News
Find out what's been happening in the Music department.
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Spotlight on: Karen Gabay
24 Apr 2025
Since the beginning of January 2025, Karen Gabay has been carrying out a Simon Industrial Fellowship at The University of Manchester, with the ...
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Professor delivers keynote at landmark conference on AI in Music and the Digital Humanities
31 Mar 2025
On Friday, 7 March 2025, Professor Ricardo Climent delivered a compelling keynote speech at 'Creative Dynamics II: AI & Digital Innovations for ...
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University Partners with English National Opera
21 Nov 2024
The University of Manchester is delighted to announce a new collaboration with English National Opera, as they announce the first wave of plans for a...
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New musical piece inspired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine explores tyranny, tragedy, despair and protest
15 Nov 2024
The Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama welcomes a world premiere on Friday,13 December as De Profundis, a newly crafted musical piece from ...
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Keep it Human: How video games can help us learn about our impact on our planet
11 Nov 2024
The 2024 Manchester Science Festival took place between Friday, 18 and Sunday, 28 October. This year was themed around tackling the extremes of our...
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UK’s first centre of excellence for music and dementia hosted by Manchester Camerata
8 May 2024
Over £1million of funding has been committed by Andy Burnham (Mayor of Greater Manchester), Sir Richard Leese (Chair of the NHS Greater Manchester) ...
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Jazz artist leads ‘Music and Migration’ workshops in Manchester schools
24 Apr 2024
Grammy award-winning jazz percussionist and Simon Industrial Fellow Carlos Maldonado recently ran workshops for year 6 classes in two local primary ...
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Dialogues in Music - an Ad Solem celebratory concert in Hong Kong
10 Jan 2024
The University of Manchester's elite chamber choir, Ad Solem, conducted by Robert Guy, have been invited to perform at a celebratory concert this ...
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Dr Hongshuo Fan appointed Honorary Research Fellow at NOVARS (academic year 2023-24)
8 Jan 2024
The Music Department is delighted to appoint Dr Honghsuo Fan as Honorary Research Fellow in Music. Dr Fan is a PhD graduate at the NOVARS Research ...
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Requiem commission to memorialise enslaved Africans: Composer Dr David Onac commissioned by Lloyd's / Culture&.
8 Jan 2024
Dr David Onac Composer and Lecturer in Harmony and Contemporary Music Studies at the University of Manchester has been awarded a substantial ...
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Greek beatboxer champion G. Gargalas completes British Council - Greek funded residency
29 Nov 2023
Composer, performer and Greek beatboxer champion Giorgos Gargalas has just completed his one-month residency at the NOVARS Research Centre (Music, ...
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Black Fell: Combining gaming and opera for a compelling effect
3 Nov 2023
Inspired by visits to the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland, Black Fell is a game-for-music, a story in song where a psychological landscape of ...
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Dr. David A T Önaç's 'Five Études for solo piano' selected as the set work for the 2023 Scottish International Piano Competition semifinals
19 Sep 2023
David travelled to Scotland to adjudicate performances of his pieces as part of the wider jury. Dr. Önaç's said: "I am excited that my piano ...
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PhD student Dimitra Ananiadou receives the Silver Prize (professional category) at the ‘Virtuoso International Music Awards 2023’
22 Jun 2023
The 'Virtuoso International Music Awards 2023' is an international classical music competition based in London. Dimitra said: “I am very glad I ...
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Professor delivers keynote at landmark conference on AI in Music and the Digital Humanities
Professor Ricardo Climent recently delivered the keynote address at a major conference at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, highlighting innovative and transformative uses of AI in Music, video gaming and geolocation technology, and their legal, ethical, and economic implications. The event, gathering leading researchers from across the Digital Humanities, also featured a Japanese immersive sci-fi opera, alongside Professor Climent's own composition and interactive installation 'AI Beatboxer'.
On Friday, 7 March 7 2025 Professor Ricardo Climent delivered a compelling keynote speech at 'Creative Dynamics II: AI & Digital Innovations for Voice and Vocal Music', a one-day conference hosted by the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
The event, supported by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities brought together leading experts to explore cutting-edge advancements in AI-driven composition, voice synthesis, and the evolving legal, ethical, and economic landscape of AI-generated music.
His talk explored 30 years of practice-led research, from dataset sonification for composition to disruptive technologies shaping the University of Manchester's NOVARS Research Centre – including geolocative tech, game engines, and AI in music –culminating in works like his concert piece and interactive installation AI Beatboxer (Noh Virtual).
Another highlight of the conference was the UK première of AI Opera Yūrei (Ghost) – an immersive Japanese sci-fi opera that captivated a packed audience of 200 attendees. Designed, produced, and directed by Dr. Alexandra Huang-Kokina, postdoctoral scholar in Intermediality & Digital Humanities at the University of Edinburgh and Lund University, the opera showcased AI’s potential in reshaping vocal performance and storytelling.
This landmark event underscored the transformative role of artificial intelligence in vocal music, setting the stage for further innovation in the field.