Sessions to explore and deepen our connection with music. No previous experience or musical knowledge needed – all are welcome. To include listening, cultural and historical background, discussion and sharing time.
From Page to Performance
What makes a performance speak to us and what is the role of the interpreter?
What transforms a score on the page into a performance that moves us to the core? Why does one interpretation of the same piece feel revelatory while another leaves us cold? And how much should the performer’s knowledge of historical practice shape what we hear?
This series of sessions is designed for anyone who loves classical music, whether you sing in a choir, listen at home, or simply find yourself wondering what makes a particular recording or live performance unforgettable. You do not need to think of yourself as a musician – only as someone with ears and curiosity.
We’ll explore something distinctive about music in that while painting or a sculpture presents itself to us directly, viscerally, all at once, music on the page requires interpretation, a performer to make decisions about speed, weighting, phrasing, dynamics, rubato, articulation and more. What happens when we see the notes as invitations, not the finished object? I see this gap between notation and realisation as a place of mystery – and also where unique and different interpretations start. Is there a performance ‘in’ the score waiting to be discovered? Or does every performance create something new? We won’t settle these questions, but we will have time to explore them.
We will explore complementary ways of thinking about performance. We will consider how historically informed performance has reshaped the way music from Monteverdi to Debussy is played and sung. From questions of ornamentation and tempo to vibrato and period instruments, we will ask: what do we gain when performers try to recapture original practices, and what might we lose?
Above all, we will make space for our subjective responses. In the spirit of Radio 3’s ‘Building a Library’, we will compare different interpretations of the same work – sometimes radically different, sometimes subtly so. Rather than searching for definitive answers about which performance is ‘correct’ or best, we will engage in the process of figuring out what most moves us and why.
Our listening will range across several centuries, and we will touch on questions such as: How does where and when a piece was written affect how we might want to hear it now? Can a ‘historically informed’ performance still break your heart? What happens when we compare a lush symphony orchestra with a lean period instrument ensemble playing the same symphony? Do we need to know what the composer intended for the music to speak to us? And when two distinguished musicians disagree fundamentally about a piece, what can that teach us about our own tastes?
As always, you are equally welcome whether you are a total newcomer to thinking about performance or an experienced musician. Our time will include listening, group discussion, comparison of recordings, and exploration of the cultural and musical frameworks that shape what we hear. Come with your ears and your openness for the shared adventure of listening more attentively and discovering what we truly value.
Tuesday sessions from 21st April 2026 to 23rd June 2026 (half term break – no session on 26th May)
10am until 12 noon online using Zoom (short comfort break in the middle). Option to arrive early or stay later to interact with other participants
Online sessions using Zoom (hi-fi sound at my end to maximise sound quality). Audio recordings will be shared after each session so that you can catch up if you miss one – or listen again. You will also receive YouTube playlist suggestions for further listening and to explore more deeply what we hear in the sessions
Cost
Full price £285 for the whole course
OR early bird £275 if booked and paid by 13th April 2026
OR A limited number of concessionary places are available on request. Please get in touch if cost would be an obstacle to attending – I would like this to be accessible to those who would benefit from this
Cancellation policy If a single session is cancelled (e.g. due to me being ill) I will notify you by phone or email, and offer to make up the session. If you would like to cancel your booking, you will receive a full refund if cancelled over 14 days before the start. From 14 days before the start date, refunds will not be possible. If the course should be cancelled, you would receive a full refund.
If you have any questions you can Contact me Once you book, you will receive an email with the join link before the session.
You can book for this here or click the green button below) – let me know if you have any questions!
Previous courses
Termly sessions have been running continuously since 2009. You can read what previous participants have said about the sessions here or read about me here and elsewhere on this website. Previous themes have included: Exploring Harmony, Chopin, Beethoven, Brahms, Exploring music from Eastern Europe and many more…
Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions
Exploring African American music
A term to explore some of the many musical traditions of African American music. We’ll trace ways that musical threads were carried from the continent to Africa and took new forms across the Atlantic as well as how the soulful spirituals have been brought alive in different ways through the decades, as well as how they have influenced so many different styles of music. Our term will look at how central these threads were to the way that spirituals, ragtime, ‘jazz’ and blues, gospel, soul and more thrive, as well as exploring the work of black composers and performers in the field of classical music. As always you are welcome whether newcomer or expert – the sessions will be experiential and listening-based seeking to create space for the many ways we appreciate and enjoy music.
Exploring Music and Nature
How have composers been inspired by the natural world? How do the patterns in nature mirror the way music works? Howe does music shape our experience of the natural world and how does nature shape our experience of music? We will explore a varied themed selection of music that for me evokes the beauty and power of nature.
We’ll examine how the music touches us, and ask the question of whether we need to know what the composer had in mind for it to speak to us.
Our playlist will include music inspired by flowers, trees, times of day, forests, mountains, rivers, the sea. The course is conceived as suitable for all, whatever your previous knowledge of music.(For those who have been coming for a while, the course is not an exact repeat of the 2018 course I offered on a similar theme but a new perspective with a different choice of music.) As always, you are equally welcome whether you are a total newcomer to music or an experienced musician. Our time will include listening, group discussion and exploration of the cultural and musical framework of what we hear. Come and join us!
Exploring ‘classic’ music beyond genres
Once upon a time, there was no such thing as classical music. Initially used in the 19th century to describe earlier (18th century) music, the term has been used very differently since then in different contexts. Does it still have a useful meaning today, and if so what? This term will be an opportunity for me to share with you music that I experience as soulful, beautiful, moving, uplifting, or just worth listening to, with a particular focus on music from the last 65 years. As always, the space is intended for you to explore what you like or do not like about each piece we hear. We will have a chance to talk about what we may mean when we call something ‘classic’. Some of what we hear may fit into the genre called ‘classical music’ including Arvo Part, John Tavener and others, but we will also be exploring music that doesn’t fit neatly into categories like classical or pop. Along the way, we will have a chance to consider what is helpful or unhelpful about labels. We’ll likely touch on labels such as post-classical, ambient, minimalist, trip hop, folk, world, and more. Come with your curiosity – I’m excited to be able to share some wonderful music that may or may not be on our radar. How does it speak to you and why? As always you are welcome whether newcomer or expert – the sessions will be experiential and listening-based seeking to create space for the many ways we appreciate and enjoy music.
Between East and West: Musical Conversations between Russia, Europe and Asia
We will listen to a rich variety of music originating from Russia and the Eurasian Heartland, exploring how much of it weaves diverse cultural threads together. We will listen to and discuss both well known classical repertoire in which many composers based in the west of Russia were both influenced by a wish to emulate what they knew of music from Western Europe as well as being shaped or influenced by Russia’s proximity to Asian and Middle Eastern cultures. We’ll also delve into some of the folk and spiritual musical traditions of this vast landmass. How are these styles and cultures blended in music and how do they touch us as we listen? How can collaboration and influence across differences happen? Classical composers we will be covering include Tchaikovsky, Rimsky Korsakov, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Khachaturian. We’ll also look at Byzantine influences, chant traditions, music of the Silk Road, Orientalism in Russian music, the music of women composers, the role of the State in Soviet Music, the connections between Russia and France and Germany, and more… The course does not require any prior knowledge – as usual it will be an interactive experience weaving together our experiences as listeners with cultural contexts, discussions and sharing time.
Exploring Music from Central America, South America and the Caribbean
From the high Andes to the Caribbean, from Central America to the mountains and forests of South America, this course invites you into a rich musical world shaped by centuries of cultural exchange, resistance, migration and celebration.
Each week, we’ll listen to and reflect on music that emerges from different regions and histories, including both classical compositions and deeply rooted folk and traditional forms. We’ll hear how composers across the continent have drawn on Indigenous, African and European influences to create music that pulses with vitality, spirit and complexity.
Expect an eclectic blend – from classical works by composers such as Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazzola, Ginastera, Brouwer and Gabriela Lena Frank, to tango, Afro-Caribbean drumming, Andean panpipes, Brazilian choro and joropo from the llanos. We’ll also explore the role of music in political and spiritual life, and trace how these sounds have travelled and transformed across borders.
In person sessions at Stoke Lodge, Bristol
Come and listen to and talk about a selection of music. Explore what makes a good performance and the links between music past and present.
Open to everyone whether you are an experienced listener or have no previous knowledge.
Book here or pop into the Stoke Lodge office
Let me know if you would like me to keep you posted. Contact me
