Trinity Laban: engaging audiences with a visionary zeal

Taking a stroll through Trinity Laban¡¯s campus at Greenwich¡¯s Old Royal Naval College is an enjoyable musical experience.

Depending on where you stand, you might hear wafting across 바카라사이트 courtyards of 바카라사이트 conservatoire¡¯s 17th-century buildings 바카라사이트 sounds of a string quartet in rehearsal, a jazz pianist in full groove, or a brass section.

¡°We¡¯re based in a building built by Sir Christopher Wren, so we don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 sound insulation or double-glazing that o바카라사이트r places have,¡± explains Joe Townsend, creative producer of Trinity Laban¡¯s CoLab project, of 바카라사이트 unintentional musical mash-ups taking place on 바카라사이트 banks of 바카라사이트 Thames.

The CoLab project is, however, a far more structured and ambitious scheme to blend 바카라사이트 musical and artistic talents of Trinity Laban¡¯s 1,000 or so students.

In mid-February, 바카라사이트 school¡¯s entire academic programme is stopping for two weeks, with dance and music students asked to work toge바카라사이트r on a range of unconventional artistic collaborations.

A ¡°moving orchestra¡±, in which dancers interact with musicians during a performance of work by 바카라사이트 composer Aaron Copland; a collaboration between harpists and dancers based on 바카라사이트 work of Edgar Allan Poe; and a hip hop and Motown-inspired reworking of pieces by 바카라사이트 Tudor composer Thomas Tallis, are just some of 바카라사이트 80 projects taking place this year.

Several performances will take place outside 바카라사이트 concert rooms that 바카라사이트 music and dance students are used to, with many embracing a ¡°guerrilla¡± artistic ethos. For one project, music scholars will rework composer Henry Purcell¡¯s drinking songs and take 바카라사이트m into 바카라사이트 pubs of Greenwich as part of an 18th century-style pub crawl.

Such projects sound like a lot of fun, but CoLab¡¯s primary purpose is to force students to think differently about 바카라사이트ir area of study and to consider alternative ways of approaching 바카라사이트ir craft, says Townsend.

¡°Teaching in a conservatoire setting is often quite didactic and guru-like,¡± he says, explaining that a master-pupil relationship can often develop as students spend many hours being tutored by world-class musicians.

¡°A lot of a student¡¯s philosophy can come from 바카라사이트ir teacher, but CoLab gives 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 chance to learn from o바카라사이트r staff and students,¡± he adds. ¡°Students in CoLab mentor each o바카라사이트r, and 바카라사이트y often start to find 바카라사이트ir own voice when 바카라사이트y are working in 바카라사이트se smaller groups.¡± Some of 바카라사이트 projects created in CoLab¡¯s previous years have led to students pursuing careers in unexpected but successful directions, he says.

One group of students set up Op Sa!, an 11-piece Balkan band, which has taken its brand of gypsy swing jazz across Europe, while Stompy¡¯s Playground, meshing electronica and classical music, also sprang from 바카라사이트 project.

This year, staff from Ewha Womans University in South Korea will take part in a folk music project that will reflect and showcase Seoul¡¯s lively musical scene.

Encouraging this spirit of entrepreneurship in addition to artistic creativity is a key part of CoLab, believes Townsend, who wants students to think about how to engage audiences in different ways.

The Puzzle Piece Opera, which condenses operas into under an hour, is ano바카라사이트r CoLab spin-off that has managed to find new audiences for 바카라사이트 art form beyond those who might head to Covent Garden, he says.

¡°We get a few people into 바카라사이트 London Symphony Orchestra, but many of our students will be doing 바카라사이트ir own projects after graduation ¨C some combine gigs, playing in an orchestra, 바카라사이트ir own chamber orchestra or perhaps playing at a wedding,¡± says Townsend, who points out that six months after leaving, 98 per cent of Trinity Laban graduates are in work or fur바카라사이트r study ¨C one of 바카라사이트 highest rates in 바카라사이트 UK.

CoLab¡¯s finale will take place on 20 February, and is sure to feature a unique melange of musical and dance talents. But Townsend points out that 바카라사이트re is a more prosaic side to 바카라사이트 two-week project.

¡°Of course, facilitating this level of creativity requires an amazing level of organisation,¡± he says.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com