The Monkathon
Inspired Festival 2015
Further information to follow
Tickets available soon from www.eventbrite.co.uk
The Conservatoire's Jazz Department proudly presents the second Birmingham Monkathon, a celebration of the music of Thelonious Monk.
Hear all 70 Monk compositions played in various venues and settings across the city, in a variety of interpretations.
This ambitious feat has been inspired by the classical convention of presenting complete cycles and works. A large dose of the original ‘Marathon’ ideal has been added for good measure: The Conservatoire Jazz Department is a messenger on a special mission, with plenty of endurance, intensity, physicality and spirit.
Meet our music graduates
The students taking part in 'The Monkathon' are following in the footsteps of a number of successful graduates, many of whom took part in the Inspired Festival themselves. Here are just a few of their stories..
Rosie Clements
Rosie Clements is a final year Composition student at the Conservatoire.
Frontiers Festival provides a platform for the region’s most talented young composers and musicians at Birmingham Conservatoire to showcase their works.
“My role saw me genuinely overseeing everything to ensure the event is a success,” Rosie said. “That included not just the artistic side of things, but also in terms of programming, scheduling and marketing.
“The festival was a chance to hear brand new, exciting pieces of music by the amazing talent that we have here.”
Charlotte Bray
Charlotte graduated with first class honours in 2006 and took part in the end of year shows.
In 2014, her composition 'At the Speed of Stillness' was named by 'The Sunday Times' as one of its recordings of the year. Praised for its "inventiveness and textural control", the piece was commissioned by BBC Proms and was premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in 2012.
Charlotte has also been named by the 'London Evening Standard' as one of London’s 1,000 most influential people, with the newspaper describing her as "one of the outstanding composing talents of her generation."
Ben Parker
Ben Parker was involved “behind the scenes” when it came to our musical performances.
He studied BSc (Hons) Music Technology with us but since graduating is now working in London as a Junior Promotions Executive at EMI Production Music.
He said: “Studying at the University taught me a lot about the music industry. I certainly wouldn't be in my current job if it wasn't for the course content and excellent staff."
“I had never set foot in a studio before starting my degree and it's testament to the quality of the course that I'm now working at such an esteemed music company.
Inspired Festival 2015
Taking place between June and July as part of our Inspired festival, our graduate shows are a culmination of the creativity, hard work and progression our Art, Design and Media students have shown since joining our institution. The shows will be a celebration of the students and their innovative work, and an opportunity for them to showcase their inventive, fresh ideas to audiences.
Inspired will showcase to the city and the region a series of concerts, performances, exhibitions, design, written work and more, demonstrating the high-level skills and transformative experiences that shape and define our graduates.
