jonathan Bergmann were the first to flip their classes. They currently teach in Woodland Park Colorado and are writing a book about the Flipped Class."

So today, Whittaker offers you a posting from InsideHigherEd.com - Flipping the Conference.  Mention it to our own educational technologist, Gordon McLeod, and see his face light up. (Well, it might not, if too many people mention it, but you could be the first ...)

Virtuously Virtual. Diligently Digital

DIGITAL STUFF

The Whittaker Library is stuffed with good things, but don't forget that we have a lot of digital resources too.

Essay or project coming up? The task could be a whole lot easier if you use some of our specialised databases.  Here are just three.  The first two help you find what's out there, by giving you an abstract or brief summary and full bibliographic details of the articles etc.  And JSTOR not only tells you what's available on the database - it gives you full text, too.

• International Bibliography of Theatre and Dance (click here) e.g., you could search on Ballets Russes
• RILM music abstracts (click here)
• JSTOR (click here) - digitised, searchable back copies of music journals

2 things to remember:-

1. Shibboleth - the institutional login for using these resources outside the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's premises.  (Your login confirms you're a student or staff member here.)
2. We have lots more digital resources available via our Library A-Z of electronic resources page.

Your subject librarians are happy to assist you with electronic resources, if you need further help.

BBC Radio Celtic Zone - Lori Watson

Celtic Zone, BBC Radio Scotland

Our own Lori Watson has a spot on BBC Radio Celtic Zone this coming Sunday:-

Sunday, 00:30 on BBC Radio Scotland

18/03/2012

Lori Watson presents a collection of the best New Young Scottish Fiddlers.

 

Lori tweets, "Presenting a Celtic Zone on young fiddle players today, any suggestions? (or volunteers.. )"

  

Bagpipes from hell - how did we miss this CD?!

Absolutely NOT the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.  'Bagpipes from Hell' is Vittorio Ghielmi and Luca Pianca playing 17th and 18th century music for viola da gamba, lyra-viol and liuto, ceterone.

And we have it in the Whittaker Library.  Form an orderly queue!

Folk music, meteorology and blogging (the delights of Whittaker's inbox!)

So pretty that we had to share it with you!

• Warwick Folk Festival - 26th - 29th July.  More details ...
• Zetoc alerts: don't forget you can set up Zetoc to tell you when articles are published in your field.  Set up an alert here, or ask your subject librarian to help you set one up.  Mind you, sometimes you get wee surprises.  Like the one 'Whittaker' received today:-
  Scottish weather in Mendelssohn's music
  Kay, A, in WEATHER - LONDON (published by the Royal Meteorological Society), Vol.67, no.3 (2012) pp.83-83
      
• 'Blogging is quite simply the most important thing academics should be doing right now'. So said two social scientists at the London School of Economics.  Controversial - do you agree?

Steve Forman joins Treacherous Orchestra for 'Origins' album

The Whittaker Library has just acquired Scottish folk CD 'Origins', played by Treacherous Orchestra.  The ensemble is joined by our own newest Doctor, composition PhD Steve Forman, on percussion (tracks 6 and 9) - so we had to get it!

Whittaker Library awaits ... two books about Scotland's global diaspora

Recommended and ordered ... watch this space!

If you missed Devine's talk at the Mitchell Library on Saturday 17th March 2012 - the last night of the Aye Write book festival - then you missed a treat.  Better luck next time!  But you can still read his books.

 To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, 1750-2010 (Allen Lane History) by T M Devine

 Scotland's Empire: The Origins of the Global Diaspora by T M Devine

Lomax Cantometrics

Cantometrics - The Lomax Tapes

For years, our Scottish Music people have praised - and fruitfully used - "the Lomax tapes", a set of cassettes that we obtained from the USA.  It's great that the cantometric system is now available online, via the Cultural Equity website.

Here's the sound recordings page.  For more about cantometrics, search the homepage of the Cultural Equity website, inserting 'cantometrics' into the search box.  There's a talk by Alan Lomax about the cantometrics system, which begins like this:-

Talk on Cantometrics by Alan Lomax

"We have learned that the Vikings, not Columbus, discovered America. We are all descendents of the Norman Vikings, who went all through Europe in small boats, and after learning just enough about countries to control them, took possession of trading outposts down the coast of France and from Sicily to Russia. Vikings had plans to own and operate America before the Italians every thought of it. On the Cantometrics graph the Norman Vikings have the following style: ?I speak, you listen. I sing (solo), you be quiet. After I speak, you may ask questions and then be very competitive and ask make your own speech." (According to Cantometrics, you/we are all Vikings.) 

"Cantometrics breaks down the world into 31 musical style-divisions, with further subdivisions. Our Western culture learns music, through musical notation, the way it runs our factory system, breaking it down and putting our system on top. We take over the command system. Our culture is also carrying another system, the African style. The purpose of Cantometrics is to look at the deep structure of the musical communications system and not just tones and words, like symphonic and film composers who study folk music in order to find a use for these fragments ?"  Read the rest of the talk ...

Mary Paul's music book - Irish music-making in 1802

A music-lover called Mary Paul

We know very little about Mary Paul, but we do have her bound collection of music.  Engraved simply, Mary Paul, 1802, it's possible that this was Mary's maiden name, for there is a pencilled 'Mary A. Hogg' on the endpaper inside.

All we know - Mary's name and a date

Mary wrote an index for her book - it's at the front.  There's an assortment of vocal pieces, popular pieces from contemporary operas, and piano music; Mary numbered every page - all 447 of them.  The music seems mostly to have been published in contemporary Dublin, by the likes of Hime, Rhames, William Power, McDonnell's, Edmund Lee, John Lee, and Gough.

One of Mary's collection

There are Scottish pieces, too.  Like, 'My Ain Kind Dearie: a favorite Scotch Air, with Variations composed by D. Corri. (Domenico Corri was a famous singer and Scottish music arranger at the time.)  Or 'Lewie Gordon: a celebrated new rondo for the forte piano or harpsichord' - published in Dublin by Anne Lee.  No composer for that one.

And an intriguing item is a piano sonata, probably by Frantisek Kotzwara, called 'The Battle of Prague', complete with 'The Bugle call for the cavalry', and 'Flying bullets'.  (It was a popular piece with Jane Austen, apparently - see Penelope Cave's recent recital at St Andrews, of Very Pretty Tunes: Repertoire from the Austen Family Collection.)

Trad music job at Horsecross Arts, Perth

Interesting opening for someone here.  Please forward to any BA (Scottish Music) graduate looking for work!  

Talent hub co-ordinator


Horsecross Arts has been awarded Creative Scotland funding to establish a national talent hub for Scottish traditional and Gaelic music (instrumental and vocal). The hub will identify and develop creative skills and talents in fiddle, pipes, flute, percussion, brass, vocals, guitar/mandolin and piano/accordion.  Read more: ttp://www.horsecross.co.uk/about/job-vacancies/

(Thanks to Simon Thoumire for tweeting this.)

Composition Competition

Another reminder from the Scottish Music Centre - the Cottier Project:-

Composition Competition - The Cottier Chamber Project/West End Festival

Call for scores for a concert given as part of this year's festival. DEADLINE: 20th April 2012

More info here.

This will be added to Whittaker Live's Awards, Grants, Prizes page.

The emotional challenges of academic writing

A six-minute clip from the University of Manchester - video or mp3 audio.

"Carol Smart, May 2010, 6:49 minutes.In this clip, Carol Smart talks about the emotional challenges of writing: why is academic writing so difficult and what can we do to overcome these difficulties?"

Useful stuff. 

Chamber musicians - get noticed!

Whittaker decided to help the Scottish Music Centre by promoting this:-

Call for Entries - Chamber Music Matters Showcase

Enterprise Music Scotland is inviting proposals for inclusion in the showcase events as part of the two day international conference, Chamber Music Matters.  

The showcases will provide opportunities for small, unmanaged chamber music to be experienced by agents, promoters, composers and other associated creative industries. There will be two showcase events – EMS hopes to include as many groups as possible.

For more information and details on how to apply, please visit: http://www.emusicscotland.co.uk/chamber-music-matters-showcase/

DEADLINE: 21st March 2012

Wheee! We're excellent!

The Excellent Whittaker Library

Staff of the Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland were delighted to learn that the Library has won an Excellence Award from professional association IAML (UK and Ireland).

The award will be conferred at the Branch Annual Study Weekend at Cardiff this Easter.  A proud day!

Late 18th century hymns and psalms

You never know what'll turn up next ...

A donation of two old bound volumes is proving very interesting.  The first is a collection of late 18th century hymns and psalm tune publications - and an abbreviated Messiah for pianoforte or organ and voices!  Published in Dublin, who knows where they've spent the past 212 years or so before ending up in the Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland?
Before 'Whittaker' gets over-excited, he's off to have a quick coffee, then it'll be time to catalogue the second volume.

Not one but two Royal Conservatoire tours! introducing the Hope Street Collective

Hope Street Collective

Yesterday, Whittaker introduced you to Class o' 10 - the forthcoming tour of our second year Scottish Music students.

Today, we can share with you the Facebook page of their slightly older peers, the Hope Street Collective.  That's technically the class of 2009 - our third year Scottish musicians' forthcoming tour.  If they're performing near you, don't miss the gig!

'Whittaker' attended the Scottish Music gig at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland last night and was well impressed.  Real maturity there.

• The BA in Scottish Music - background and details of the course here.

iPad 2 or a human page turner?

Pianists and their page-turners

Read wind supplier June Emerson's blog.  Who would have thought an iPad could replace the silent human helper at your elbow?

Class o' 10 - Royal Conservatoire 2nd year Scots musicians tour

• Find them on Facebook
• Find them in Glasgow (Monday 19th March - The National Piping Centre, Glasgow)
• Find them in Birnham (Tuesday 20th March - Birnam Arts Centre, Birnam, Perth-shire)
• Find them in Larbert (Wednesday 21st    March - Dobbie Hall, Larbert, nr. Stirling)

As advertised by our 2nd year Scots musicians,

"As you may be aware, in second year we have to organise a tour as part of our course. We are wondering if you would be kind enough to spread the word to people you know who may be interested. Tickets are sold at the door £7/£5, £3 to special people."

Just don't miss them - the class of 2010.

Stravinsky's ballets

New book: Stravinsky's Ballets / Charles M. Joseph

Reviewed in Times Higher Education (THE): read the review by Ann Hogan here.

Ordered by the Whittaker Library at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland - we'll tell you when it arrives.

By Charles M. Joseph. Yale University Press, 320pp, £25.00 ISBN 9780300118728. Published 24 November 2011

Whittaker's in-tray: courses and festivals all over the place

Whittaker has been asked to promote musical events in Sweden, Germany, Austria - and Fife.  Take your pick!

For singers:-

• Norrköping, Sweden (4th Singing Competition, Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition - WSIMC - 5-14 June 2012.  More info ... . Applications deadline 23 April 2012.

Keyboards, strings, wind, brass, percussion, conducting, Baroque opera, composition  (something for everyone here):-

• 53rd Weimar Master Classes (Weimarer Meisterkurse), at the Liszt School of Music, Weimar. 13-28 July 2012.  More info ... 

Piano (adult and children), voice, vocal accompaniment, conducting opera, violin, cello, string chamber music with or without piano):-

• Vienna Master Courses 2012 (Wiener Meisterkurse), at Schloss Laudon, 15 July - 23 August 2012.  Application deadline 15 June 2012.  More info ...

Trad:-

• FifeSing2012: the Fife Traditional Singing Festival, Friday - Sunday, 11-13 May 2012.  More info ...

There's so much here that Whittaker has started a new page - Summer Schools and Courses.  Does anyone else keep a blog of forthcoming summer schools?

Would you recognise a Bad Book if you saw it?

Respectability - it's such a dull word!  Nonetheless ...

As scholars, we do need to develop an instinct for the quality of the information we're using.  Here's an interesting piece about developing that instinct -

Pseuds Corner, by Daniel Melia

(It was in THE - Times Higher Education magazine - a couple of weeks ago.)

RSAMD (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) alumna Shona Donaldson

New CD release:-
.

Short Nichts and Lang Kisses

Shona Donaldson hails from Huntly. She is an alumna of RSAMD (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), where she studied on the Scottish music degree course.  The Whittaker Library has just added her new CD to stock.  See here.

• Deveron Arts website.
• CD reviewed in The Herald.

Alumna of Royal Conservatoire (was RSAMD): Phamie Gow's new project

Forthcoming CD:

Phamie Gow with the

Pipes and Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

Phamie says,

The Edinburgh Suite CD will be launched and premiered in May 2012. More information to follow soon.

The Whittaker Library has it on their shopping list!

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland alumna Catriona Watt CD

.
.
Catriona Watt - Cadal Cuain

BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2007, and alumna of RSAMD (now the Conservatoire of Scotland), Catriona's new CD was released by Footstompin Records in 2008, but somehow 'Whittaker' missed it.

So, hanging 'his' head in shame, Whittaker is pleased to note that the CD has just been added to the Whittaker Library stock (and not before time!).  See it here.

Staff, students, alumni - if you release a new album, please let us know!  What could be nicer than to know that your colleagues and peers can access your work in the Whittaker Library at your own alma mater?!

Cheyenne Brown - Parallel Latitudes (RSAMD Alumna launches CD)

New CD just released.  Catalogued today in the Whittaker Library.  See here.

• Cheyenne's own new website: http://cheyenneharp.com/
• Cheyenne Brown and Seylan Baxter's website: http://www.celloharp.com/

CHASE Leeds conference on authenticity in editions

CHASE: Collecting Historical Annotated String Music Editions

Authorship and 'Authenticity' in Composition, Editing and PerformanceCONFERENCE April 4-5 2012

University of Leeds (UK) School of Music

Interested in questions of authenticity in performance?

The conference programme and abstracts are now available.  Bursaries are available for postgraduate students who wish to attend.

Cardboard harps project in Cumbria (yes, it's true)

Cumbria Cardboard Harp Project

True, they're only little lap harps, but they're intended to introduce beginners to the instrument.


Visit the page.

We've been advised of a supplier for the Waring Harp!

http://joatservices.co.uk/ (and thanks to Twitter correspondent Helen Forder @MamCariad)

International jazz and classical masterclasses, Liechtenstein

www.meisterkurse.li

42. Internationale Meisterkurse Vaduz

at the

Liechtensteinische Musikschule

Classical 7-20 July 2012
Jazz 16-21 July 2012

Visit website for further details.

Need to know more about Liechtenstein (Lichtenstein)?  Helpful Wikipedia link here.

Come on, composers! Don't miss the deadline!

Citta di Udine composition prize deadline approaching.
More details on our Awards, Grants, Prizes page.

Sound Thought - Annual Festival

Sound Thought 2012

Glasgow University Music Department celebrates mould-breaking music, sound and performance research.  Visit the blog to find out more.

Sound Thought 2012

Fri 2nd - Sat 3rd March, The Arches, Glasgow

The annual festival of mould-breaking music, sound and performance research returns.

Brought to you by Glasgow University postgraduate music students and the Arches, Sound Thought is two days of interdisciplinary compositions, performances, installations, presentations and provocations - across disciplines, between genres and way beyond expectations... Sound Thought presents new composition, performance and research work from Glasgow University's diverse and vibrant music department, within a programme of cutting edge sound and performance from the UK's most exciting new artists.

This year, performances will focus on the idea of music as gift: what’s offered, and what’s returned? What’s at stake in the exchange? Do gifts require justification, or is it the thought that counts?

Expect blindfold journeys through dark corridors, noise, argument, pop song endurance and outright murder, lost correspondence to Chris De Burgh, ultra-minimal improv, the most exciting chamber ensemble in the country, stupidity, seriousness, and music for understanding, transgression and change…