Music in the 21st century: the first 25 years
Time: 13:30 - 15:30
Location: Keeley Street
- Course Code: MD041A
- Dates: 29/04/25 - 20/05/25
- Time: 13:30 - 15:30
- Taught: Tue, Daytime
- Duration: 4 sessions (over 4 weeks)
- Location: Keeley Street
- Tutor: Edward Henderson
Course Code: MD041A
Duration: 4 sessions (over 4 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This course will look at new music and new music trends and ideas of the century so far. We will look at theory (post-postmodernism anyone?), technological innovation and aesthetic and political trends. Composers featured will be Thomas Adès, George Benjamin, Jennifer Walshe, Cassandra Miller, Caroline Shaw, Hans Abrahamsen, Max Richter, Rebecca Saunders, Simon Steen Anderson.
What will we cover?
- What happened after modernism and postmodernism - a new subjectivity?
- Technology: AI, cheap projectors and video cameras, live electronics.
- Identity politics, climate change, racial justice.
- Working together: collaboration and an expanded practice.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- A familiarity with a range of pieces written after 2000.
- An understanding of the aesthetic interests of composers working now and how they manifest in the work they write.
- An awareness of how new technologies have changed the way that composers write music.
- An understanding of how political and personal concerns are represented in concert music since 2000.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
No prior knowledge of the subject is required. You do not need to read music to take this course (although we will look at music notation and scores occasionally). Some experience thinking and talking about movements in art and culture in 20th and 21st century would be useful but not necessary.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Tutor presentation, guided listening, class discussion and debate, video and score study.
Course materials will be shared via Google Classroom: handouts, scores, links to online audio and video, recommendations to encourage and support further reading and listening outside class.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Please bring a notebook and pen to make your own notes.
You may also wish to purchase some of the music books or recordings discussed in class; links to these materials will be available after each session. You may also wish to attend live performances.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
City Lit offers a wide range of Music history courses. For more information, visit our Guide to the Music history programme.
You may also be interested in our Music theory and musicianship offer, or one of our many practical music courses.
Edward Henderson is a composer and performer from South London. He studied at Cambridge and Trinity Laban, where he won the Director's Prize for Composition. He co-directs composers’ collective Bastard Assignments, which presents shows in London and across Europe. His theatre pieces "Manspangled" and "Hum" have been performed at Second Movement's Rough for Opera night and the Tête à Tête opera festival, and his piano piece "Milk 2" has been performed in Europe and in Sydney. His "Tape Piece" opened the 2015 London Contemporary Music Festival, and his performance piece "Totally" featured at the 2016 Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik in Darmstadt. Edward teaches at City Lit, Morley College and Trinity Laban, and runs inclusive community choirs for Certitude.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
-
- Exploring classical music: module 1Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £139.00
-
The Schumanns: a Romantic partnershipFull fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £174.00
