Music History & Appreciation Courses & Classes in London
City Lit offers an extensive programme of music history courses with a focus on Western classical music, Folk, Jazz, Rock and Pop. There are new topics each year and some are designed to coincide with anniversaries, festivals and events. This year we celebrate 250 years since the birth of Beethoven.
To find out more about music history classes and to read our year-long selection of courses, please see the blog post Music history: your guide to the 2019/20 programme which lists our full programme of classes ordered by term, and by day of the week. You may then click on each title to read the full course outline.
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Opera studies 3: operas in production
Course Date: Mon 20 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OnlineTake a look at operas being streamed soon or coming up later in the 2020-21 season, and at standard operatic repertoire. Discuss their composition, context, controversies and style, and then hear the story of the opera through musical examples. Break week: 25 May (Bank holiday).
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £121.00 -
Music for film: a history
Course Date: Mon 20 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OnlineSince the earliest silent films, music has been used for atmosphere, character and emotion. We examine the development of specialised film scores and composers for genres from art-house to blockbuster. Break week: 25 May (Bank holiday).
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £121.00 -
Exploring classical music: module 3
Course Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: OnlineEnrich your understanding of music history. This module explores the 19th century to the present. Ideal for people with no specialist knowledge. This course has a scheduled break week: 26th May 2020.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £169.00Senior fee: £135.00Concession: £103.00 -
Haydn and London: a profitable partnership
Course Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OnlineIn 1791, at the peak of his compositional powers, Haydn arrived in London, the musical capital of Europe. Come and explore the impact that the city and the composer had on each other using the music that Haydn wrote to mark his arrival. No previous knowledge necessary. Scheduled break week: 26 May 2020.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £121.00 -
Fight the power: the 70s political soul renaissance
Course Date: Tue 21 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OnlineFIGHT THE POWER! Learn how the Civil Rights movement, Black Power and urban unrest sparked a renaissance in late 60s/1970s soul music, producing landmark work by Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Gil Scott Heron. This course has a scheduled break: 26th May.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £199.00Concession: £121.00 -
French music since 1900
Course Date: Wed 22 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OnlineExplore French art music in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will start by looking at familiar names like Debussy and Ravel and then explore modernist movements in France. This course has a scheduled break week: 27th May 2020.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £121.00 -
Music in fin-de-siècle Paris
Course Date: Thu 23 Apr 2020
Location on this date: OnlineParis in the late 19th and early 20th centuries acted as a musical magnet, attracting to it composers as diverse as Debussy, Stravinsky and Gershwin. Join us as we explore the music of those who were unable to resist that powerful pull of Paris. No previous knowledge necessary. Scheduled break week: 28 May 2020.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £199.00Senior fee: £159.00Concession: £121.00 -
A short history of jazz: Louis Armstrong to Miles Davis
Course Date: Sun 3 May 2020
Location on this date: OnlineTrace the development of this influential music from its origins in New Orleans through to its remarkable, rapid evolution today, learning about the different styles of each era and key musical figures. N.b. no class on May 17th.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘How will I be taught’ section in course details for more information.Full fee: £89.00Senior fee: £89.00Concession: £54.00 -
Music history book club: The Cello Suites
Course Date: Wed 15 Jul 2020
Location on this date: KS - Keeley StreetThe music history book club meets towards the end of each term to discuss novels and biography with musical themes and references relevant to the music history programme. This term’s book focusses on Bach.Full fee: £19.00Senior fee: £15.00Concession: £12.00
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