Alumnus Yu Tamura has received support and recognition from The Japan Foundation Asia Center for her community dance project Moving Resilience: Community Dance Exploring Resilience Amidst Disaster.

The large scale community project will take place in the island of Negros Oriental in the Philippines, in collaboration with Youth Advocates Through Theatre Arts (YATTA) – a local non-profit cultural and development organisation composed of young professionals, students and community youth – and Kasing Sining, a culture caregiving program for the communities impacted by the great earthquake of October 2013.

Through the six month long project, Tamura wishes to create a space in which the community can collaboratively discover their individual and collective strength amidst disaster, and explore how dance can help embody personal and social resilience and contribute to a renewed sense of empowerment, hope, and healing.

Tamura comments –

“It is my belief that art is directly relevant to resilience because it is participatory, inclusive, and evokes imagination. I am excited to be collaborating with YATTA and Kasing Sining, sharing methodologies of inclusive dance practice, to develop a framework we can share with other groups and communities in Asia that have been hit by disaster, both natural and human made.”

Tamura graduated from Trinity Laban’s Postgraduate Diploma in Community Dance (PDCD) in 2015, a vocational programme for people who want to work as professional dance artists in community contexts.

To find out more about studying dance at Trinity Laban, visit the study pages.

Image credit: Tim Crocker

Vocal alumni are performing two Stockhausen masterpieces at the Barbican with Singcircle, directed by Trinity Laban staff conductor Gregory Rose, marking the ten-year anniversary of the composer’s death.

Trinity Laban vocal alumni Zoe Freedman and Guy Elliott join Singcircle, one of the leading exponents of contemporary vocal music, in a collaboration with some of Stockhausen’s closest associates to present a rare performance of two defining masterpieces: the meditative, trance-like Stimmung and the earth-shattering Cosmic Pulses.

Zoe and Guy first sung Stimmung with Gregory in 2013, whilst still students at Trinity Laban, and are excited to revisit the work with Singcircle, who have performed it over 50 times.

Zoe commented on performing the work again –

“It’s a huge honour to perform Stimmung again at the Barbican with Greg and Singcircle, who have such a wealth of experience with the piece. It’s an awe-inspiring work which is both challenging and beautiful. I am really enjoying revisiting it and working hard on the detail of the harmonics!”

Guy furthered –

“The opportunity to perform as part of a group that has become almost synonymous with this work is truly amazing. I can’t thank Trinity Laban enough for pushing me to explore repertoire outside of my comfort zone, it has broaden my horizons and helped me become a versatile and employable musician.”

From opposite ends of Stockhausen’s career, this concert of extremes will undoubtedly be a memorable affair.

For more information and to book visit the Barbican website.

Photograph © Stockhausen Foundation for Music, Kürten, Germany

Here’s our monthly round-up of successes for Trinity Laban alumni.

Several jazz alumni celebrated nominations and wins at the prestigious Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2017. After enjoying a breakthrough year with blistering performances at some of the UK’s major jazz festivals, septet Nérija – featuring alumni Nubya Garcia, Sheila Maurice Grey, Lizzy Exell, Cassie Kinoshi and Rosie Turton – won the Newcomer of the Year Award. Dinosaur – comprising alumni Laura Jurd, Elliot Galvin, Corrie Dick and Conor Chaplin – won Jazz Album of the Year for their debut Together As One. This is yet another accolade for this hugely successful album, which also received a 5-star Guardian review and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

Also this month, there was high praise for tenor saxophonist Leo Richardson’s debut The Chase, which he launched at The Spice of Life in Soho with his quartet on 11 Oct. The Observer called the album ‘a superlative debut’, giving it five stars.

Continuing the jazz success, Ezra Collective – featuring alumni Joe Armon Jones and Femi Koleoso – have released their new EP ‘Juan Pablo The Philosopher.’ Meanwhile, alumni Martin Speake, Jeff Williams and Calum Gourlay joined Head of Jazz Hans Koller in a celebration of Thelonious Monk at Fringe Jazz Bristol. And the Julian Costello Quartet launched their new album, ‘Transitions’ ahead of a UK tour this autumn supported by Arts Council England.

In other musical news, the Parallax Orchestra, co-founded and managed by Will Harvey, performed two shows at the Royal Albert Hall with American rock band Alter Bridge. Vocal alumnus John Savournin directed Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial by Jury at Opera North, receiving a 4 star review from Rupert Christiansen at The Telegraph. And the new CD of John Blow’s ‘An Ode on the Death of Mr Henry Purcell’ from tenor Samuel Boden received high praise, including a five star review in The Observer .

During October two of our dance alumni, James Pett and Matthew Sandiford, performed at London’s iconic venue Sadler’s Wells premiering new works. Pett danced in visionary choreographer and Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban Wayne McGregor’s bold and intimate Autobiography, heralded as ‘mesmerizingly good’ by The Guardian, whilst Sandiford performed as part of award-winning dance company BalletBoyz in Fourteen Days, an exciting quartet of new works playing with the concept of balance and imbalance created in only two weeks.

The month also saw the return to London of the international dance festival Dance Umbrella, which celebrates 21^st century choreography. The festival’s Artistic Director, dance alumna Emma Gladstone chatted to The Stage about what this year’s festival has in store and her future plans.

Several dance and Dance Science alumni, along with TL staff and students, led workshops, engaged in panel discussions, acted as moderators, and gave presentations at this year’s International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS) conference in Houston, Texas. Over four days, 12-15 Oct, work was presented on topics such as the challenges and advantages in UK Vocational Training, injury occurrence and prevention, cardiorespiratory fitness, creativity and mental imagery, a New Conditioning Methodology, and career pathways into dance medicine and science.

In more Dance Science news, alumna Sarah Kenny will lead the first combined dance and kinesiology degree program in Canada in her new position as assistant professor for the faculties of kinesiology and arts at University of Calgary.

Don’t miss:

Nardus Williams playing the part of Maggie/Marjana in the world premiere of youth opera Belongings at Glyndebourne on 11 Nov.

Stefania Pinato dancing in Gianluca Vincentini’s company Möbius Dance at Sadler’s Wells as part of the Wild Card series on 20 Nov

Zoe Freedman and Guy Elliott sing in Stockhausen: Stimmung & Cosmic Pulses at the Barbican on 20 Nov

Numerous Jazz Alumni taking part in the London Jazz Festival from 11-19 Nov

Stay up to date by following our Alumni Facebook page.

Emma Redding, Head of Dance Science at Trinity Laban, was awarded the Dance Educator Award 2017 at the 27^th Annual Conference of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS).

The award recognises her crucial role in developing dance science as a recognised field of study, through her research and international teaching. Trinity Laban was the first institution in the world to offer an MSc in Dance Science in 2001, and an MFA in Dance Science in 2016.

On accepting the award, Emma commented –

“I’m completely honoured. When my colleagues and I wrote the first Master’s Degree in Dance Science in 2000 we had no idea how much it was going to grow as an area of study in higher tertiary education and it’s really amazing to see. I’m really passionate about this field.”

At this year’s conference, held in Houston, Texas from 12 – 15 October, Emma presented a collaborative three-year research project on creativity and mental imagery, as well as lead workshops and moderating and was joined by 13 Trinity Laban staff, students, and alumni who presented on a wide range of topics, including:

• Injury occurrence, rehabilitation, and prevention
• Researching creativity
• Cardiorespiratory fitness
• New conditioning methodologies
• UK Vocational Training
• Pathways to careers in dance medicine and science

For more information about Trinity Laban’s ground-breaking Dance Science programmes – including our new MFA – please visit the Trinity Laban website.

To learn more about the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science visit the IADMS website.

We are delighted to welcome this year’s Fulbright Scholar, Roman Baca.

Roman is a former US Marine, a classically trained ballet dancer, and now the Artistic Director of Exit12 Dance Company in New York. He will be pursuing his MFA in Choreography at Trinity Laban, using his unique perspective to develop a ballet that looks at Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps through the lens of a military veteran, while studying what organisations in the United Kingdom are doing to connect military veterans to the performing arts.

Roman commented:

“I am excited to use the scholarship to further develop my individual artistic voice through risk taking, experimentation, and continuous creation. The programme leader, Tony Thatcher, is an inspirational director and artist, and I look forward to growing my practice under his tutelage.” 

Trinity Laban Principal, Professor Anthony Bowne, commented:

“Trinity Laban is a world leading conservatoire, and we are proud to be a partner of the renowned Fulbright Scholarship Programme. Fulbright Scholarships are highly sought after, and greatly extend the financial support Trinity Laban is able to offer the world’s best prospective postgraduate students. Roman will be immersed in high-quality teaching and a diverse international community, which I’m sure will contribute to him achieving his goals.”

This is the second year Trinity Laban have offered the Fulbright-Trinity Laban Award in Music & Dance, enabling US citizens the opportunity to pursue a one-year Master’s degree (or the first year of a longer Master’s or PhD). The inaugural recipient was University of South Florida alumnus Madison McGrew, who recently completed her MSc in Dance Science.

Applications are now open for 2018/19, with auditions taking place in the USA this autumn:

• New York (Music, Dance, & Musical Theatre) | 11-12 November 2017
• San Francisco (Dance) | 18-19 November 2017

Workshops, information sessions, masterclasses, and auditions will be led by our internationally renowned academic staff and are open to those interested in all programmes and specialisms at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

For more information, please visit our international pages, or contact admissions@trinitylaban.ac.uk  

This November, Curator and Trinity Laban alumnus Gianluca Vincentini will be presenting work at Sadler’s Wells as part of their Wild Card series, which brings fresh perspectives from a new generation of dance makers curating special evenings. Vincentini will introduce his company Möbius Dance – featuring dance alumna Stefania Pinato (pictured) – and introduce other promising dance talent such as Jamaal Burkmar, winner of the New Adventures’ Choreographer Award.

In fact, this autumn Sadler’s Wells has been home to several Trinity Laban dance alumni. BA graduate James Pett was one of the 10 dancers premiering visionary choreographer and Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban Wayne McGregor’s bold and intimate Autobiography in October. The Guardian heralded the dancing, inspired by McGregor’s own genome sequencing, as ‘mesmerizingly good’ whilst the Telegraph agreed the company was on ‘’absolutely firecracker form”.

As part of another award-winning dance company, BalletBoyz, alumnus Matthew Sandiford performed in Fourteen Days, an exciting quartet of new works playing with the concept of balance and imbalance. Created in only two weeks, the show featured pieces by choreographers Javier de Frutos, Craig Revel Horwood, Iván Pérez and Christopher Wheeldon who teamed up with composers Scott Walker, Charlotte Harding, Joby Talbot and Keaton Henson.

And that’s not end of the Trinity Laban alumni who are represented at Sadler’s Wells this season. Don’t forget to see alumnus Sir Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella this Christmas, forming part New Adventure’s 30^th anniversary celebrations.

Wild Card | Sadler’s Wells | 23 & 24 Nov 2017
For more information and to book, see http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2017/gianluca-vincentini-wild-card/

Cinderella | Sadler’s Wells | 9 Dec 2017 – 27 Jan 2018
For more information and to book, see http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2017/matthew-bournes-cinderella/

Image credit: Danilo Moroni (photographer)

A number of Trinity Laban alumni are celebrating wins at the prestigious Parliamentary Jazz Awards, which were held at PizzaExpress Live on 10 October.

The Album of the Year prize was presented to Dinosaur – comprising alumni Laura Jurd, Elliot Galvin, Corrie Dick and Conor Chaplin – for their album Together As One. This is yet another accolade for this hugely successful album, which received a 5-star Guardian review and was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

Winners of Newcomer of the Year were the septet Nérija, which features Trinity Laban alumni Nubya Garcia, Sheila Maurice Grey, Lizzy Exell, Cassie Kinoshi and Rosie Turton. Nérija have enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2017, with blistering performances at some of the UK’s major jazz festivals.

Established in 2005, the Parliamentary Jazz Awards are recognised as some of the UK’s most important and prestigious awards, recognising rising stars and established talent. Alongside Dinosaur and Nerija, there were numerous other nominations for talented Trinity Laban students, staff and alumni.

For more information on jazz study at Trinity Laban, visit the Trinity Laban website.

Local school children and older adults are collaborating to create a new piece inspired by Blackheath Halls Community Opera’s production of Weber’s Der Freischütz (The Magic Bullets).

Over a period of six weeks, young musicians from Deptford Green School and participants from Trinity Laban’s Inspired not Tired programme – a series of music and dance activities for older adults – have been meeting to create their own collaboration entitled Six Magic, Seven Tragic.

Participants have taken inspiration from the opera’s themes of folklore, nature, magic and love, as well as reimagining aspects of staging, lighting and costumes. The aim of the project is to build understanding between groups from different generations and experience and engage with music creatively.

Speaking about the project so far, one Inspired not Tired participant commented “[It] has been collectively enjoyable because we are working with a different age groups and talent. Input from the tutors has helped a lot and we’ve come up with come complex sounds.”

Commenting on the benefits of the intergenerational project for the pupils, Michael Rogers, Head of Music at Deptford Green School said –

“The experience is great for our pupils, learning how to create music to a stimulus, in a group sharing ideas all valuable to their future skills and is also wonderful for building confidence.”

Lizzy Green – Projects Manager, Learning and Participation (Music) at Trinity Laban – furthered –

“To have older adults working with the young people in the same space at Deptford Green School is a real strength of this project. Our inspiring project leaders Natasha Lohan and Aga Serugo-Lugo take each individual’s ideas into account when generating the creative response to the opera, building understanding between groups from different generations.”  

Six Magic, Seven Tragic culminates in a sharing on Monday 16 Oct 18.00h at Deptford Green School. Admission is free but must be booked online in advance via the web page.

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is delighted to announce the appointment of Hans Koller as the new Head of Jazz.

Hans Koller takes up his post on September 1st. He replaces Simon Purcell, who has stepped down as head of department but will continue to teach at Trinity Laban.

Pianist, trombonist, composer and arranger Hans Koller was born in Germany and studied composition and ethnomusicology in the UK. He emerged as a major force in the UK jazz scene with his 2002 album New Memories, hailed by John Fordham in the Guardian as “the most expansive, expressive and exciting new jazz orchestral sound to have emerged in this country since the late-lamented Loose Tubes”. Since then he has pursued twin careers as performer – collaborating with many of the world’s leading jazz musicians – and educator, as Senior Lecturer in Jazz at Birmingham Conservatoire.

Hans commented:

“I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to join Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. I can’t wait to join one of the best jazz departments in the world: an endlessly inspiring centre of creativity and innovation in contemporary jazz, with a brilliant team of teachers. Trinity Laban has an extraordinary track record of nurturing, transforming and promoting young talent, and I’m excited to be carrying on the work of Simon Purcell, to help the next generation of jazz musicians find their own voice, and shape the music of the future”     

Dr Claire Mera-Nelson, Director of Music at Trinity Laban, praised Simon Purcell’s contribution and welcomed Hans Koller:

“Under Simon Purcell’s outstanding leadership over the past twelve years, the jazz department at Trinity Laban has firmly established itself as a crucible of exceptional talent. The many successes of our current students and recent alumni alike are a real testament to Simon’s creativity and passion as an educator.

I’m delighted to welcome Hans Koller to succeed Simon as Head of Jazz at Trinity Laban. As an experienced jazz composer, pianist and educator within the conservatoire sector, Hans brings a deep understanding of what young jazz musicians need in order to develop their individual voice and creativity. I know that he will give Trinity Laban students the very best chance of future success.”

Applications are now open to study jazz at Trinity Laban in September 2018. For more information see trinitylaban.ac.uk/jazz

Trinity Laban undergraduates have the highest rate of employment and further study of any UK conservatoire, according to new figures published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Longitudinal survey, which captures information from undergraduates completing their courses in 2012/13, states that 97.7% of Trinity Laban alumni are now in work or further study, three and a half years after graduating.

This is not only the highest figure of all UK conservatoires, but also joint 2nd highest out of the 158 universities who submitted data.

Trinity Laban’s success has been highlighted by Times Higher Education, the leading UK magazine and website devoted to higher education.

Professor Anthony Bowne, Principal of Trinity Laban, commented:

“Here at Trinity Laban, nothing is more important to us than the success and wellbeing of our students. We carefully design our unique programmes, work extremely closely with key employers, and offer bespoke career support services, all in order to equip our students with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to succeed in their chosen art forms. I’m really delighted that these latest figures once again prove that so many of our graduates are progressing on to work and further study.”

Applications are now open for study in September 2018. For more information see the study pages of the Trinity Laban website.

Trinity Laban’s summer production of Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea has received a trio of glowing reviews in the national press.

Writing in The Observer, Fiona Maddocks gave the production 4 stars, writing that: “Talent was evident in all quarters, from continuo to principal soloists to design and lighting… Now at critical stages in the development of their voices, all these singers deserve mention, including those playing main characters: Anna Prowse (Nerone), Luke Faber (Ottone), Henrike Legner (Drusilla), Samuel Mitchell (Seneca) and Charlotte Osborn (Poppea)… One performer stood out as already knowing how to use her dramatic and vocal skills to the utmost: mezzo-soprano Emily Gray (Ottavia). I’d mention some of the cameo roles but luckily it was too tricky working out who was who. So all please take a bouquet.”

In her 4-star review in the Sunday Express, Clare Colvin wrote that “Poppea is an ideal choice for Trinity Laban… Among the cast, mezzo Emily Gray was outstanding as the rejected Empress Ottavia. Excellent too were Bethany Horak-Hallett’s Nerone, Charlotte Osborn’s Poppea, counter tenor Luke Faber as Ottone, Henrike Legner as Drusilla and bass Samuel Mitchell as Seneca. The talent now emerging from British music academies augurs well for opera’s future.”

In Opera magazine, Christopher Webber commented that “Poppea proved an astute choice for Trinity Laban, with 22 singers nearly all given their moment in the sun.” He singled out the “elegantly stylish musical preparation” of Nicholas Kraemer; praised many of the performers while identifying Emily Gray as “a charismatic singer-actress to watch”; and concluded by saying that “the evening made a fine valedictory gift for the retiring Head of Vocal Studies, Linda Hirst, under whom the Conservatoire’s operatic standards have risen immeasurably.”

Applications our now open for study in September 2018. For more information see the study pages of the Trinity Laban website.