Cambridge Early Music Summer Schools 2009 RSAMD has just received notification of this year's courses. Visit the website here.

"In 2009 we are offering two week-long courses. Tuition and accommodation will be in Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge."

Happiness Days

Did you know today (19th January) is officially Blue Monday? Well, if you're a Higher Education user or developer of software, help is at hand. Introducing JISC Developer Happiness Days. Here's what JISC says about it:-

Are you: A software developer? A higher education software user? Looking to develop your coding skills? Interested in community collaboration? Want to make new contacts?

Then the JISC Developer Happiness Days event is for you. We're bringing together the cream of the crop of software developers in Higher Education along with coders from other sectors, users, and technological tinkerers in an exciting new forum.

The event is taking place in London on February 9th-13th. The event is modular so delegates can attend as many or as few days as are relevant to them. Full details of the event can be found at: http://www.dev8d.org.

Effective practice with e-Portfolios

Very useful publication from JISC, now in RSAMD Library:- Effective Practice with e-Portfolios: supporting 21st century learning. The Music Librarian has ordered further copies which will be given to registered staff or students on request. Impatient to get your hands on a copy? You can read a pdf or text copy online, or order your own print copy here.

Shetland Fiddle Frenzy 3-9 August 2009

Advertised as 'The Shetland fiddle school with a difference' - visit the Fiddle Frenzy website here.

Music-making at Benslow

Benslow is music at its best. (It also lends superb instruments to budding musicians.) To find out about their short courses, concerts and events this year, visit the Benslow Music Trust website.

Events at the National Library of Scotland

• Zig-zag - an exhibition based on Robert Burns' tours of Scotland.

This is Burns' 250th anniversary and Scotland's Year of Homecoming. The exhibition is well-worth visiting.

Plenty of things going on - visit the website to find out more!

Lake District Summer Music

We've just received our first notification of summer music courses this year. The International Festival & Summer Music Academy in the Lake District offers courses in:-

• Ensembles (3-15 August 2009)
• Piano (3-15 August)
• Violin (3-15 August)
• Viola (3-15 August)
• Cello (3-15 August)
• Double Bass (3-10 August)
• Voice (7-15 August)

Visit the website

Scots Trad Awards

GREENTRAX RECORDINGS PRESS RELEASE (6th December 2008) The Scots Trad Awards of 2008 was this year recorded for TV transmission on MG Alba/BBC Alba. Artistes involved with Greentrax Recordings again picked up some of the premier awards:

• MARGARET STEWART -Gaelic Singer of the year "Togaidh Mi Mo Sheolta" CDTRAX 311
• JEANA LESLIE AND SIOBHAN MILLER - Up and coming Artist of the Year
• THE SCOTTISH POWER PIPE BAND - Scottish Pipe Band of the Year
• THE PEATBOG FAERIES - Live Act of the Year

For further information please contact Ian Green - iangtrax@aol.com Tel. 01875 815888 or Cath Mack - cath@greentrax.com Tel 01875 814155

Soundsgood - project about giving audio feedback

Another one for teachers, here. A lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University has been leading a project about giving audio feedback via the university's VLN (Virtual Learning Network). It has apparently been a popular development with students. Sounds interesting? Visit Bob Rotheram's SoundsGood blog. (http://soundsgooduk.blogspot.com/)

Teacher Training Videos

Tips and tricks for using Word, Flickr, setting up a blog - and much more - at this award-winning website by Russell Stannard, a lecturer at Westminster University. http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/ Well-worth a visit for anyone wanting just a few hints about using new electronic media.

Social networking - can you ignore it?

When the sensible and forward-thinking people at JISC start talking about the value of social networking software, then you can't dig your head in the sand any longer. Do you know your Bebo from your MySpace from your Facebook? (Have you found your own music librarian on MySpace, come to that?) JISC has dedicated part of their website to an examination of how institutions can engage with social networking software. Visit it here.

ETHOS - Electronic Theses Online

In brief - accessing British doctoral theses online is currently 'clunky' and cumbersome. The ETHOS project hopes to change all that. Their Beta (trial) website goes live on Tuesday 9th December. There's already plenty of background info at http://www.ethos.ac.uk/001_EThOSnet_Home.html

Here's what they say:-

EThOS Update: We are pleased to announce that on Tuesday 9 December we will be launching a beta phase for EThOS which will mean the system going live. Welcome to the Electronic Theses Online Service (EThOS) toolkit - the companion to the forthcoming EThOS Service.

• Using this toolkit will enable your institution to work in partnership with other Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and the British Library to ensure a high level of national and international visibility for UK postgraduate theses and dissertations.
• EThOS aims to enable end-users to access the full text of electronically stored UK theses, in secure format, via a single Web interface.
• The toolkit shows how theses produced by students at your institution can be accessed, via EThOS, from the British Library or from your institutional (or consortium) repository.

Effective practice with e-portfolios

The way ahead! Copies of this JISC-funded report are on order for the Whittaker Library, and will be available within the next couple of weeks.

Musica Scotica 2009 call for conference papers

Musica Scotica 2009 will take place on Saturday 25th April 2009 from 10am - 6pm in the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow.* At previous meetings papers have been given on a wide variety of topics, ranging from chant to James MacMillan, and fiddle manuscripts to bagpipe music. We look forward to another successful day, bringing together researchers working in different areas of Scottish music. Abstracts of no more than 250 words are invited for 20 minute papers. They should be sent to Professor Graham Hair (conference2009@musicascotica.org.uk) as soon as possible and no later than 28 February 2009. All general enquiries should be sent to Jane Mallinson, at this e-mail address: MusicaScotica2008 'at' yahoo.co.uk (yes MusicaScotica2008 is correct!). Please feel free to forward this announcement to anyone who may be interested.

Musica Scotica Mailing List (if you'd like to be advised about new publications and events) - http://www.musicascotica.org.uk/contact.htm

RSAMD Library signs up to IPA Source

Our readers asked for it; we trialled it; and now we've signed up - IPA Source.

"Online since 2003, IPA Source is the web's largest library of International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) transcriptions and literal translations of opera arias and art song texts. Now with over 3775 texts including 550 opera-aria texts! "

Another great resource from your ever-responsive library service.

Finlay MacNeill dies

Finlay MacNeill, Gaelic teacher and piper, died 28th October. Read his obituary in The Herald, Saturday 22nd November 2008.

Edinburgh University celebrates St Andrews Day

St Andrew’s Day celebration - An evening of the best of Scottish song and instrumental music from the Scots and Gaelic tradition. If you're in Edinburgh, join the University for a night of entertainment featuring pipes, clarsach, Scots and Gaelic songs and poetry. St Cecilia’s Hall 7.30pm to 9pm Sunday 30 November. More details here.

Unsung Heroes: New Musical Theatre & the Creative Industries

Article by Dominic Symonds and George Burrows, University of Portsmouth, for IQ - Internet Journal from Intellect Books. Read the pdf here.

Simon Van der Walt concert @ Oran Mor, Monday 17th November

The Whirlies

by J. Simon van der Walt Support your RSAMD postgraduates! Next Monday, at Oran Mor, you can hear a new piece for strings and electro-junk improviser, inspired by the roundabouts of East Kilbride - Òran Mór (Byre's Road, Glasgow) Monday 17 Nov 2008 Doors open at 1715, Concert begins at 1815 £10 includes cocktail and canapés 0141 357 6200

Scottish Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor - Peter Cynfryn Jones

Soloist - Edward 'Teddy' Edwards Also featuring:- Vaughan Williams - A Lark Ascending Debussy - Danses Sacré et Profane Respighi - Il Tramonto

Winterfest in Glasgow shopping centre

Winterfest needs performers! They're looking for groups to perform on George Square during the Christmas period. They're also interested in any choirs that would like to participate in their family programme during weekends 12.00pm - 4.00pm. Click on the link to find out more. http://www.winterfestglasgow.com/