Keeping busy at university

Hello, all! It's been a while. I've had a busy semester 2 of my first year of university and therefore I have unfortunately not had much time for blogging or for going to see shows at the theatre but here is a brief update.

I have managed to get involved in a fair number of projects and performances this semester which I am very happy about. I enjoy having lots of things to do and I like the challenge of trying to fit everything into my schedule. My compulsory contact hours only amount to 8 hours per week so there is plenty of time to get involved in extra-curricular activities and since I am doing a music degree, this involvement is very much encouraged. 

A few events have already been done and dusted such as two concerts at Chichester Cathedral in which I got to sing in as part of the university's Chamber Choir. I have also been participating in a stage combat course. I had never done stage combat before and although with my spatial awareness I have succeeded in unintentionally kicking and punching people for real, I think I have learned some basics :P

Exciting projects and things still coming up:

April: Seussical as ensemble and assistant director

May: Spring Awakening as assistant stage manager

May: Jesus Christ Superstar as ensemble

May: Orchestra trip to Guernsey as violin 2

June: Chamber Choir tour to Rome as soprano 1

September: Carmen as ensemble

My first semester at university

I realise I never finished my Soundtracker Project on here. I did listen to lots of recordings but never got round to writing about them. Oh well, I got over half way.

I thought I would update everyone on some of the the things I got involved in in my first semester. Now, overall I really enjoyed what is, believe it or not, one-sixth of my entire degree. For those who don't know, I'm studying BA Music with Musical Theatre at the University of Chichester :) The music department at the university is fantastic and although it is a big department considering the small size of the university, everyone seems to know everyone and you feel like a part of one big family if you just care to get a little involved in the activities of the department.

The compulsory part of the degree: 

• Introduction to Musical Theatre: We learned some background of the main disciplines of musical theatre as well as learning to analyse and write about the different components of the genre.
• Performance Development: Practical module with one group session (where certain people would be nominated to sing each week and everyone else would give feedback) and two half-an-hour individual singing lessons weekly. 
• Musical Grammar: Music theory.
• Introduction to the Music Industry: I chose to swap for this module because it sounded interesting and I am glad I did. We learned about the different job roles within the music industry. 

If one chose to only do the bare minimum, that would have been it. I, however, filled up my timetable with practical activities. Some of those:  

My new trombone and I.

• Dance classes: Every weekday morning 8.30-10.00. Jazz, zumba, contemporary, ballet and tap.
• Musical theatre ensemble: We rehearsed chorus numbers from musicals by Rodgers and Hammerstein and performed them with selected soloists in a small end-of-semester concert.
• First year choir: Smallish choir focusing on singing technique and sight-reading. We got to sing at Chichester Cathedral at one of their carol services with two other university choirs. 
• Pops Orchestra: The biggest orchestra at the university as anyone can take part without auditioning. The music is straight-forward so even with my lacking violin skills, I managed to keep up. This semester we played music by ABBA. 
• Training brass band: Aimed at instrumentalists who haven't played a brass instrument before but are keen to learn. For a few years now I have wanted to try out the trombone and this has been my opportunity.

There are also societies you can join which are student-lead and the meetings usually take place in the evenings or during the weekends, outside of timetabled hours. I did attend the classes organised by the dance society occasionally but I got most involved in the activities of the musical theatre society. This semester gone, the first years performed in a freshers' showcase while the rest of the students were working on a full-length production of an original musical, Dennis!. I opted to play violin in the band for the showcase instead of singing as there was a massive shortage of violins. Next semester, all society members will come together to work on Seussical the Musical which will be performed at the university in April. I am very excited to be assistant-directing the show and hopefully I will also get the opportunity to be in the ensemble. 

(Source)

BA Music with Musical Theatre at the University of Chichester

Some of you may be aware that I will be going to university in September to study BA Music with Musical Theatre. I originally auditioned for the straight Musical Theatre but they offered me this Music degree with a specialism so I accepted as it is my singing that I really want to work on more than anything.

The University of Chichester has two campuses, one in Chichester and one in Bognor Regis, the towns are approximately 6 miles (~10km) apart. Bognor Regis is located on the south coast of England and it is a popular seaside resort, Chichester is northwest from there.

The red dot marks the location of Chichester. (Source)

Location of Bognor Regis in relation to Chichester (Source)

I will be living in a four-bedroom house near the Chichester campus with three other first year girls. None of us had secured the university accommodation we wanted and we are, in fact, cheaper off renting privately even if Chichester can be a fairly expensive place to live. I have also succeeded in getting a job transfer at the opticians chain I work for, to the store in Bognor Regis so I will be able to keep working on Saturdays and do extra days during the holidays :) My move-in date will be the 15th September and university officially starts on 23rd September the first week being freshers' week. 

I believe we will have about four set lectures a week and the rest will be modules of our choice (e.g. acting, dance, orchestra, I'm going to ask if I could do technical theatre too). We also get 1 hour of one-to-one tuition a week. I have chosen to have half an hour of classical voice and half an hour of musical theatre voice. I debated for a long time whether to do half voice half violin as I played the violin for several years when I was younger but in the end I decided I wanted to concentrate on singing. I will still take my violin with me and get back into playing it. Maybe even join an orchestra again. 

I know I completely failed doing updates on my musical theatre foundation course but if people are interested, I promise I will update you on my university studies every now and then!