News
Tchad Blake Guest Lecture
1st April 2009
Tchad Blake, the two-time Grammy Award winning engineer and producer, visited the department on Thursday 19th March to deliver a guest lecture to our second and third year students. Tchad spoke at length about his career, his use of experimental recording techniques and the future of music on the whole.
Tchad has over twenty five years experience of working in the music industry, having mixed and produced well-known artists such as Suzanne Vega, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam, Crowded House, Tom Waits, among others.
For more information, please click here.
Hollywood Composer visits Department
27th March 2009
Film composer David Arnold, whose credits include James Bond films Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Die Another Day and The World is Not Enough, visited the department and spoke to our students on Tuesday 10th March. During his visit he spoke to students about the technical challenges and rewards of film composition.
Music journalist Tommy Pearson was also in attendance conducting an interview and a Q&A session with the composer. Examples of his work were screened for discussion.
PhD student presents article at SIANA 2009
26th March 2009
Fabio Paolizzo, PhD student in the Department of Music and Audio, presented the article "The interactive musical system and an aware usage of technology" at SIANA 2009 (Semaine Internationale des Arts Numériques & Alternatifs) at Télécom & Management SudParis in Evry, France.
Fabio demonstrated the recently implemented features of his VIVO software and the theories behind its design.
Exciting new honours degree!
21st February 2009
Are you intrigued by the idea of working as an audio professional, maybe in sound design? Perhaps you’d like to work on sound for video games or you’re fascinated by the latest developments in synthesiser hardware and plug-ins.
The Department of Music and Audio is launching an exciting new degree that will begin in September 2008. This new programme, BSc (Hons) Audio Design and Production, explores the world of sound design and audio production including; Electronic Music and Synthesis, Acoustics, Digital Audio and Computer Based Production. You also have the opportunity to explore how multimedia and audio applications are developed.
If you enjoy working with audio – whether its sound effects for a theatre production or creating your own unique sounds from the latest audio plug-in then this might just be the course for you!
For more information, please visit our courses page
VIVOtube Installation unveiled
26th November 2008
Fabio Paolizzo, PhD student in the Department of Music and Audio, unveiled the interactive installation VIVOtube and presented the article "VIVO (Video Interactive VST Orchestra)" at EMUFEST 2008 at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia, Rome.
The Centre for Music Technology hosts Fabio's installation VIVOtube - a live interactive system for internet users. To view the installation, please click here
Adrian Breakspear Guest Studio Session
12th November 2008
Freelance sound engineer, Adrian Breakspear, spent a day in our department running a mixing and editing session for our students. The session covered such techniques as sound replacement, beat detecting and a variety of other advanced mixing techniques. Adrian has an extensive and impressive portfolio; having worked with such artists as Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Chemical Brothers, Bloc Party, Basement Jaxx, Groove Armada and Coldplay. Adrian shared his experiences of the music recording industry and talked at length about his work for Abbey Road Studios, Battery Studios and Sphere Studios.
Lecturer Audio Brands Talented Pixie
11th November 2008
Jonathan Vincent a lecturer in the Department of Music and Audio, has produced the musical audio-branding for Talented Pixie, the software training company. Jonathan's music can currently be heard every night in the After Effects and Final Cut Pro tutorial programmes showing on Sky Propeller (195) at 1AM. Also his music appears on all Talented Pixie software tutorial DVD-Roms and online tutorials.
Medway Jazz Band take centre stage at ArtsFest 2008
5th June 2008
On Saturday 7th June 2008, the Medway Jazz Band will be performing on the centre stage at the University's ArtsFest 2008 held at the Canterbury Campus. The Medway Jazz Band is run by the Department of Music and Audio, with regular rehearsals every Monday evening.
For more information on ArtsFest 2008, please click here.
Gordon Reid Guest Lecture
19th March 2008
Gordon Reid, Managing Director of CEDAR Audio and frequent contributor to Sound on Sound visited our department and discussed CEDAR's audio restoration, noise reduction and forensic audio work. Gordon provided a real-time demonstration of the CEDAR Cambridge Server, giving our students a fascinating insight into the practices and techniques used in the restoration of audio material. Gordon also discussed his career path and his experience as Managing Director of CEDAR Audio, the world's only company dedicated solely to audio restoration and speech enhancement for film, post, TV and radio broadcast, CD and DVD mastering, libraries and archives, and for audio forensic investigation.
Paul Jackson Guest Lecture
6th March 2008
Paul Jackson, video games publisher and Director General of ELSPA, visited our department and gave a talk to our third years as part of their Professional Practice module. Paul has been a video games publisher since 1988. In 1993 he established the UK office of Electronic Arts, which he led to market leadership over the next twelve years. He has served on the board of ELSPA since 1992, Chairing for three years. In 2006 he was appointed Director General. From late 2005 to 2007 he chaired the Government sponsored Digital Content forum. In 1999 Paul was awarded the 'Industry Achievement Award' for services to the videogames industry. During his time leading Electronic Arts he accepted "Publisher of the Year" over five times. In 2002 he accepted a BAFTA for FIFA Soccer on behalf of all who had played a part in bringing it to market.
Lecturer Produces Apple Logic Pro Training DVD
1st March 2008
Jonathan Vincent, lecturer in the Department of Music and Audio, has recently authored/presented a tutorial DVD for Apple Logic Pro music production software. The DVD, the first in a series of three, is to be released through the training company Talented Pixie.
Robin How Guest Lecture
28th February 2008
Robin How, Senior Forensic Investigator for the Metropolitan Police presented a guest lecture for our students. With over twenty years experience within the field of forensic audio, Robin discussed a range of investigative techniques and provided a fascinating insight into the growing area of audio restoration and evidential extraction.
Tommy Pearson Guest Lecture
25th February 2008
Musician, broadcaster and critic, Tommy Pearson, presented a guest lecture for our first and second year Music Technology students. Tommy compared the work of several significant film music composers and examined areas such as creation, scoring and scene setting within film music. Trained as a composer and percussionist, Tommy had a successful early career as a session musician and arranger before reinventing himself as one of the main voices on BBC Radio 3. He started with the ground-breaking show for young people, Music Machine, and went on to present all the major strands on the network, including In Tune, Morning on 3, Music Matters, Stage and Screen and hundreds of live concerts, including the Proms. Tommy also appears regularly on BBC4 television. On BBC Radio 4 he has presented the quiz show Full Orchestra, many documentaries, and appears regularly on Front Row and The Film Programme.
Source: Stage and Screen Online (c) S&S online 2007