Music
Information on the Music Groups
| CD recitals | Music Miscellany |
| Concert Group | Opera Group |
| Exploring Music | Singing Group |
| Jazz Appreciation |
Information for the Concert Group Please contact Judith Brown on 01524 858243 or email jmbrown@talktalk.net
CD recitals
Meetings are held once a month to listen to CDs of classical music using a sound system purchased from an Awards for All grant. Members from the group take turns to choose and introduce the music. The group meets at LFMH on the 4th Tuesday afternoon (the afternoon of the monthly meeting)
Concert Group
The aim of the group is to go, generally by coach, to concerts given by the superb orchestras which we have in this region, such as the Hallé, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the BBC Philharmonic held at such wonderful venues as The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
There are also concerts and musical events nearer to home: the University's International Concert Series, which present a very great variety of music, The Haffner, our local orchestra, and Lancashire Sinfonietta.
As a group we can take advantage of the group discount and it enables people to enjoy listening to live music in the company of like-minded people. Lifts can be arranged to and from the coach pick up points or local venues so that non-drivers can enjoy these outings. Events organised for the group are published in the U3AS Newsletter and by email.
Members of the group recently attended a superb concert by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at Bridgewater Hall with Alison Balsom playing Haydn's Trumpet Concert, a beautiful piece by Dvorák and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.
The Haffner Orchestra will play at Ashton Hall, Town Hall, Lancaster on 25th June at 7.30pm. There is a pre-concert talk by Rachael Clegg the soloist at 6.30pm. The orchestra will perform music by Mozart, Strauss and Brahms. Concessions Ł11.
Future concert visits for the group will be announced.
Please contact Judith Brown on 01524 858243 or email:
Exploring Music
Meets in the afternoon of the fourth Thursday of each month at the leader's home. The major emphasis is upon music composed in the 20th Century, with a further belief that valuable music is written by a wide variety of composers and is not the sole preserve of those with major reputations. Thus lesser-known composers have been featured, such as Bax, Honegger, Howells, Karlowicz, Koechlin and Szymanowski, alongside highly respected figures such as Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and Vaughan Williams. Where appropriate, simple musical analyses are used, and on occasion, jazz styles have been examined. From time to time, avant garde composers have been listened to, such as the Second Viennese School, Lutoslawski, Birtwistle, Boulez, Stockhausen and others.
These meetings maintain an informal atmosphere and produce lively discussion, and some humour.
Jazz Appreciation
As its name suggests, this group seeks to foster a deeper appreciation of jazz music.
For the last year we have mainly been viewing the excellent documentary series produced in 2000 by the American film maker Ken Burns, but there have also been a couple of meetings, one on the convenor’s visit to New Orleans and one when members brought and played track loosely related to a Christmas theme.
In 2011 we aim to complete our viewing of the Ken Burns DVD Series and then, subject to members’ agreement to have a mixture of themed sessions and personal favourite presentations.
Outside of our regular monthly sessions we greatly enjoyed a trip to see the new Glen Miller Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall. We are currently planning a visit to the session by the Chris Barber Big Band at the Keswick Jazz Festival in May.
Music Miscellany
The group is normally held in the afternoon on the second Friday of each month at the leader’s home. A relaxing afternoon listening to a wide ranging selection of music. Along with themed selections; we also indulge in Matinees Musicales. An additional future proposal would be a non academic, intermittent survey of English music from its beginnings to the present.
Opera Group
The Opera Group meets to watch and listen to an Opera on DVD. Before viewing the opera a brief introduction is given to help members better understand and appreciate the performance. Some meetings involve visits to live opera performances in Manchester or Liverpool
Singing Group
The U3A singing group / choir The aim for this group is to sing and enjoy yourself. Singing is fun and beneficial and you do not need any previous experience to join. We sing all sorts of music; folk music, jazz, medieval music, church music, newly written songs, etc. Most music is in 4 parts. Some members have sung a lot in choirs and others have never sung at all. The benefit of a choir is that you can join in and learn from the others.
The group is led by Fredrik Holm, who is an honorary U3A member as he does not meet the age requirements (he is too young). His philosophy is that you learn better if you have fun. He is a professional conductor, composer and musician with an international career.
The group has in the last year sung at Christmas dinners and been to The Scandinavian Church in Liverpool to sing. We aim to meet up in spring of 2011 with other U3A groups for a joint venture.
The group meets every 1st 3rd and 5th (i.e. if there is a 5th) Tuesday every month. Please come and try us out!
