Sensory O, opera initiative

Calming the savage [little] beasts?

While you're practising your arias, you may wonder if the fruits of your labour could have anything pertinent to parents with toddlers.  (Screams, tantrums, trainer pants - ah, the happy memories!)

According to the Sensory O initiative, it might be more relevant than you think.  Here's a BBC report about it:- click here.  (Feature by Pauline McLean.)

• Scottish Opera Sensory O website (Rachel Drury, composer to the project, is also a doctoral student and member of staff at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.)
• Opera Scotland website - details of the Sensory O Tour.
• Last year's Tete a Tete, the earlier Baby O project, again featuring our own Rachel Drury.

You might also be interested in the work of another of our students, Ben Fletcher-Watson, Theatre for Babies.  (This link tells you about Oily Cart's latest production: 'Oily Cart: how to prepare your toddler for a trip to the theatre')

National Trust for Scotland seeks creative artists in all genres

Compete!

Showcase your creative work at Pollok House, Glasgow

Hannah Teasdale, Senior Learning Assistant for the NTS, has sent 'Whittaker' details of an exciting opportunity for creative artists in all media.  You can get more information direct from Hannah.  Here's the challenge:-

• Pollok House in Glasgow is seeking emerging and established artists/ creative practitioners to submit proposals for art work to be included within an exhibition at Pollok House Glasgow.
• Student applications encouraged, but anyone can apply
• Great opportunity to display your works.
• Proposals should be in response to selected objects from Pollok’s collection of paintings and artefacts.
• Proposals in all mediums will be considered eg photography, audio/visual projects, sound installations, design,written text, dance and textiles.
• Proposals should be well-considered and the relation to a specific artefact clearly explained. (Link can be explicit or implicit, whether this is exploring the media used, concept, composition or theme.)

AIM of exhibition: to view objects in different ways and use them to inspire new work, new perspectives and new ways of seeing.

Application pack and images of objects from Pollok’s collection email: hteasdale@nts.org.uk

Deadline 14^thDecember 11pm

SMALL PRINT: All costs associated with the works, whether selected or not, must be borne by theartist/s. However if candidates wish to sell works during the exhibitions runthis service can be provided but will include commission.

This link is also posted on Whittaker Live's Awards, Grants, Prizes page.

IAML 2011

Belfast

'Whittaker' had a busy weekend. 

Last Saturday, after chairing a session on nineteenth century music in Belfast, I reached my Trinity College Dublin room at 11.35 pm, in readiness for the IAML (International Association of Music Librarians) Dublin Conference starting on Sunday. An unearthly time to arrive, but there were still people there in the Accomodation Office!  Impressive, eh?

Delegates were surprised to find a handwritten note on their residence door one day requesting them NOT to slam their doors.  A shushing librarian?  On the contrary - our self-closing doors were disturbing a foreign summer-school student!

But what do music librarians do at conferences?

Civic Reception, Dublin

Sunday: 'Whittaker' observed a IAML Council Meeting and attended a civic reception in Dublin City Hall, also finding time to visit the vaults below for an exhibition of Dublin's history; and walking back to Trinity College via the historic statues of Daniel O'Connell and Thomas Moore.

Lecture theatre

Monday: Heard papers on Geminiani and Handel in Dublin (Christopher Hogwood) and Handel's 'Messiah' in Dublin (Katherine Hogg).  Then papers on the Contemporary Music Centre of Ireland's Digitisation Project (Jonathan Grimes) and the National Archive of Irish Composers (by pianist Una Hunt).  After lunch, I gave the first paper of a session on Celtic music:- 'Minstrels and Metaphors' (Karen McAulay - see my pages relating to Minstrels and Metaphors, and a Bibliography); this was followed by Pirate editions of Scottish music (Almut Boehme, of the National Library of Scotland); and Joyce, Wilde and Yeats [as used in popular music] (Eleni Mitsiaki).  After tea, we heard reports from the national Branches.  Dinner with assorted UK and European colleagues.

IAML strategic forward planning

Tuesday: Dived into the University Library to post my bibliography on this blog, then attended a session by the Bibliographic Commission about how we can promote our service, and further discussion about using social media.  Next, we had a session on RILM (see the Bibliolore blog feed to the right of this posting); this was followed by a paper on musicology in Ireland (Maria McHale).  After lunch with colleagues, there was a plenary session on the future of IAML. (Now we've reached our 60th anniversary, it's time for reflection and strategic planning for the future.)  Very interesting talk by Harry White on the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland (Whittaker Library will be ordering this!); followed by an evening concert of cello and piano music by Ferenc Szucs and Una Hunt.  Dinner with UK and Australian colleagues, and our President, Roger Flury (New Zealand).

Una and Ferenc



Wednesday.  Rise and shine at 4 a.m., and regretfully head for the Airport.  I'm very grateful to the Music Libraries Trust for their kind bursary enabling me to attend this conference.  I shall follow delegates' tweets to find out what happens during the rest of the week.

Summer masterclasses in Switzerland

49 Academie de Musique

Sion, Suisse, 14 July - 15 August 2011

English version of website here.

Swiss website.

Auditions for accompanist-repetiteurs, Flanders Opera Studio

Flanders Opera Studio

Auditions for accompanists-repetiteurs will take place in Lisboa, London and Gent in March 2011:-

• Lisbon 7 March
• London 20 March
• Gent 27 March

Visit the website for full details. There are applications for pianists and also for singers, here.