About us
The 天美传媒 has a remarkable record of high-quality music making in the UK and abroad. Even though there is no music degree pathway at Warwick, the Music Centre provides a vibrant hub of activity for musicians from all disciplines, ability levels and musical backgrounds.
With more than twenty ensembles, there are plenty of opportunities for getting involved. All our ensembles are student-led, with several benefitting from have professional directors. We cater for all standards, from complete beginners to more experienced musicians, and the majority of groups are unauditioned. Everyone is welcome to join in or come along to one of our many concerts.
There are plenty of ways to get creative with music too, with songwriting, music production, composition and improvisation opportunities embedded throughout the Music Centre.
We have a fantastic team of visiting professional musicians who offer individual vocal and instrumental tuition, as well as coaching ensembles, running masterclasses and leading workshops in a wide variety of musical areas.
The Music Centre offers three types of financial assistance to students at the University, for students from all disciplines. Scholarships and Exhibitions are awarded to undergraduates only, and Bursaries are available to all students.
We have a wide range of instruments available for short and long term loan to Warwick students. If you are coming to Warwick and can not bring your instrument with you or do not want to for any reason then please get in touch to see if we can help you with a loan: music.centre@warwick.ac.uk
We are one of the most dynamic and creative Music Centres in the country. We hope you鈥檒l join us!
Who's Who in the Music Centre?
Chris Mapp - Head of Music
Chris is a bass player, improviser and composer living and working in Birmingham. His work falls somewhere between composition and improvisation, using sound, music and electronics to satisfy his own sonic curiosity. As a bandleader he has worked with Arve Henriksen, Maja Ratkje, Mark Sanders, Leafcutter John and Dan Nicholls with the ensemble Gonimoblast. He also leads the trio stillfelt alongside Thomas Seminar Ford and Percy Pursglove. Both bands have released music on the Stoney Lane Records label.
As a key member of the healthy Birmingham improvised music scene Chris has worked with many UK based and Internationally recognised musicians such as Rachel Musson, Ken Vandermark, Paul Dunmall, Jan Bang, Erik Honore and most recently as part of the trio CollapseUncollapse. Chris鈥� artistic practice uses written material as a way of igniting improvisation within an ensemble context combined with electronics, sound spatialisation and visuals. Written themes become points of departure, destinations or fragments of group improvisation. This work formed the basis of his PhD research titled 鈥淲hat kind of music do you play?鈥� (2022) which focusses on defining meaning in improvised music making through the practice of writing about playing and playing about writing.
Suzzie Vango - Associate Artist
Passionate about the arts and choral education, Suzzie鈥檚 high-energy workshops and dynamic choral programmes have gained her an international reputation, working with singers of all ages. In demand as a soprano, choral director and vocal coach, Suzzie has run projects in Uganda, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand, the USA and across Europe, with recent visits to Ireland, the Netherlands, Tanzania and Kenya.
Suzzie is co-founder/director of international a cappella quintet Papagena, founder/director of Sonos Chamber Choir, and a conductor for the National Children鈥檚 Choir of Great Britain. She has been a guest conductor for ensembles including London Voices, Ex Cathedra, Manchester Chamber Choir and the Orchestra of the Swan. Recent collaborations have seen her working with: the London Symphony Orchestra, the CBSO, Vache Baroque,Sing for Pleasure, Sing Ireland, Gabrieli ROAR and the National Youth Choirs.
In addition to her role as Associate Artist for the 天美传媒, Suzzie is Schools Programme Lead for Music of Life, founding their successful SEND school choirs project over ten years ago. She is also a vocal tutor on Ex Cathedra Education鈥檚 award-winning projects: Singing Playgrounds, Singing Medicine and SingMaker, having written a number of pieces for their education resources.
Her own compositions have been published in numerous publications, including OUP鈥檚 Carols for Choirs 6, and she is co-author of multi-award winning warm up book 鈥楬ow to Make Your Choir Sound Awesome鈥�.
Tom Newall - Orchestral Conductor
British conductor Tom Newall founded Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra in 2014 to give young professional musicians experience in a high-quality ensemble, helping to bridge the gap between a player鈥檚 studies and professional orchestras. The orchestra has established a busy schedule, with large-scale Symphony Orchestra projects at its base in Harpurhey, North Manchester. With PSO, Tom has just completed a large-scale community composition project, where young people have created and performed their own music, accompanied by the orchestra.
Tom is also very active as an opera conductor. Recent highlights have included Macbeth, La Boh猫me, The Magic Flute, A Masked Ball and The Turn of the Screw with Leeds Youth Opera, Cosi fan Tutte with Flatpack Music, Die Fledermaus with Fulham Opera and two premieres with Manchester Opera Project. In Summer 2018, he made his debut at Buxton International Festival conducting The Orphans of Koombu.
Tom has conducted much of the orchestral canon with works ranging from Haydn鈥檚 Symphony No. 104 to Bartok鈥檚 Concerto for Orchestra. He has worked with a number of professional and high-level community orchestras in the north of England. Tom is currently Music Director for both Salford and Congleton Choral Societies.
With a strong passion for new music, Tom has commissioned a number of new works, most notably The Gardener for chorus and orchestra by Lucy Armstrong, with a libretto by Rebecca Hurst. Tom conducted one of the first performances of Kate Whitley and Laura Attridge鈥檚 oratorio Our Future in Your Hands for Buxton International Festival in July 2022
Lizzy Whyte - Music Centre Administrator
Lizzy is a Music Graduate from the University of Sheffield and has worked in the Music Centre since 2008.
She is passionate about providing musical opportunities and experiences for students and staff.
She loves all things musical and plays piano and enjoys singing! Before coming to Warwick she worked at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a keen fitness enthusiast (well moving timps requires a lot of training!) and is a proud Mummy to Olivia, Sophie & George.
Charlotte - Music Centre Coordinator
As Music Centre Coordinator, Charlotte engages with students to help make their experience with the Music Centre as valuable and enjoyable as possible. She helps to spread the word about student events and musical activity at Warwick. She also works with the Programming team at Warwick Arts Centre to facilitate the Orchestral Series.
Charlotte loves electronic music and has DJ'd at clubs across London such as The Book Club and The Pickle Factory.