Listeners

Before we dive deep into the pattern of composing callbacks and closures, we need to take start with the definitions and basic building blocks that we will be using for the rest of the course.

As Nicholas McGegan sets off on his final season as Music Director, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw returns with her most ambitious project yet for the Orchestra & Chorale—a cosmic reflection inspired by Carl Sagan’s Golden Record, and by humankind’s fascination with recording ourselves for posterity. The otherworldly voices of contralto Avery Amereau and bass-baritone Dashon Burton, interwoven with curated selections played on record player, all contribute to this monumental work featuring the profound words of Walt Whitman and Alfred Lord Tennyson. Paired with Handel’s expansive Eternal Source of Light Divine featuring countertenor Reginald Mobley, this performance will leave you contemplating what it means to create music, and who will listen tomorrow.

Albert’s Favourites co-founder Adam Scrimshire is set to release his fourth album 'Listeners'. Musically, 'Listeners' draws from Scrimshire's passion for jazz, soul and electronic music of all styles; from an energetic combination of Afrobeat and garage on 'Won't Get Better', to the lushly orchestrated neo-soul of 'Thru You', and the harmonious jazz experimentations of 'I Never'. The album features a host of esteemed guest vocalists and musicians telling their own personal stories, including Georgia Anne Muldrow, Emma-Jean Thackray, Joshua Idehen, Madison McFerrin, Chip Wickham, and James Alexander Bright.

Almut Braun carried out forensic phonetic speaker identification experiments (voice lineups) with 306 lay listeners. Blind listeners significantly outperformed sighted listeners when the speech recordings were presented in studio quality.