MUSIC COURSES
Looking to expand your musical horizons? Look no further than our wide range of courses, covering everything from classical to popular music. we have courses to suit Join us today and start your musical journey!
Concerts in Focus
Join Mike Wheeler for a guided journey through the world of live music. From the origins of public concerts to today’s cutting-edge productions, this course examines how performances are planned, presented and experienced — and why nothing matches the electricity of music played in the moment.
We’ll explore:
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A brief history of live performance — venues, audiences and rituals
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How programmes are built, from solo recitals to symphony concerts
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The people behind the scenes: conductors, agents, fixers, technicians
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Acoustics, staging, lighting and the art of listening
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New trends in concert presentation and digital streaming
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What makes a performance memorable — and how to get more from every concert you attend
Whether you’re a seasoned concert-goer or just discovering live music, you’ll come away with sharper ears and a deeper appreciation of the magic that happens when musicians and audiences meet.
Musicals: The Weird and the Wonderful
From political intrigue to fairy-tale fantasy, horror, satire and outright eccentricity, the musical has always been a bold and experimental form. This course explores some of the most fascinating — and occasionally baffling — examples of the genre, uncovering the surprising themes and ideas hidden beneath the show tunes and sequins.
We will look at:
🎙️ Musicals and world politics
How Evita, Call Me Madam and Chess tackled political figures and global tensions — and whether they truly captured their subjects.
🧛♂️ Horror transformed for the stage
From parody in Rocky Horror and Little Shop of Horrors to the darker worlds of Sweeney Todd and Jekyll & Hyde.
✨ Fairy tales reinvented
From the playful twists of Frozen to Sondheim’s Into the Woods, where magic, morality and a broken fourth wall collide.
🎼 Rodgers & Hammerstein — beyond the sunshine
A look at their lesser-known works, controversies, and the surprisingly dark corners of their classic musicals.
🎩 The delightfully odd
Including The Producers, Hello, Dolly!, Paint Your Wagon and even musicals inspired by industrial disputes (yes — really!).
Through clips, discussion and context, we’ll discover how musical theatre has always been a home for sharp ideas, daring themes and wonderfully weird storytelling — proving there's far more to the genre than chorus lines and happy endings.
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Dance Bands of the 1920s, 30s & 40s
Step back into the golden age of popular music as we explore the Dance Bands that kept Britain swinging through the 1920s, 30s and 40s. From the elegance of hotel orchestras and radio broadcasts to the energy of wartime dance halls, this short course celebrates the musicians, bandleaders and singers who defined an era.
Through recordings, stories and discussion, we’ll look at how the music evolved, the social changes it reflected, and the personalities who made it sparkle — from Jack Hylton and Ambrose to Glenn Miller and Vera Lynn.
Whether you’re a lifelong fan or simply curious about the soundtrack of a generation, this is a lively and nostalgic look at the music that kept a nation dancing.
Bizets Carmen
🎭 Carmen and the Paris that Rejected Her
It’s hard to believe now, but the first performances of Bizet’s Carmen in Paris in 1875 were poorly received by both audiences and critics. The composer was devastated, writing that Parisians had “not understood a wretched word of the work I have written for them.” He died just a few weeks later, never knowing that Carmen would become one of the most beloved and frequently performed operas in the world.
This course explores the remarkable story of Carmen’s troubled beginnings and the social and artistic climate of Paris in the 1870s, which seemed stacked against Bizet from the start.
We’ll look at:
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The cultural conservatism of the Parisian opera scene and its
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hostility to innovation
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Bizet’s personal struggles to win over both critics and audiences
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The few courageous figures who supported him — including Hector Berlioz and Léon Carvalho
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How Carmen’s realism, energy, and tragic heroine challenged expectations of the time
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The gradual rediscovery of Bizet’s genius after his untimely death
Through music, history, and discussion, we’ll trace how a work once dismissed as shocking and unrefined became a symbol of artistic courage, passion, and transformation.