CLIMATE CHANGE: WHAT CAN MUSIC DO?

Graham Fitkin is a British composer, pianist and conductor. His compositions fall broadly into the minimalist and postminimalist genres. He was born in Cornwall in 1963, studied at Nottingham University with Peter Nelson and Nigel Osborne and then in The Netherlands with Louis Andriessen at Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. He works regularly with pianist Kathryn Stott, founded the four-pianist group ‘Nanquidno’ and worked closely with six piano ensemble Piano Circus.Described by The Independent in 1998 as “one of the most important of our younger composers”, he is particularly known for his works for solo and multiple pianos, as well as for music accompanying dance. Read more.

Tim Horton is one of the UK’s leading pianists, equally at home in solo and chamber repertoire. He is a founder member of both the Leonore Piano Trio and Ensemble 360 and has been a regular guest pianist with the Nash Ensemble. He was invited to make his solo debut at Wigmore Hall in 2016 where he will be giving further solo recitals in the coming seasons. Between 2011 and 2015 Tim presented a complete Beethoven Sonata cycle at the Crucible Studio, Sheffield for Music in the Round, and was invited to return to perform a cycle of Schubert Sonatas from 2017-2019. He is currently performing a cycle of concerts based around the composer Chopin for Music in the Round. Read more. 

Helen is a music psychologist, with interests in music performance, music education, music and wellbeing, and music and the environment based at the University of Hull. Her work with the Centre for Musical Performance as Creative Practice (CMPCP) explored the experiences of professional musicians in creating, or shaping, their musical performances. Equally important is the area of music education, within which she has explored remote music lessons through the Connect: Resound project, led by Professor Andrew King; and is also exploring transitions within music education with Dr Elaine King. Musical activities have a range of benefits, particularly in relation to wellbeing, and Helen’s involvement with the Strokestra Project (led by Elaine King) explore these benefits in detail. Music can have a profound influence on us, changing our physical and mental wellbeing, but also influencing our decisions; Helen’s work in relation to music and the environment investigates the ways in which we might harness this power to help people to adopt environmentally-friendly behaviours. Overall, Helen is fascinated by the myriad ways in which we interact with music as human beings, and her research explores these from a range of perspectives.

In her spare time, Helen enjoys playing the piano, and the modern and baroque violin, and occasionally doing some orchestral conducting.

Tom is a performance maker, writer, dramaturg, filmmaker, and digital creative. He is Co-director of the UK/Australian performance company Doppelgangster and has worked extensively in the creative industries. Tom is Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Acting & Performance, and draws upon his professional experience to support work-based learning on the degree, and is also a Recruitment Lead, and Social Media Lead, within the Stage and Screen subject area. In his research and professional practice, Tom’s performance-making strategies seek to engage audiences with questions of social and ecological justice. Tom is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has taught drama, theatre, performance, and media communication and production in Further and Higher Education since 2001.