Music Performance and Composition

Intro

LCM Composition Festival

LCM Composition Festival: Morricone Celebration

London College of Music, BMus (Hons) and MMus Composition and Performance and BA (Hons) Recording, Mixing and Production in collaboration with London School of Film Media and Design, BA (Hons) Film Production present, Morricone Celebration Festival.

Alistair Pirie

Alistair Pirie

Sonata V in B flat, vivace, for Wind Quintet is a sonata movement written for a standard wind quintet (flute, oboe, clarinet in B flat and bassoon, with the usual addition of a horn). It makes extensive use of pentatonic scales, an influence derived in particular from the charm and energy of the fourth movement of Dvorak’s American Quartet. 

Its modified classical sonata form generally follows the pattern of modulations used by Prokofiev in the first movement of his Classical Symphony. They diverge in cheeky, iconoclastic ways from the late 18th century standard classical model. The piece makes use of counterpoint to enhance the musical texture, using canons, combinations of the two main themes, and imitative motivic transformation. The aim is to present a lively piece with rhythmic energy, making use of the full ranges and characteristics of the five instruments.

Rapsodia Satanica soundtrack

BMus (Hons) Composition (Film/Theatre) students - Rapsodia Satanica soundtrack

Rapsodia Satanica is a 1915 silent film directed by Nino Oxilia, featuring Lyda Borelli in a female version of Faust, based on poems by Fausto Maria Martini. Italian composer Pietro Mascagni – one of the main proponents of the verismo – composed the soundtrack to this film; the only film music he ever wrote.

This exceptional video re-elaboration, originally featured as part of the Ealing Music and Film Festival, features original music composed by the London College of Music’s final year BMus (Hons) Composition (Film/Theatre) students.

  • Rapsodia Satanica composers

    This originally scored film has been segmented into short cinematic passages, each set to music by a different composer, enabling a showcase of musical styles and approaches, ranging from symphonic music to contemporary sounds and mixed aesthetics.

    • Ricardo Fernandes (first segment)
    • Yejoon Bong (second segment)
    • Macauley Edmead (third segment)
    • Oscar James (fourth segment)
    • Sharon Nartey (fifth segment)
    • Sol Pearce (sixth segment)
    • Victoria Winkler (seventh segment)

Oscar James

Oscar James - Poulette's Chair competition

Oscar James, BMus (Hons) Composition (Film/Theatre), says, 'This composition was part of the indie film music contest and is a rescore of a scene from ‘Poulette’s Chair.’ I knew a lot of people would score it with a delicate sound as is stereotypical of many animated shorts, so I wanted to try something with more of a dramatic arc. I am graduating this year, and have improved massively thanks to the friendly and knowledgeable staff at LCM.'

 

Sharon Nartey

Still from The Impossible Voyage for ArtsFest

Sharon Nartey

Sharon Nartey, BMus (Hons) Composition (Film/Theatre) says, 'The Impossible Voyage was a great film to score from 1904, where props and different camera shots and usage were minimal, yet still deserving of a full sounding score to help narrate the story.'

Course links

BMus (Hons) Performance

Erica Macchi

Erica Macchi (ERI), BA Mus (Hons) Performance and Recording, performs a live rendition of her concept EP Catharsis, out in October 2022. While being strongly rooted in Trip-Hop, this performance mixes rock arrangements with soulful vocals, with the aim of telling a story to relate to, or to look up to.
 
“I wanted people to empathise with the feelings and the surroundings of the character: Catharsis is about reaching a place of freedom and lightness, coming from a past, traumatic event. The songs represent each step of this journey, reminding us that healing is not only possible, but necessary”.

Robert Blencowe

Robert Blencowe

Robert Blencowe, BMus (Hons) Music Performance, says: "The national lockdown had a massive impact on everyone, for some it meant their work intensified, for others it meant having to stay at home. For musicians, with no public performances or rehearsals it meant in some cases, the loss of their livelihoods.

The lockdown presented me with challenges through my University course, but by using these challenges as a focus, it helped me adapt to performing remotely. Through the use of multi tracking, I decided to record my chamber music recital by myself."

Costas Mouchas

Constantin Mouchas

Constantin Mouchas, BMus (Hons) Performance, presents highlights from a piano recital and a fundraising event for the Charity MIND. The event was live streamed during the global Coronavirus Pandemic on Facebook and raised £1000 for the charity. 

The programme included four composers representing contrasting styles that emerged between the first quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Grieg, Brahms, Debussy and Schoenberg created their own characteristic music worlds in a world that was drastically changing. Grieg’s intimacy with the Norwegian folk culture, Brahms’ connection with nature, Debussy’s oriental and esoteric influences and Schoenberg’s radical attitude towards tradition prove that creativity can spring from so many different sources. Music has the universal ability to connect with humans despite our differences.

 

Yoanita Dharmawan

Yoanita Dharmawan

Yoanita Dharmawan, BMus (Hons) Performance, presents a fusion repertoire of the classical music, a mixture of composers from different parts of the world, where eastern meet western music.

This concert is about her musical journey, beginning with Balinese music, representing where she came from and the desire to explore. This is followed by a Liszt’s third year pilgrimage, Les Jeux d’Eau à la Villa d’Este. This depicts her studies that have empowered her and helped her embrace a new environment.

 

Every journey has an end, and the concert concludes with The Lark by Glinka arrangement by Balakirev. This is a farewell to her university journey, which has equipped her with skills and knowledge to begin the next chapter. Follow Yoanita on Instagram.

Kexin Sun

Kexin Sun

Kexin Sun, BMus (Hons) Performance. In 2020, the serious outbreaks of coronavirus spread over the world. 2020 was also the 250th anniversary of Beethoven, but because of coronavirus, many music halls were closed. Kexin set out to celebrate his birthday at a concert in 2021.

She played three pieces; Sonata op.53 no.21 (Waldstein), op.13 no.8 (Pathetique) and Beethoven Virus. The Beethoven Virus is an adaption of movement III of sonata op.13 no.8 which can contrast with the original movement, and reflects the special situation of coronavirus. 

Andy Barr

Andy Barr

Andy Barr, BMus Performance. The concept for Andy's Advanced Performance Project was about the funk community. Originally designed to be a live performance, he has created a six track EP with each song recorded and filmed individually from the band's homes, and mixed and mastered by two producers remotely.

Andy says, 'Even though we must stay inside during the pandemic, and we are not physically able to be together, I want to show that nobody is alone, and everyone is together in spirit. Music is the vehicle for this. My goal is to boost the mood, spread positivity through music and reassure the community that we will meet again.'

Alycia Lewis

Alycia Lewis

Alycia Lewis, BMus (Hons) Performance, says, 'The music of Stan Getz has always been an inspiration for me, and being able to research and perform his music throughout the duration of this module has brought me great joy. Although my final performance was not what I expected, the joy of listening and recreating Getz’s playing allowed me to persevere through some of the more challenging aspects of the new performance brief.

This change to assessment did cause me some difficulties especially in overcoming the issue of a ‘bedroom’ performance, however continuing to work closely with my band allowed me to overcome these challenges, and I am happy with the final result.' 

Charlie Scott

Charlie Scott, BMus (Hons) Performance

Charlie Scott, BMus (Hons) Performance, presents their Advanced Performance Project highlights reel. 

Georgina Rees

Georgina Rees

Georgina Rees, BMus (Hons) Performance, says of her APP performance, 'As a solo singer, my most recent performance 'All in Life is Love and Suffering' set out to demonstrate a wide repertoire of my abilities. This virtual concert provided an eclectic showcase of my key talents as a singer and having conducted my final term performance, I am now aware of the importance of preparation, motivation and objectivity.

Most importantly, it requires strategic planning to pinpoint all areas, including programming, scheduling and rehearsing. In retrospect, it is evident that a successful musician must adopt a variety of practice methods to perfect a performance.'

Matilda Castrey

Matilda Castrey

Matilda Castrey, BMus (Hons) Performance, says, 'My APP has seen me vastly improve my knowledge in this field, with a new understanding of both equipment and editing softwares. I will no doubt need to draw upon these skills in the future, so I am pleased to be able to reflect on the success!'

Emily Jenkins

Emily Jenkins

Emily Jenkins, BMus (Hons) Performance, says, 'This has been a great opportunity to learn how to cope with unexpected changes, which I know can happen a lot within the music industry. Learning to adapt to these changes will have certainly helped me prepare for any other similar situations that may occur in the future.'

Luisa Vaz Pinto

Luisa Vaz Pinto

Luisa Vaz Pinto, BMus (Hons) Performance, says, 'I was very motivated for my Advanced Performance Project and everything was arranged for May. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus came, and the concert could not happen. Instead of staying in London I came to Portugal to be with my family.

As soon as I knew that the concert in London was going to be cancelled, I decided straight away that I was going to do it at home for my family. My family is quite numerous, around 35 people, and we live together on the same farm, so we spent the quarantine together. It was good to feel the warmth of the audience through the bizarre circumstances that did not allow any hugs at the end.

 

'These past few months have presented new challenges; my life changed completely back in March; university closed, I stopped working, I packed my things and I left the country where I had lived for 5.5 years. Unexpected situations can make us stronger and my resolve is stronger than ever before. And, in a few years, I will have quite a story to tell about the final year of my degree.'

Course links

BMus (Hons) Performance and Music Management

Tobias Svensson

Tobias Svensson, BMus (Hons) Performance and Music Management, says "The final performance project live show was a very liberating process for me. Although a part of why we attend universities is to learn how to appropriately express ourselves, it can sometimes be difficult to combine this with any academic elements. The live show allowed me to show any potential viewers who I really am as a musician and an individual, and I think that's all that really matters"

Follow Tobias on Facebook and Instagram for more of his work.

Course links

BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording

Liam Badgery

Liam Badgery, BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording, says:

"The songs chosen for this performance have become defining of my time at UWL. I have been heavily inspired by funk fusion music since I began learning guitar and wanted to use this performance to showcase my ability within this genre, not only as a player, but as a writer and performer. Two of the songs in this performance were written, recorded and played by myself and a close friend of mine, Jermaine Alexander, as we look to continue creating music for a project we are working towards."

Charalampos Vasileiou

Charalampos Vasileiou

Charalampos Vasileiou, BMus (Hons) Music Performance and Recording, says: "The first song of this performance is an instrumental blues song, which was the first song that made me love the blues, because it is very expressive and at the same time technically challenging.

The next two songs were covers, where elements from different music genres were “married”, in ord​er to create a hybrid music genre, which relates more to my personal style as a musician."

Follow Charalampos on YouTube and Instagram

Chris Usselman

Chris Usselman

Chris Usselman, BMus (Hons) Music Performance and Recording, says "Every sound that can be heard on these songs, including what you see me play on the electric drums, started out as samples of my voice. I hope you enjoy them!"

Will Sharp

Will Sharp

Will Sharp, BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording, says: "As an aspiring professional session bass player, I used this project to challenge myself to demonstrate my versatility and skill in multiple genres of music. My performance takes the audience on a journey of the music I have become fascinated by since starting my degree, from Latin Jazz to Celtic folk, to Musical Theatre and finally to traditional Jazz."

Follow Will on Instagram for more of his work.

Luis Fernandes

Luis Fernandes

Luis Fernandes, BA (Hons) Performance and Recording, says, "The “Performance Project” was one of the things I was most looking forward to in my degree and, although we weren’t able to do an actual concert, I tried to recreate an engaging live show. Doing a set that is mostly original material, I tried to showcase my song writing abilities, as well as my performance skills. I produced all the backing tracks, blending them with my own live performance and stage persona."

Follow Luis on Instagram and YouTube. 

Iryna Gould

Iryna Gould

Iryna Gould, BMus Songwriting and Performance, says: 'My lifelong dream is to be a successful and respected female composer, writing orchestral and instrumental music predominantly for youngsters and families who maybe feel like it is inaccessible for a variety of reasons.  Identifying the difficulties that some children endure within their own families gave me an inspiration to create a unique and memorable ballet highlighting the emotional and moving trials and tribulations encountered by young people in their own homes and surroundings. 


The ballets’ libretto describes the plight of some children and their emotional challenges with their closest family members, but it has also been written in a way that I hope encourages children and young people in the audience to experience and enjoy this form of classical performance – usually perceived as something only for the privileged. I have utmost faith in this project and am confident that "The Secret Life of Dolls" will become a popular and very successful venture.'

Shaan Kambli

Shaan Kambli

Shaan Kambli, BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording, says: "The DreamState Project comprises of two separate EPs.

Daydream: Spontaneity, spiritedness, and a love for life.

One unusually sunny winter afternoon, on my way to buy groceries I found the city square looking much busier than usual. Something about the concoction of the clamour from street-side stores, lively expressions and sunlight felt overwhelmingly heartening.' The entire EP was modelled around that feeling and the visual of the sunlit, local square.

Delirium: Panic and disorientation.

The flip side of the human psyche, delirium is about pinching yourself but not waking up. Then doubting you were ever asleep to begin with. Maybe this nightmare is reality? The 2 EPs are part of a larger compilation titled The Soundtrack of Life, which aims to provide pop music to accommodate the situations that individuals would live through."

George Hinson

George Hinson

George Hinson, BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording, delivers his performance project whilst in isolation.

Jordan Farrugia

Jordan Farrugia

Jordan Farrugia, BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording, delivers his performance project whilst in isolation.

Will Eason

Will Eason

Will Eason, BMus (Hons) Performance and Recording, delivers his performance project whilst in isolation.

Course links

MMus Performance (Classical, Jazz and Popular)

Virginie Puiboube

Initially, this show was devised to be played live on a large stage, with a cinema screen placed behind and above the band. Virginie’s band, Laughing With The Raindrops, was going to perform the songs synchronised to a silent movie. Directed by Virginie, the movie is about two young girls who discover memorabilia in their attic and ponder about their findings.

Starting with a photo album and a record collection, they go on to empty out old suitcases and make surprising discoveries related to the characters in the songs. The film's aim is to create an atmospheric backdrop to the songs which also have their own narratives.

However because of COVID-19 restrictions and ongoing uncertainty, it has not been possible to stage this show and this home-made video endeavours to sketch an impression of the concept. A vocal performance was filmed and recorded live on to a DAW, at home to the music recorded by Virginie’s band in a professional studio.

The footage of the vocal performance was subsequently edited with images of the band in recording sessions, some backing vocals filmed at home, and some extracts from the film.

Course links

LCM Jazz Department in Lockdown 2020

This film features two tracks put together in 'lockdown style' by jazz students across a variety of courses. The creative process, despite the restrictions, is entirely collaborative.

  • I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (The Hot Club item) – music by Jimmy McHugh, lyrics by Dorothy Fields
  • Catch As Catch Can – written and arranged by Lennie Niehaus

  • Musicians

    I Can’t Give You Anything But Love (The Hot Club item) performed by:

    • Federico Di Biase & Mya Punter-Bradshaw (guitars)
    • Will Sharp (bass)
    • Caroline Vain (violin)

    Catch As Catch Can  performed by:

    • Sam McDonald & Edward Therens Garcia (guitar)
    • Oliver Cherrington (keys)
    • Vicki Ann, Alycia Lewis, Helen Warburton & Natalie Farrugia (saxophone)
    • James Playford (trumpet)
    • Jordan Farrugia (drums)

DISCOVER