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 the courtyards of the conservatoire’s 17th-century buildings the 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 the sound insulation or double-glazing that other places have,” explains Joe Townsend, creative producer of Trinity Laban’s CoLab project, of the unintentional musical mash-ups taking place on the banks of the Thames.
The CoLab project is, however, a far more structured and ambitious scheme to blend the musical and artistic talents of Trinity Laban’s 1,000 or so students.
In mid-February, the school’s entire academic programme is stopping for two weeks, with dance and music students asked to work together on a range of unconventional artistic collaborations.
A “moving orchestra”, in which dancers interact with musicians during a performance of work by the composer Aaron Copland; a collaboration between harpists and dancers based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe; and a hip hop and Motown-inspired reworking of pieces by the Tudor composer Thomas Tallis, are just some of the 80 projects taking place this year.
Several performances will take place outside the concert rooms that the 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 them into the 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 their area of study and to consider alternative ways of approaching their 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 their teacher, but CoLab gives them the chance to learn from other staff and students,” he adds. “Students in CoLab mentor each other, and they often start to find their own voice when they are working in these smaller groups.” Some of the 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 the 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 another CoLab spin-off that has managed to find new audiences for the art form beyond those who might head to Covent Garden, he says.
“We get a few people into the London Symphony Orchestra, but many of our students will be doing their own projects after graduation – some combine gigs, playing in an orchestra, their 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 further study – one of the highest rates in the 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 there is a more prosaic side to the two-week project.
“Of course, facilitating this level of creativity requires an amazing level of organisation,” he says.
In numbers
98% of graduates are in work or further study six months after leaving Trinity Laban
Campus news
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University of Manchester
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Universities of York and Hull
An ancient rodent the size of a buffalo may have used its front teeth like an elephant uses its tusks, claim researchers. Using computer modelling, scientists from the University of York and Hull York Medical School discovered that the teeth of Josephoartigasia monesi, a 1,000kg relative of guinea pigs that lived 3 million years ago in South America, were so strong that they must have been used for digging and defence, as well as biting.
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BPP University
Two law students just missed out on glory after taking on nearly 400 other teams from 60 countries in the World Debating Championships. Michael O’Dwyer and Steven Rajavinothan, students at BPP University, fought through nine debates in the preliminary rounds and three further knock-out rounds to reach the final in Malaysia, where they were runners-up to the University of Sydney. Subjects ranged from education policy, Syria and global warming, to minority equality.
Birkbeck, University of London
A charity is to donate £1.4 million to a university institute devoted to analysing anti-Semitism and exploring the connections between it and other forms of intolerance. The funding from the Pears Foundation will enable the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism at Birkbeck, University of London, to recruit a social sciences lecturer, extend its teaching and support an early careers fellowship scheme until 2020. The institute was created five years ago with a £1.5 million gift from the foundation, which is run by property magnates the Pears brothers.
