Music - Working with others
Our music students get plenty of
opportunities to work with professional musicians in addition to
members of staff. There are regular tuition sessions with
practising performers and guest tutors hold workshops and
masterclasses on performance and composition, giving students a
chance to learn about the world of the working musician and to get
feedback on their own ideas.
We place a high value on collaborative work at YSJ and music
students are encouraged to work with each other, with staff and
with the community outside the campus as part of the Music
degree.
Our students throw themselves into the wealth of musical
networks at the university, not only at the weekly concerts on
campus - but also as part of groups and ensembles performing off
campus. Recent examples have included a ukelele band, a folk group,
and an African drumming ensemble.
Many of the groups formed by our students are involved with
other community organisations, performing with users of mental
health services, in care homes for elderly people and in hospital
wards. They work with schools, busk in York streets and present
concerts at civic occasions.
In 2010, music students worked with Hands and Voices, a choir
for people with learning difficulties and disabilities. The
50-strong choir uses sign language to support the meaning of its
songs. Hands and Voices was also Community Ensemble in Residence,
providing placements for undergraduates who led warm ups, taught
songs, wrote material and joined in performances with the
choir.