Barbican Music Library’s current exhibition – From the Caribbean to Coventry: Plotting the Rise of Two Tone – is a celebration of one of the UK’s most influential musical and cultural movements. The exhibition was conceived by 2 Tone fans David Burke and Mark Baxter; they collaborated with consultants Rhoda Dakar (former lead singer of…
Following the October 2023 ransomware attack on the British Library’s systems, the Library has issued a cyber incident review document. It outlines what is known about the origins of the attack. It describes obstacles to restoration of services, and summarises lessons learned that have relevance for other cultural institutions.
Barbican Music Library was delighted to host the unveiling of a bronze bust of Sir Simon Rattle on 15th June, the evening of the conductor’s final concert as the London Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director. The event featured a number of speeches, and music was provided by the Fibonacci Quartet. The bust was live-sculpted by Frances…
For music librarians, a live online event from Cambridge, UK. Find out more about music in Cambridge University Library and the Pendlebury Library.
My diary tells me that Friday 17th April should have been the first day of the 2020 Annual Study Weekend in Leeds. Planning for the conference had taken more than a year and at the last Conference Committee meeting held on March 11th most of the final details were in place and the committee was…
This exhibition showcases the music photography of Mark Allan, who has spent over 30 years in the music and entertainment photography business. David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Tina Turner, The Rolling Stones, and Jay-Z are just some of the leading performers and groups which feature among the 72 images on display. Other highlights in the free…
Twelve students of the Lucica Trita London Violin Academy came to the Kilburn Library Centre (part of Camden Libraries), to perform their Grade Examination pieces for Library users on Saturday March 9th. As well as solo performances, the concert concluded with a group performance of teacher and students. Proud parents were also in attendance and…
Corelli’s Christmas Concerto was so called as it bears the inscription ‘Fatto per la notte di Natale’ (‘made for the night of Christmas’). The portrait of Francesco Geminiani by Andrea Soldi, now in the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum, was painted in about 1735, depicts the composer holding a copy of the Christmas Concerto, in tribute to…
A new free exhibition at Barbican Music Library entitled Women in Jazz – a Celebration of the Past, Present and Future, a collaboration with the National Jazz Archive, presents a musical and social survey of the rich contribution women have made to jazz over the last 100 years. It also considers the talented upcoming generation who…
Music librarians across the country took part in Make Music Day 2018, on Thursday June 21st. These were just a few of the celebrations…. Westminster Music Library joined in the world-wide celebrations with a “Learn to play mandolin” workshop; which included a brilliant performance by the London Mandolin Ensemble. Meanwhile…Camden Libraries, supported by Camden Music Service marked the day with a…
Last Saturday 7th February 2015 saw Somerset Performing Arts Library celebrate National Music Libraries Day. With a full day’s programme it was our best yet. We started the day with our ever popular “Sing for fun” workshop, run by local jazz singer/pianist/composer/teacher Julie Dunn (www.juliedunn.co.uk). The library rang to a great sound as they learnt…
“Our mandolin ensemble would like to perform at Westminster Music Library” “Fantastic! Err how many of you will there be?” “Oh just sixteen or so…” Well I like a challenge and we’d never hosted a mandolin ensemble before, how could I refuse? So it was that sixteen enthusiastic musicians – not just mandolins but also…
If you haven’t yet heard, the registration booking form for the 2014 ASW in Cambridge is now live on the IAML UK & Irl website. Run, don’t walk, and grab a place now for this amazing 48-hour affair! What is the ASW, you say? Why, the Annual Study Weekend, of course– our national conference!
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the first performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Yeomen of the Guard the Royal College of Music has digitised the overture and made it available via the library website. The manuscript was bequeathed to the RCM by Arthur Sullivan and the physical copy is also on display in…
Westminster Music Library is teaming up with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for ‘Behind the Lines’, a large-scale programme of musical activities focusing on British composers and music of the First World War. Taking place across the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for 12 months starting in September 2013, a…