Music performance
Whatever subject you may be studying, and whatever your musical tastes, you will discover an enormous range of inspiring musical opportunities and activities for all students at Surrey. We place a strong emphasis on performance, which is integrated into every aspect of its research and practice.
Get involved with performance at Surrey
Ensembles
Come and join our ensembles, and experience music making in friendly environment!
We are home to a successful and talented symphony orchestra formed from students, staff and members of the local community, and led by our Director of Conducting Russell Keable. The University of Surrey Orchestra gives three major concerts each year, either on campus or in external venues such as Holy Trinity Church in the centre of Guildford. Members of the orchestra will have the opportunity to work on a wide range of classical music (including film and TV scores). Over past years this has include ballets by Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky and Massenet; film scores by Danny Elfman and John Williams; and symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Dvorak, Sibelius, and Shostakovich. The orchestra is a friendly and welcoming group that meets most Monday evenings (from 7pm to 9pm) during semester; occasional social events also provide an opportunity for all members to meet outside of rehearsals.
Auditions are held at the start of the academic year for students from all programmes; joining the orchestra during the course of the year is also possible (please contact r.keable@surrey.ac.uk). Players are generally expected to have reached Grade 7 or above on their instrument.
The University Choir, led by Amy Kearsley, is a lively and fun choir open to all University students and staff from all subjects. A basic level of sight-reading, an ability to hold a tune and general enthusiasm is all we ask for! No audition is required. We rehearse every Wednesday evening from 6pm to 8pm in PATS building, and perform several times a year at Holy Trinity Church and other venues. We have performed with the University Orchestra on a range of challenging works including Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and choruses from Handel’s Messiah and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
The University Chamber Choir, conducted by Phillip Singleton, is open to all students via a short, friendly audition. We rehearse each Tuesday lunchtime from 1pm to 2:30pm in PATS building and perform at a wide range of events throughout the year, both on and off campus, including the highly regarded University Carol Service at Guildford Cathedral. Our repertoire includes work from Purcell and Parry to new music by student composers. Friendly auditions take place at the start of October and singers are requested to bring a short piece.
Societies
There is a wide range of student-led ensembles and societies you can sign up to throughout the academic year. These ensembles create a community of musicians across the University.
University of Surrey Big Band Big Band are Surrey’s award-winning premier jazz ensemble. They are a professional calibre 21-piece big band comprising saxes, trombones, trumpets, rhythm and two vocalists. The varied repertoire includes a diverse range of genres such as swing, Latin, samba and funk, making live shows hugely atmospheric and entertaining.
They audition for members annually to form a first-class band of students from various programmes and schools which rehearses weekly on Tuesday evenings to prepare for functions taking place both within Surrey and externally. They participate in competitions, perform at sell-out headline gigs and hold an exciting annual tour. Members benefit from regular social events to which friends of the band are always welcome.
It doesn’t matter what subject you study at Surrey; the Surrey String Orchestra is open to everyone who plays a string instrument, and requires no audition. We pride ourselves on our social ethos and a broad repertoire, primarily performing in music department ensemble concerts, recording sessions and concerts in Guildford.
In the past we have performed film scores, arrangements and pop songs in addition to the standard classical repertoire. We work closely with student conductors, soloists and composers, offering a platform for new compositions to be performed.
Rehearsals are on Thursday evenings between 6 and 8pm in Teaching Block.
The University Jazz Orchestra is an open and welcoming student-led group playing all types of jazz music in a relaxed setting from Sing! Sing! Sing! to Chameleon and Reptile. They are always open to song suggestions as well as student compositions and arrangements. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm, with a break halfway through so that you have plenty of time to mingle with the rest of the band. No audition is required; just come along!
The University of Surrey Concert Band is a great way for keen musicians to perform as part of a wind ensemble. We are open to anyone who plays a woodwind or brass instrument as well as percussionists who want to play a variety of pieces including film and musical medleys. Our aim is to perform in multiple concerts throughout the year.
We do not hold auditions and our memberships are free so please just come along and get involved.
Our rehearsals are every Tuesday in 02 DK 02 from 6:30pm-8:30pm.
The USSU Musical Theatre Society is a chance to express your love of performing no matter your experience level. We perform two showcases per year- one in the autumn and one in the summer and we do a main show with costumes, lights and an entire live band in early March. This year, our main show is Footloose! Our regular rehearsal times are Monday and Thursday from 6-10pm with occasional Sunday rehearsals in the lead up to showcases and the main show.
We welcome all abilities because at the end of the day, we’re all there to have a good time which is reflected in how well our members get along. By holding regular socials outside of rehearsal time, we nurture these friendships and create a space where people feel included no matter what.
Please reach out to us on Instagram or email if you’re interested in joining!
Instagram: @ussu_mtsoc
Events
Come and see our staff, students and distinguished guests perform at one of our events.
November
13/11 Lunchtime Recital - pop/jazz
13/11 Landmarking through Music: Early Recordings Revealed
27/11 Lunchtime Recital - classical
27/11 University of Surrey carols service
December
4/12 Lunchtime Recital - classical
5/12 Ensembles concert
7/12 Regent Hall London - our amazing Trumpet tutor, Sarah Field, performs with her NeoTeric Ensemble!
4/12 to 15/12 our fantastic electric Guitar tutor, Paul Geary, is on tour in Germany and Netherlands, with Nik Kershaw! Some venues are already sold out, for more info, please see: https://www.nikkershaw.net/tour-dates/
June
27, 27/6 Conference: Broadening music performance: New approaches and possibilities for higher music education
July
Outreach activities
We have a wealth of experience and enthusiasm in musical outreach and educational work, interactive concerts and workshops. Through our outreach projects, we offer a range of activities to support our students with their current studies, and providing opportunities for pupils from all backgrounds to make music together. Teaching a range of musical skills through activities and games benefits all participants – broadening the horizons of pupils involved while offering valuable experience to our students!
Some of our projects include:
The Music and Images project gathered a group of first-year students, which all played instruments not traditionally be included in the same ensemble: electric guitar, electric bass, piano, lever harp, bassoon and voice. Through rehearsals we made a series of orchestrations for compositions of our choice, and practiced the concert and workshop delivery. We visited two schools in our area (Sandfield and Stoughton) and delivered a workshop and a concert for Year 2 children.
The students introduced their instruments to pupils, and announced the pieces they played. The pupils in both schools drew while the group played, and joined in the discussion about how music made them feel and why. The children reacted really positively and were interested in the music delivered. They happily talked about their feelings and how they hear the music.
Have you ever wondered about how musical instruments make sounds? Or why some sounds are high and others are low?
Join Head of Music and Media Chris Wiley and physicist Alexia Beale – who both play lots of instruments – and find out! In this 45-minute interactive session for school pupils aged 7 to 11, we’ll explore a range of instruments with strings and instruments you blow down, as well as those you hit with a stick. The event is targeted at Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11), but may be suitable for others as well. Audience participation is more than welcome!
Scholarships and prizes
If you are a classical music performer, and hold a British passport, you can apply for The Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust. HRTCT was established in 1997 for the 'Advancement of public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of Music and allied performing arts.' The Trust's benefactor, Mr H R Taylor, who lived in Cheam, Surrey, and died in 1996, was devoted to music throughout his life and wished to encourage the growth of music-making and live performance by people of all ages. Since 1997, the Trust has provided financial support for a range of musical activities in the geographical and historical areas of Surrey.
Through partnership arrangements with the Royal College of Music, the University of Surrey and certain other national bodies it extends its support to musically gifted British residents beyond its core geographical area.
Typically, help may be given to the following:
- scholarship funding (both undergraduate and postgraduate)
- grants towards fees
- grants towards instruments purchase
Further to this, there is a number of University scholarships and bursaries available for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Adriano Bush Prize
An annual prize of £100 established in memory of second-year student Adriano Bush, awarded to the HE5 or HE6 level student with the best-assessed performance of a piece of Romantic piano music in the Department of Music and Media (the assessment to take place as part of a Performance module). The prize is awarded annually at the discretion of the Director of Performance.
Joyce Dixey Award
An award given by the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society in memory of the late Miss Joyce Dixey who was the Society's Secretary and General Manager, open to all students in Music and Sound Recording except those registered for PhD by Composition. It is awarded to the composer of the most impressive musical composition as judged in performance.
Shoana M Mackay Dissertation Prize
A prize of not less than £50 given by Mr Ranald Mackay, whose daughter graduated from the Music Department in 1988, awarded to the student on the BMus (Music) programme who submits the best final-year dissertation.
Quattro mani: A piano duet competition
A first prize of £200, a second prize of £120 and a third prize of £80, donated by Maureen Galea, awarded to students on BMus programmes to encourage the study and performance of piano duet repertoire. This competition will be judged by an external adjudicator.
See information on prizes on the MySurrey website.
Centres, institutes and associations
Performance centres, institutes and associations are an integral part of Music and Media at Surrey. Each centre is dedicated to a specific research area, including researchers and performers from around the world.
The International Guitar Research Centre (IGRC) is committed to the study and development of the guitar’s compositional, performance, analytical and technical activity across a range of geographical and stylistic domains. Now with a number of International partners across six continents (including the International Guitar Foundation, The Guitar Foundation of America, The Altamira Foundation in China, the 21st Century Guitar network in Canada), the IGRC has become a global hub of guitar research, co-hosting conferences and festivals in the USA, Hong Kong, China, Canada, Portugal, Germany, UK and Australia, providing a fertile network for its scholars and practitioners, and disseminating its work (through scores, recordings, performances, broadcasts, academic writing and pedagogical materials) to broad public and cultural impact. Through this pluralistic activity, the IGRC advances and enriches the diverse practice, culture and public engagement with this universal instrument.
Early Recordings Association was founded by Dr Inja Stanović (University of Surrey) and Dr Eva Moreda Rodríguez (University of Glasgow), in order to provide an international platform for communication between researchers and early recordings enthusiasts. Membership is free and members can use the platform to promote their own research interests, discover the interests of others via a searchable directory, and form connections with others in the field. ERA is an open-access resource, aimed at general public, enthusiasts, and academics, ERA brings together the past, present, and future of early recordings research.
The Institute of Austrian and German Music Research provides a forum for innovative and transformative scholarly research in Austrian and German music from all periods of history and of all genres, including popular music, jazz, folk, sonic arts, and hybrid forms. The IAGMR is interested as much in the social politics of music (diaspora, migration, colonisation, appropriation, identity) as it is in philosophies, aesthetics, and analyses of music, and the practices, events, performance contexts, institutions, reception histories, and critical frameworks through which it is mediated.
The Theatrical Voice Research Centre brings together researchers, performers, and cultural organisations involved in different genres and socio-cultural contexts. As a community, we aim to overcome the boundaries between singing and the spoken word in both live and mediated settings, classical and popular idioms, Western and non-Western practices. We link comparative and historical investigations of the voice with contemporary voice training and performance, and are eager to share scholarly and performance-based understandings of the voice with the cultural industries and wider society.
Staff
Academic staff involved in performance research and teaching:
Dr Inja Stanović, Director of Performance. Inja is a pianist and researcher, focusing on early recordings and nineteenth century performance practices. She holds piano performance degrees from Moscow Conservatory Tchaikovsky, Boston Conservatory and Parisian Schola Cantorum. Inja has performed throughout the world, including concerts in Croatia, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Inja’s pianism focuses upon 19th Century performance practice, as she combines musicological research (with particular emphasis upon 19th Century reception, stylistic tendencies, and performance techniques), and practice-based research (involving historically-informed performance practice. Inja's research and practice are focused on historical performance research, early sound recordings, and mechanical recording technologies. Her lates publications include Early Recordings: Research and Practice (Routledge, Feb 2023); research album with Dr. Milsom, Austro-German Revivals: (Re)constructing Acoustic Recordings (Huddersfield: University of Huddersfield Press, 2022) and ‘Reviving the Brave Belgians: Mechanical recording practices as a guide in historical performance’ (Music & Practice, 2023) Inja directs the Early Recordings Association (ERA), a digital platform for historical recording research and practice.
Dr Tom Armstrong, Director of Learning and Teaching. Tom is a composer who frequently works with performers collaboratively on long-term projects. His interests in composition cluster around the following topics: the composer/performer relationship, the revision process in composition, and reworking. Tom is also interested in the relationship between concert programming and composition; several projects in progress involve the curation of continuously running programmes in collaboration with ensembles and soloists. He has collaborated with colleagues at Surrey on performance-related research, organising the 2022 Performance Studies Network conference and co-editing a special issue of Performance Research. Tom studied at the University of York (with Roger Marsh), Dartington Summer School (with Vinko Globular) and the Britten-Pears School (with Oliver Knudsen, Colin Matthews and Magnus Lindberg). Tom’s music is recorded on Resonus Classics, Meridian and released by the Delta Saxophone Quartet (Late Music). Read more and listen to music at https://tomarmstrongcomposer.com/
Dr. Barbara Gentili, Surrey Future Senior Fellow. Barbara is an opera singer and music historian. She trained at the Milan Conservatoire and the Accademia di Voci Verdiane at the Fondazione Toscanini in Parma. Barbara has starred in many opera houses in Italy, including Teatro Dal Verme (Milan), Teatro Sociale (Como), Teatro Ponchielli (Cremona), Teatro Fraschini (Pavia) and Teatro Grande (Brescia), and in several concert halls throughout England. Leading operatic roles she played include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and the Second Lady in The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart, Sailor in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Violetta in Verdi’s La traviata, the Portatore in Brecht’s L’eccezione e la regola, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, Tosca and Sour Angelica in the eponymous operas by Puccini, and Mimì and Cio Cio San in respectively La Bohème and Madama Butterfly by again Puccini. As a scholar, Barbara has since published in the most prestigious academic journals and her first monograph, Italian Opera Singing at the Time of Verismo. The Invention of the Modern Voice has just been published by Boydell and Brewer.
Professor Stephen Goss, Director of International Guitar Research Centre. Professor Steve Goss is Director of the International Guitar Research Centre at the University of Surrey and a Professor of Guitar at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has supervised over 25 PhDs to completion in the areas of performance research and composition. He gives lectures internationally on guitar performance practice of the 20th and 21st Centuries. Steve's music has been recorded on over 100 CDs by more than a dozen record labels. He has been commissioned by many of the world’s most celebrated performers (John Williams, Ian Bostridge, Evelyn Glennie, Nicola Benedetti, Mikhail Pletnev) and leading orchestras (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra).
Dr Tom Hall, Programme Director (BMus in Creative Music Technology) is a UK-based Australian composer, performer and writer on music with a particular interest in combing live and fixed electronics with instrumental ‘acoustic’ music. Much of his music involves notions of flow and slowness and collaborative and practice-based work often shares some form of digital notation with audiences. Hall’s work usually combines composed, algorithmic and improvisatory elements often using multichannel or individually experienced mobile sound. As a performer he has for years sat behind a laptop, but has been spotted in the past with electric and acoustic guitars, as well as a violin. Hall has been an occasional member of ensembles including Arf Arf, [rout], and with Sam Hayden, butterflyCut.
Dr John McGrath, Programme Director (BMus). A professional guitarist from the age of 17, John has performed thousands of gigs including in ensembles with Dustin Wong, Sharon Gal, History of Harry, Black Snow Rodeo, Cavalier Song, Tequila Sunrise, Rhys Chatham, Howard Skempton and the aPAtT Orchestra. Recent session work includes two records with The Unattached (Gare du Nord, 2024). A musicologist with extensive experience in popular music performance, John holds degrees from UCD (BA, BMUS), Trinity (MPhil) and Liverpool (PhD Music). His monograph Samuel Beckett, Repetition and Modern Music (Routledge, 2018) explores the interactions and cross-pollination of music and literature including examinations of the Beckettian music of Morton Feldman and avantjazz guitarist Scott Fields (positive reviews in Music & Letters, Psychology of Music, Irish Studies Review, The Wire, Burning Ambulance); while other recent publications investigate the transmedial work of Laurie Anderson and David Lynch in addition to practice research on glitch aesthetics and avantfolk. He is Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre (IGRC) and has co-edited the collection 21st Century Guitar for Bloomsbury (2023).
Dr Milton Mermikides, Director of Research, performs and presents internationally as a guitarist, electronicist, academic and educator in a range of styles. He is a Professor of Jazz Guitar (RCM), an Ableton Certified Trainer, and has published peer-reviewed articles on performance practice (published by Routledge, Bloomsbury, Soundboard Scholar, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press), particularly in the realm of expressive micro rhythm (’time feel’), digital performance, improvisational and interpretive models (M-Space). He has contributed over 120 articles for a popular audience (from Guitar Techniques, MusicRadar, Future Music, Computer Music, Total Guitar) and gives masterclasses and residencies internationally. He has collaborated with John Williams, Steve Winwood, Pat Martino, South Bank Centre, Ableton, Evelyn Glennie, Design Museum, Science Museum, City of London and in his role as Gresham Professor of Music and Deputy Director of the International Guitar Research Centre gives multiple public lectures and keynote presentations related to performance to an international audience.
Dr. Bill Thompson, Teaching Fellow in Music and Creative Music Technology. Bill Thompson is a sound artist and composer. He performs regularly as a soloist as well as in a number of groups including The Seen, Three Plus One and Airfield (with Ian Spink), and duos with Richard Sanderson, Phil Durrant, and Yoni Silver. Past collaborations include performances with Keith Rowe, Faust, EXAUDI and others. Originally trained as a guitarist, Thompson has worked with live electronics for over 20 years. He now performs with a Moog guitar combined with electronics and miscellaneous tabletop devices, found objects, flashing lights, and the occasional vibrator. He has earned numerous awards and commissions including the Venice Biennale, Organ Reframed, the Sound Festival, the PRS for New Music ATOM award, the GAVAA Visual Arts Award, a PRS for New Music Three Festival commission, the Aberdeen Visual Arts Award, and was nominated for the Paul Hamlyn Award.
Ensemble leaders
Russell Keable has established a reputation as one of Britain’s most exciting and versatile musicians. ‘Keable and his orchestra did magnificently’ wrote The Guardian, ‘one of the most memorable evenings at the South Bank' said The Musical Times. He performs with orchestras and choirs throughout the British Isles including the London Mozart Players, Manchester Camerata, Northern Ballet Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Viva and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor for the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, has conducted in Prague and Paris (concerts filmed by French and British television) and recently made a highly-praised début with the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest. His regular performing partners include many leading national and international soloists (including Steven Isserlis, Tasmin Little, Nikolai Demidenko, John Lill and Nicholas Daniel).
Amy Kearsley is a mezzo soprano from Wigan, currently in her final year of masters vocal studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, under the tutelage of Neil Baker and coached by Panaretos Kyriatzidis. As a first class BMus graduate from the University of Surrey, Amy was awarded the ‘Robert Naylor Memorial Prize’ for the most meritorious final performance and the ‘Faculty Placement Student of Year Award’ for her placement with the English National Opera’s outreach and engagement team. Previous roles include the title role of Adela (Manchester Contemporary Youth Opera and Tête à Tête Festival), Jill in Merrie England (Brent Opera), Elém in Syllable, Olivia in Strozzi and Justine in Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus (Trinity Laban Opera). Amy is also a founding member of new music collective, The Ruffians. Amy is a recipient of the Charles Jacobs award and her studies are supported by Help Musicians.
Dr Philip Singleton studied the trumpet at the University of Surrey before turning to composition, receiving his PhD in composition and musicology in 2016. His catalogue includes music for orchestra, wind band and chamber ensemble, including symphonies and concertante works for a range of instruments. Performances of his work have taken place at venues around Britain, France and the USA. As a performer he has played at major concert venues in Britain and abroad.
Vocal and instrumental tutors
- Caroline Balding, violin
- David Burrows, cello
- Deborah Davis, flute
- Sarah Field, trumpet
- Paul Geary, bass guitar
- Caroline Harding, double bass
- Jenny Howe, voice
- Thomas Law, saxophone
- Joe Richards, percussion
- Margaret Roberts, piano
- Jennifer Snapes, voice
- Paul Thomas, guitar
- Darby Todd, drums
- David Whitson, trombone
‘The Lady is a Tramp’ by Frank Sinatra, performed by the University of Surrey Big Band, with Alex and Jacob on lead vocals. Filmed and produced by Tonmeister students.
Find your society
Experience everything we have to offer in an environment suitable for all, regardless if you're an established performer or somebody who is stepping onto centre-stage for the first time.
