Upcoming events

NTU Music's Instrumental Competition is back for another year! Drop into this free event to see a showcase of fantastic talent from our students. Expect an eclectic programme of different musical styles, genres and instruments, as performers compete for the top prize.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/3/ntu-music-instrumental-competition

Welcome to the world of The K’s. If you’re unfamiliar with one of the biggest underground success stories in rock & roll, make yourself at home. The K’s sold out their debut headline tour months in advance including the 3000-capacity Manchester Albert Hall. They’ve opened the Main Stage to 8000 people at Neighbourhood Festival, opened the Isle of Wight Festival Main Stage and performed on the Main Stage of Reading and Leeds Festival 2022. Their streams are comfortably in the millions- not bad for a band who’ve only released seven singles. As singer/guitarist Jamie puts it: We’ve crafted our own sound. Even if I’m not singing, you’ll know it’s a K’s song. The songs rich lyricism of everyday life continue the tradition of Paul Weller, Stiff Little Fingers, The Strokes and The Libertines. It’s clear The K’s are going to keep growing, a cult sensation ready to blossom in the mainstream. It’s an irresistible, irrefutable spirit, welcoming to anyone who wants to escape into a better, more hopeful world.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/3/the-ks

The new album ‘Ourselves, as we are’ from Carlos Cipa sees nine short piano pieces, created in ultimately just a few weeks, as a "conscious introspection", a kind of zooming in on the object of contemplation. Cipa took one other decisive conceptual approach: to play as quietly as possible. The fascinating result is nothing less than the discovery of a new piano sound world, which according to Cipa, allows “an even deeper empathy with the instrument”. As Cipa points out, “Today, it can be more radical to make a quiet piano album than a totally complex and intricate piece of music.” Undoubtedly, the multifaceted sound palette and disarmingly raw and fragile emotional elements make the music of ‘Ourselves’. In the age of fake authenticity, remakes, and pieces commissioned for high-reach mood playlists, this approach is perhaps one of the few remaining ways to create art: to reveal our true selves. Radically personal. Radically intimate. Radically honest.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/4/metronome-piano-sessions-carlos-cipa

Take a break from work, study or shopping and enjoy one of our free lunchtime concerts. From vocal to instrumental, classical to folk and jazz, enjoy performances from our talented students in a relaxed setting.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/4/free-lunchtime-concert

STONE are Fin Power (vocals/guitar), Sarah Surrage (bass), Elliot Gill (lead guitar) and Alex Smith (drums). In true Gen Z fashion, STONE are a diffusion of the limitless cultures and subcultures they’ve had access to growing up in the digital age. Self-identifying as ‘The underground voice for the lost youth’, they blend the thrill of frenetic rock’n’roll with more intimate exploration of the Gen-Z experience, coming of age during a politically fraught time. Grounded by Power’s post-punk spoken-vocals, songs like ‘Waste’ and ‘Stupid’ race with instrumentational energy, as rewarding to mosh to as they are to emotionally absorb. A live version of 2020 single ‘Leave It Out’ marked the band’s first moment of online buzz, displaying the kind of pent-up rambunctiousness that shapes their sound. When the pandemic came, they kept the momentum; securing a live agent, they began planning out a meticulous string of festivals and support slots, giving both themselves and new fans alike something to look forward to. Their formidable live presence has piqued the interest of some of music’s biggest stars, also striving to create places where kids can go to let their emotions free. YungBlud personally requested that they join him on his 2021 tour, while Sam Fender had them perform at his Finsbury Park show, streaming their set on his Instagram page. Never ones to waste an opportunity, a recent weekend saw them head to Malaga in between blistering sets at Reading and Leeds 2022 to play Away From Home festival; with a huge audience in attendance, STONE’s music resonated just as thoroughly in Spain as it has in the UK, reflecting the universalities of their message. They’re now signed to Polydor, honing their debut EP, and with an Inhaler support tour on the way.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/4/stone

Don’t miss this spectacular evening of symphonic pop hits performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and the NTU Choir, featuring special guest vocalist Nicole Raquel Dennis (Dream Girls, The Book of Mormon, Dear Evan Hansen).

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/4/symphonic-pops-with-the-royal-philharmonic-concert-orchestra

As part of the Metronome folk sessions Good Habits are an award-winning UK folk duo forged on the other side of the globe. Composed of Bonnie Schwarz (cello + vocals) and Pete Shaw (accordion), the pair mix vivid storytelling with eclectic sounds, drawing on their diverse musical tastes and weaving them into an action-packed narrative of folky goodness. After a pandemic spent happily stranded in New Zealand, they've returned to the UK to spread their joyous music throughout Europe. During the two years in New Zealand, Good Habits performed at some of NZ’s largest festivals including CubaDupa, TSB Festival of Lights, and Luminate, Their debut album, “Going For Broke” received glowing press in Songlines and The New Zealand Herald. Upon returning to the UK at the end of 2021 as Purbeck Rising winners, they released their 2nd album ‘Antipody’ and spent another joyous year as musical nomads before returning to base themselves in Manchester. In just their first year, they toured relentlessly in their red van 'Laurie Vanderson' including performances at Manchester Folk Festival, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and Purbeck Valley and much more.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/4/metronome-sessions-good-habits

Composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Neue Grafik has been building a strong rep for himself over the past few years, releasing records on labels such as Rhythm Section, 22a and Wolf Music. His sound is a hybrid of jazz, house and hip hop, all with his unique geographical flavors of African ethnicity, Parisian roots and a love for London sounds like broken beat & grime thrown into the mix. Having been first properly introduced to the community of Total Refreshment Centre, home to London’s flourishing jazz scene, during an after-hours jam, it came to TRC founder Lex Blondin’s attention that Neue Grafik had some exquisite compositions of his own. A few weeks later, it was decided that Neue Grafik would form a band — the Neue Grafik Ensemble (him on piano, rhodes and synths, Emma-Jean Thackray on trumpet, Vels Trio’s Dougal Taylor on drums and Matt Gedrych from MaddAddam on bass). ‘Foulden Road’, the EP taken from those sessions, came out in 2019 and featured Nubya Garcia, Emma-Jean Thackray, Brother Portrait and Allysha Joy to name a few. Neue Grafik is now setting to release ‘Foulden Road Pt. II’ — a new record entirely dedicated to Adama Traoré and Assa Traoré, their community and more largely to all Black people around the globe. Live line-up Faye Thompson(alto sax) Jack Banjo Courtney(trumpet) Benji "The Chief" Appiah(drums) Matt Gedrych(bass) Neue Grafik(keys)

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/4/neue-grafik-ensemble

We're thrilled to welcome back award-winning new-music collective Riot Ensemble to University Hall. Innovative. Exciting. Experimental. Challenging. Experience music like never before. Our Groundbreaking at University Hall series brings the very best contemporary music from the world’s top composers to Nottingham. Get ready to be amazed.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/5/riot-ensemble-at-university-hall

Inspired by Beethoven, Debussy and his neighbours Acid House pirate radio show, composing on piano became James Heather’s passion. His art takes as much from electronic music in sensibility and post-rock in its exploration of meditative builds as it does its classical and jazz grounding. In 2022 Heather releases his second album, ‘Invisible Forces’. The album is about becoming aware of invisible forces around us to help deepen understanding of self and our connection to the world. The tracks (alongside 2021’s ‘Modulations: EP2’) were this time honed on the road, performing at Green Man, Glastonbury, Berlin Planetarium and many more across Europe. His approach, that he dubs ‘Pulse Music’, finds him playing freely, with no metronome or notation but instead his instinct deciding where things go. In 2021 he released a new version of ‘And She Came Home’ with added strings for Coldcut’s ambient ‘@0 compilation’ in aid of CALM, Mind, and Black Minds Matter, with the song being promoted as a double-single alongside Ryuichi Sakamoto. Heather first released via Ahead Of Our Time in 2017, Ninja Tune founders Coldcut’s label with “Modulations: EP1”, followed by his well received album “Stories From Far Away On Piano”. In 2018 he was remixed by DJ Seinfeld, Mary Lattimore, Sarah Davachi and Echo Collective for his “Reworks” album. Supporters include Cillian Murphy, Nils Frahm, Emika, Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label and The Cinematic Orchestra, who asked him to rework them in 2020.

ntu.ac.uk/about-us/events/events/2023/5/metronome-piano-sessions-james-heather