Trinity Laban today announced a new long-term partnership with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra aimed at increasing professional development for young musicians across the South of England as well as increasing the diversity of the UK orchestral profession.

The partnership extends to BSO’s ground-breaking Change Makers project, which has created a training programme for disabled conductor and artistic leader James Rose. BSO and Trinity Laban have also paired up for the unique Side by Side series, in which principal BSO players perform alongside and offer mentorship to Trinity Laban students. As part of this mentoring programme, students and recent graduates will be given the opportunity to work with BSO Participate and BSO Associates, two programmes which deliver outstanding community engagement across the Southwest.

The BSO and Trinity Laban both share an ambition to redefine the role of the symphony orchestra and conservatoires in the 21st century. Both have identified a gap between higher education and professional practice and so as part of their new partnership Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will offer Trinity Laban students and recent graduates coaching, training and performance opportunities.

Clare Mera-Nelson, Director of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, said:

“We’re delighted today to be able to announce our partnership with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which marks the coming together of a world-class orchestra with a leading music conservatoire. Trinity Laban has a long history of excellence in training performing musicians and of making high quality learning opportunities available to those who might not otherwise be able to access them. This partnership is an exciting new initiative which supports us all in striving to make real long-term change.”

BSO and Trinity Laban will work also together to identify talented and committed young instrumentalists and composers from communities currently under-represented in the profession including Black & Minority Ethnic, particular socio-economic backgrounds and disabled musicians. By providing support, advice, professional insight and mentoring to help them achieve entry to conservatoires the combination of the BSO and Trinity Laban will help these young musicians pursue careers as orchestral musicians and soloists. 

Dougie Scarfe, Chief Executive of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, announced the partnership in a speech at the opening day of the Association of British Orchestra’s conference, which is this year hosted by the BSO. He said:

“Much needs to be done in the orchestral sector to increase diversity and the range of opportunities available to young players from disadvantaged backgrounds. There’s also a gap between the professional orchestral sector and conservatoires. Trinity Laban shares BSO’s passion for change in these areas and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to team up with them on a range of initiatives that we believe will make a real impact on young people’s professional development.” 

Image: JK Photography

Sarah Golding will join the cast of STOMP in London’s West End at the Ambassador’s Theatre, performing in up to 4 shows a week.

STOMP unites dance, comedy and music into a theatrical experience which explodes with energy. The company bring everyday objects, such as newspapers & bins, and use them to create rhythmic beats in thrilling and playful patterns. The first ever STOMP show was performed 25 years ago at the Edinburgh fringe, and has since travelled around the globe.

Sarah Golding completed both undergraduate and postgraduate training at Trinity Laban, gaining her BA Dance Performance in 2012 and then completing her MA Performance as a member of Transitions Dance Company in 2013. Since graduating, Sarah has performed as part of the Laban Event in Switzerland 2013 and performed works by Colin Poole, Alesandra Seutin and Hamish Pirie. She has most recently performed as a dancer with Lîla Dance prior to gaining a role in STOMP.

Many Trinity Laban alumni go on to perform in leading dance companies, in the UK and internationally. For more information about studying with us, visit our Study pages.

For more information on STOMP, visit the STOMP website. 

Balkan band Op Sa! is producing a new rap song in collaboration with young Romani Gypsy rapper Azza about the Calais and refugee crisis.

The band was formed at Trinity Laban by alumnus Stefan Melovski as part of CoLab, Trinity Laban’s annual festival of collaboration and innovation. CoLab sees our music and dance staff and students join forces to make new work-in-progress; a celebration of creativity, experimentation, and shared learning.

Op Sa! features numerous Trinity Laban alumni, including Maša Mujic, Eve Wieltschnig (both Clarinet), Lily Carassik Whitfield, Nick Armstrong, James Docherty (all Trumpet), Hannah Dilkes, Rosie Turton (both Trombone), Thomas Kelly(Tuba), Peter Bennett, Stefan Melovski (both Guitar) and Olly Sarkar (Drums).

Bringing their own passionate brand of Balkan music, Op Sa! is a blend of wild beats, gypsy flair and modern sound. They have performed at prestigious venues such as the Royal Festival Hall alongside the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as being one of the featured headliners at the Lancaster Music Festival 2015.

This year’s CoLab will proudly welcome artists from around the globe to share their artistic practice with students and to exchange ideas with Trinity Laban staff. We are hosting students from across Europe in the Brexchange Jazz Orchestra and welcoming dancers from the Taiwan University of the Arts.

Please visit the CoLab page for more information.

Op Sa! hope to raise funds for The Hummingbird Project, which is working with refugees in Calais, Dunkirk and Brighton. To make a donation, visit their band camp page. You can also watch them on YouTube. 

2014 graduate Phoebe Hart is in the cast of the new musical Bat out of Hell as a featured dancer.

Jim Steinman’s rock and roll theatrical fantasy Bat out of Hell plays at the Manchester Opera House in February before coming to the London Coliseum in June. This new musical features 17 of Meat Loaf’s greatest hits, alongside two new Jim Steinman originals written for the show.

Bat out of Hell follows the eternally young Strat and his wild gang, The Lost, as they roam the streets of Obsidian, a post-apocalyptic Manhattan, ruled by the wicked and tyrannical Falco. When Strat first sets eyes on Falco’s daughter, Raven, who has been locked away in the palace towers, he sets out to rescue her from her evil father’s clutches in a full throttle tale of teenage love, youthful rebellion and living the rock and roll dream.

After graduating, Phoebe completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Performance Studies at London Contemporary Dance School, touring extensively with Richard Alston Dance Company as an apprentice.

For more information and to book tickets visit the Bat out of Hell website.

To find out more about studying at Trinity Laban, visit our Study pages. 

Trinity Laban research student and professor Alexander Walker and professor Teresa Cahill have been awarded the Elgar Societies highest honour.

The Elgar Medal is awarded to individuals who have shown a continued commitment to the promotion of the life and works of Edward Elgar, or to the aims and objectives of The Elgar Society.

The Society commented:

‘Alexander Walker has been an outstanding advocate of the music of Sir Edward Elgar both within the UK and overseas. Over a period approaching twenty years, Mr Walker has conducted many Elgar works, presenting music never before performed in such countries as Romania, Albania and Belarus.  The Elgar Society is delighted to be able to honour Mr Walker for his outstanding work in presenting Elgar’s music to new audiences.

The Elgar Society is very pleased to announce that the outstanding British soprano Teresa Cahill is to be awarded its medal, presented for “continued commitment to the promotion of the life and works of Edward Elgar”. Her association with Elgar’s music dates back to the mid-1960s and has included concerts, broadcasts and recordings with conductors including Sir Alexander Gibson and Vernon Handley.’

To read more about Alexander Walker, visit the Trinity Laban blog.

For more information on Elgar visit the Elgar Society website.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance offers the research degrees of MPhil and PhD. To find out more visit our research degree programme page. 

This year, the Greenwich Dance & Trinity Laban Partnership and Trinity Laban individually have each participated in the Jerwood Choreographic Research Project, an innovative investment model designed to kick-start ideas and research into challenging and exciting choreographic concepts. It aims to stimulate new thinking in choreography by enabling artists and creatives to think, dream and experiment freely.

Trinity Laban participated in the selection process by volunteering to read and grade proposals, attend the shortlisting day, and participate in the final pitching and selection day at Dance Xchange. In order to support the selected artists, Trinity Laban have allocated funding as well as in-kind resources.

The projects being supported are:

Greenwich Dance & Trinity Laban Partnership: Sasha Milavic Davies and Lucy Railton

Research into everyday female gesture and traditional women’s dance from around the world, and exploring large-scale participation for women of all backgrounds, ages and professions.

Trinity Laban: Dan Daw and Mark Maughan:

Dissecting the notion of “inspiration” and exploring the wider notions of inspiration beyond disability and its relationship to audience need and expectation.

For more information please visit the Dance Xchange website. 

Image: onedanceuk.org

Trinity Laban’s past and present students are thriving as innovative artists pushing the boundaries of music in the jazz world.

Many alumni have recently featured in Fader Magazine, amongst artists described as “making jazz feel brand-new”. The article goes onto to call South London the “epicentre [of] the homegrown U.K. jazz movement”.

Formed in 2012, Ezra Collective includes alumni Femi Koleoso (drums), Joe Armon Jones (piano) and current student Dylan Jones (trumpet). They recently performed at the jazz-meets-hip-hop Black Milk Boiler Room special, with an explosive 45-minute set which stole the show.

2016 graduate Moses Boyd forms part of Sampha’s newly christened live band. His own music won Best Jazz Act at the 2015 MOBOs, and he has collaborated with artists Lonnie Liston Smith, Ed Motta, Little Simz, Four Tet, Floating Points, Zara McFarlane, Gilles Peterson, Soweto Kinch and many more.

Newly formed septet Nérija, including five Trinity Laban alumni, are rapidly becoming established instrumentalists in their own right. As a group they form a combination of guitars and drums which meet the powerful force of multiple horns.

Tom Misch’s 2014 White Label EP series remains one of the most popular. His most recent EP Reverie, featuring south London rapper Loyle Carner, is also tallying up the plays.

Read the article in full on the Fader website.

To find out more about Jazz at Trinity Laban, visit our Study pages.

Trinity Laban dance students and alumni have joined Jools Holland for a short video which describes and illustrates some pieces from his new album ‘Piano’.

Filmed at the Laban Building at the end of last year, the video sees musician Jools Holland talking about the inspiration behind selected works for his new album: Christabel, Grand Hotel, Last Date and Romantic Ruin. During his performance of the works, the dancers are seen to interpret the songs in the background, and are even joined by Jools for a bit of improvisation!

The dancers involved are: David Kam, Verena Schneider, Luke Birch, (Alumni) Samuel Baskett, Georgia Brown (BA3 students) Sean Murray, Viva Foster, Osian Meilir (MA Dance Performance (Transitions) students). Alumnus Sylvia Ferreira movement directed as well as performing in the video.

Jools Holland’s new album ‘Piano’ is out now: https://goo.gl/rloUhY

2015 graduate Cassie Kinoshi has been selected for “The Old Vic 12”, a leading artist development programme from one of the UK’s most prestigious theatres.

Cassie – the only composer to be selected – was chosen from more than 1,300 applicants for the scheme, which is now in its second year and aims to support the next generation of theatre makers. It was introduced by artistic director Matthew Warchus, who has said: “Supporting the next generation of theatre makers is one of the most important and effective contributions to our cultural future we can make”. Over the course of the next year, the 12 participants will receive mentoring and networking opportunities.

Cassie is also known for her work with jazz septet NÉRIJA, Afrobeat band KOKOROKO and her own large ensemble SEED. Alongside working frequently within the world of jazz music and live performance, Cassie has also written for short film and videogame as well as professional classical ensembles such as the Benyounes Quartet and members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Trinity Laban trains composers and creative practitioners for the realities and diversity of professional life in the global community. For more information about studying composition at Trinity Laban, visit our Study pages. 

Louiseanne Wong’s choreographic work Skinship was selected for the opening night of live works in Diffrazioni Multimedia Festival, Italy.

Diffrazioni Festival is dedicated to contemporary art, striving to explore boundaries between technology and poetic expression. The festival included works by widely celebrated artists such as Marina Ambramovic and Bill Viola, basing its strength on collaboration, young artists, cultural associations and non-profit organizations.

Hong Kong born and raised, Louiseanne studied on the MA Choreography programme at Trinity Laban, graduating in 2014. Her most recent work Skinship is in collaboration with sonic artist James Wilkie – together named Wong/Wilkie – creating a work incorporating video, dance and live interaction. The performance took place at the Palazzina Reale building in Florence Santa Maria Novella, Italy.

Our postgraduate programmes offer the opportunity to develop creative and professional skills at an advanced level. We offer study across a range of disciplines: performance, choreography, creative practice, dance science and community dance, with qualifications ranging from Postgraduate Diploma to Master of Fine Arts.

For more information about studying at Trinity Laban, visit our Study pages.

A group of enterprising Trinity Laban students are seeking support for an ambitious performance and education project that will could see them head across the Atlantic.

The Old Jelly Rollers – seven young jazz musicians from Trinity Laban – are aiming to travel to New Orleans in February 2017 to perform at Mardi Gras and to create an online resource for music students and children in the UK.

The group are planning to conduct interviews with celebrated musicians in New Orleans, the home of jazz. They will also document their experience of Mardi Gras and music culture in the French Quarter, using their discoveries to develop online resources and interactive workshops for students back in the UK. By making jazz education accessible to a wider audience, the Jelly Rollers aim to protect and promote this rich heritage, and to take arts education to a broader audience.

The Old Jelly Rollers came together to celebrate the centennial anniversaries of both the first ever jazz recording and the birth of George Webb, regarded by many as the father of the trad jazz movement in the UK. The septet comprises alumnus Louise Balkwill (Voice) plus current students Johnny Woodham (Trumpet), Hannah Hever (Clarinet), Laura Impallomeni(Trombone), Martin Lee Thomson (Multi-instrumentalist), Adam Chinery (Banjo) and Tom Wright (Drums).

The ensemble currently relies entirely on crowd funding to support their journey, hoping to raise £10,000 by 20th December 2016 in order to make their vision a reality.

For more information visit The Old Jelly Rollers website. To make a donation, please visit their crowdfunding page.

Image: Henrijs Grabovskis