15 November 2018
Christopher Wiley
Public Output, Publication, Research
Barbican, Barbican Centre, BBC, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, ethel smyth, London, Mass in D, Music, music history, musicology, performance, suffragette, Surrey, The Barbican, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has written programme notes for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus concert at The Barbican, London (pictured) on Thursday 15 November 2018.
Dr Wiley contributed programme notes for Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D as well as a biographical profile of the composer.
Dr Wiley previously wrote programme notes for a BBC Proms concert featuring Smyth’s music in August of this year.
The concert presented Smyth’s Mass in D alongside Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 (original version).
Further information on the event may be found here: https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2018/event/bbc-sobrabbins-ethel-smyth-mass-in-d
25 August 2018
Christopher Wiley
Media, Public Output
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, gig, Guildford, live music, London, media, musical theatre, Musical Theatre Review, opera, popular music, review, reviewing, Surrey, theatre, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has written 50 reviews since February 2014 for the digital magazine Musical Theatre Review, which covers a wide variety of live events internationally, ranging from pop gigs to opera in addition to musical theatre, and is Vuelio’s no.2 theatre blog.
Among the many highlights of Dr Wiley’s activity include reviews of Elaine Paige’s ‘Stripped Back’ tour, of Mandela Trilogy by Cape Town Opera at the Royal Festival Hall, London, and of the international première of Strictly Ballroom: The Musical at Sydney Lyric Theatre, Australia.
Other highlights include the 2014 revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel; Sinatra: The Main Event at Cadogan Hall, London, starring Richard Shelton; and solo shows by leading West End stars Daniel Koek and Nadim Naaman.
Coincidentally, Dr Wiley’s first and 50th reviews were of two shows written and performed by the same artist, comic songwriter Alexander S. Bermange. The artist most frequently reviewed by Dr Wiley is Pippa Winslow, who features in seven different reviews.
Dr Wiley has also reviewed student productions by many of the major performing arts institutions and organisations, particularly Guildford School of Acting and Youth Music Theatre UK; as well as many new works of musical theatre, and one-off productions in popular London venues such as The Pheasantry.
A complete listing of Dr Wiley’s reviews for Musical Theatre Review is available at the following link: http://musicaltheatrereview.com/?s=Christopher+Wiley
7 April 2017
Christopher Wiley
Presentation, Public Output
Barry Wordsworth, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, G Live, Guildford, pre-concert talk, pre-event talk, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, RPO, Surrey, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley acted as host and interviewer for a pre-concert talk for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the Glass Room studio theatre at G Live, Guildford on Friday 7 April 2017.
Dr Wiley provided a brief introduction to the programme to be performed that evening, before interviewing the conductor, Barry Wordsworth (pictured), whose many career highlights include long-standing associations with the Royal Ballet and the BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as conducting the Last Night of the Proms in 1993.
Over 100 audience members were present for the half-hour talk, which preceded a concert whose programme included Sibelius’s Karelia Suite, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in F# minor (with soloist Natasha Paremski), and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite, the latter specially compiled from the full ballet by Barry Wordsworth himself.
Dr Wiley has previously hosted pre-concert talks for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at G Live in 2015, 2014, and 2013.
6 August 2015
Christopher Wiley
Performance
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, Guildford, Guildford Cathedral, Margaret Ozanne, Margaret Roberts, Music, oboe, performance, recital, Surrey, University, University of Surrey, Wiley, Łukasz Jakimów
Dr Christopher Wiley performed in a recital at Guildford Cathedral as part of its 2015 series of Summer Coffee Concerts, attended by a diverse audience of around 100.
Dr Wiley played Handel’s oboe sonata in G minor, HW364a and Saint-Saëns’s oboe sonata, Op. 166, as well as Madeleine Dring’s ‘Romance’ from Three-Piece Suite.
The recital was given jointly with Polish clarinettist Łukasz Jakimów, who performed Burgmüller’s Duo, Op. 13 and Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie. Both soloists were accompanied by Margaret Ozanne (piano).
The full schedule for the Cathedral’s 2015 Summer Coffee Concerts is available here: http://www.guildford-cathedral.org/news/2015/free-coffee-concerts
15 May 2015
Christopher Wiley
Presentation, Public Output
Andrew Greenwood, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, G Live, Guildford, pre-concert talk, pre-event talk, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, RPO, Surrey, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley hosted a pre-concert talk for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the Glass Room at G Live, Guildford on 15 May 2015.
In the half-hour talk, Dr Wiley provided a brief introduction to the works being performed that evening, which he then discussed with the conductor for the concert, Andrew Greenwood (pictured).
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s programme comprised Rossini’s The Barber of Seville Overture; Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 (with soloist Tom Poster); and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, ‘From the New World’.
With over 90 members in the audience for the talk, G Live’s studio theatre was at capacity. Dr Wiley previously hosted pre-concert talks for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 23 October 2013 and 7 November 2014.
20 February 2015
Christopher Wiley
Media, Public Output
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, gig, Guildford, live music, London, media, musical theatre, Musical Theatre Review, popular music, review, reviewing, Surrey, theatre, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has contributed 20 reviews over the past year to the digital magazine Musical Theatre Review, which covers a wide variety of live musical theatre events internationally.
Highlights of Dr Wiley’s activity include reviews of the acclaimed revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel at the Arcola Theatre, London; of Sinatra: The Main Event at Cadogan Hall, London, starring Richard Shelton; and of the international première of Strictly Ballroom: The Musical at Sydney Lyric Theatre, Australia.
Dr Wiley has also enjoyed reviewing student productions by Guildford School of Acting, Performance Preparation Academy, and Youth Music Theatre UK; as well as new musical theatre works presented in Guildford and the neighbouring areas, and several live gigs at The Pheasantry, London. His reviews have attracted much attention on social media.
A complete listing of Dr Wiley’s reviews for Musical Theatre Review is available at the following link: http://www.scoop.it/t/christopher-wiley-bibliography-of-reviews
7 November 2014
Christopher Wiley
Presentation, Public Output
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, Eduardo Portal, G Live, Guildford, pre-concert talk, pre-event talk, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, RPO, Surrey, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley hosted a pre-concert talk for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the studio theatre at G Live, Guildford on 7 November 2014.
Dr Wiley opened by providing a brief introduction to the repertoire being presented that evening, before engaging in some lively discussion with the conductor, Eduardo Portal (pictured).
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s all-Beethoven programme featured the Coriolan Overture, Piano Concerto No. 2 (with soloist Joaquín Achúcarro), and the ‘Pastoral’ Symphony.
The 25-minute pre-concert talk was attended by approximately 80 concert-goers. Dr Wiley previously hosted a pre-concert talk for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on 23 October 2013 (see here).
8 May 2014
Christopher Wiley
Performance, Presentation, Public Output, Research
Chris Wiley, Christ Church, Christ Church Woking, Christopher Wiley, concert, ethel smyth, Isabella Stocchetti, Margaret Roberts, Maureen Galea, Music, music and literature, musicology, presentation, recital, research, Sebastian Forbes, Surrey, University, University of Surrey, Wiley, Woking
Dr Christopher Wiley organized a recital of the music of Dame Ethel Smyth, given at Christ Church Woking by staff and students of the School of Arts at the University of Surrey, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the composer’s death in Hook Heath, near Woking on 8 May 1944.
The one-hour lunchtime recital of chamber, vocal, and solo keyboard works featured pianists Maureen Galea and Margaret Roberts, Isabella Stocchetti (flute), and Christopher Wiley (oboe, organ), as well as members of the University Chamber Choir. The full programme was as follows:
- Two Interlinked French Folk Melodies (1928, from the opera Entente cordiale) for flute, oboe, and piano (Isabella Stocchetti, flute; Christopher Wiley, oboe; Margaret Roberts, piano)
- Aus der Jugendzeit!! E. v. H. (c.1878–80) (Maureen Galea, piano)
- Nocturne (Kanon in Gegenbewegung) (c.1877–80) (Maureen Galea, piano)
- ‘O Gott du frommer Gott’ and Canon on ‘O Gott du frommer Gott’ (Nos. IIa & IIb from Short Choral Preludes, c.1882–4) (Christopher Wiley, organ)
- Piano Suite in E major (c.1877–1880) (Maureen Galea, piano)
- Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin (Ophelia’s Song) (1928) (Isabella Stocchetti, flute; Christopher Wiley, oboe; Margaret Roberts, piano)
- Overture to the opera The Boatswain’s Mate, Piano transcription (1913–14) (Maureen Galea, piano)
- ‘Laggard Dawn’ and ‘The March of the Women’ (Nos. 1 & 3 from Songs of Sunrise, 1910) (University Chamber Choir, dir. Isabella Stocchetti; Maureen Galea, piano)
Dr Wiley, who has been conducting research on Ethel Smyth for over a decade, also gave spoken introductions to each piece, and Surrey History Centre provided their ‘Musical Passions’ exhibition celebrating Smyth’s life.
Attended by some 50 audience members, this commemoration followed the Ethel Smyth Symposium hosted at the University in February of this year.
Update: The event was favourably reviewed by Sebastian Forbes, who wrote that ‘Senior lecturer Christopher Wiley, who has done much research into Smyth, not only devised and introduced the concert but also, very expertly, played oboe and organ.’
The review is available here: http://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/arts/2014/05/12/celebrating-the-life-and-work-of-dame-ethel-smythe-concert-at-christ-church-woking/
19 February 2014
Christopher Wiley
Conference, Performance, Presentation, Public Output, Research
autobiography, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Clive Williamson, concert, ethel smyth, gender and sexuality, gender studies, Isabella Stocchetti, lesbian studies, LGBT History Month, Margaret Roberts, Maureen Galea, Music, music and literature, musical biography, musicology, opera, presentation, Sophie Langdon, Surrey, symposium, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley contributed to a Symposium dedicated to Ethel Smyth (1858-1944), the Surrey-based composer and writer also noted for her suffrage activity in the early 1910s, which was held in the Performing Arts Technology Studios at the University of Surrey on 19 February. This was the University’s first ever event for LGBT History Month, for which Smyth was named as one of the faces of the 2014 theme of Music.
Introduced by Professor Diane Watt, Head of the University’s School of English and Languages, the Symposium commenced with a talk by Dr Wiley entitled ‘Dame Ethel Smyth (1858-1944): In Search of a Lesbian Identity in Music and Literature’, in which he discussed possible ways of interpreting Smyth’s artistic output as reflecting her sexual identity and feminist sensibilities, with musical illustrations provided by Maureen Galea (piano) and the University Chamber Choir.
A drinks reception followed the talk, during which audience members were able to view the ‘Musical Passions’ exhibition celebrating the life of Ethel Smyth, provided courtesy of Surrey History Centre.
The Symposium closed with a concert of solo, chamber, and vocal works by Ethel Smyth, featuring staff and students of the University including pianists Maureen Galea and Margaret Roberts, Isabella Stocchetti (flute), and Christopher Wiley (oboe), as well as the University Chamber Choir. Highlights included a performance of Smyth’s Violin Sonata with guest artist Sophie Langdon and the Head of Performance, Professor Clive Williamson. The full programme was as follows:
- Two Interlinked French Folk Melodies (1928, from the opera Entente cordiale) for flute, oboe, and piano (Isabella Stocchetti, flute; Christopher Wiley, oboe; Margaret Roberts, piano)
- Aus der Jugendzeit!! E. v. H. (c.1878–80) (Maureen Galea, piano)
Nocturne (Kanon in Gegenbewegung) (c.1877–80) (Maureen Galea, piano)- Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 7 (1877) (Sophie Langdon, violin; Clive Williamson, piano)
- Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin (Ophelia’s Song) (1928) (Isabella Stocchetti, flute; Christopher Wiley, oboe; Margaret Roberts, piano)
- Overture to the opera The Boatswain’s Mate, Piano transcription (1913–14) (Maureen Galea, piano)
- ‘Laggard Dawn’ and ‘The March of the Women’ (Nos. 1 & 3 from Songs of Sunrise, 1910) (University Chamber Choir, cond. Isabella Stocchetti, dir. Russell Keable; Maureen Galea, piano)
The Symposium was held in association with the University of Surrey Equality and Diversity, the School of Arts, the School of English and Languages, LGBT History Month, and Surrey History Centre. Both the talk and the concert were attended by around 50 people, including staff and students of the University and external visitors.
Further information
Event website: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/arts/music/events/ethel_smyth.htm
Poster: http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/LGBT-History-Month-Final-2014-21-01-14.pdf
Surrey History Centre: http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/lgbt-2014/
Update
An academic response to Dr Wiley’s talk, ‘Musical Inversions: Ethel Smyth’ by Dr Heike Bauer (Birkbeck University of London), appeared on the blog A Violent World of Difference on 21 February 2014: http://violentworldofdifference.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/21-feb-2014-musical-inversions-ethel-smyth/
23 October 2013
Christopher Wiley
Presentation, Public Output
Alexander Sitkovetsky, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, concert, G Live, Guildford, Ivor Setterfield, pre-concert talk, pre-event talk, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, RPO, Surrey, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley hosted a pre-concert talk for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concert at G Live, Guildford on 23 October 2013.
In the half-hour talk, Dr Wiley presented a brief introduction to the works on the programme, as well as interviewing the conductor for the concert, Ivor Setterfield (pictured), and soloist Alexander Sitkovetsky.
The evening’s programme comprised Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Bruch’s First Violin Concerto, and Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony.
19 March 2013
Christopher Wiley
Performance, Teaching
BMus, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, City, City University London, concert, London, Music, musical theatre, performance, teaching, University, Wiley
A major Musical Theatre concert featuring students of City University London, curated by Dr Christopher Wiley, was presented in the University’s Performance Space on Tuesday 19 March 2013, to tie in with the ‘Musical Theatre’ module currently being delivered by Dr Wiley on the BMus programme.
The concert’s broad range of solo numbers included ‘The Man I Love’ (Lady Be Good), ‘If I Loved You’ (Carousel), ‘Adelaide’s Lament’ (Guys and Dolls), ‘So Long, Dearie’ (Hello, Dolly!), ‘Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again’ (The Phantom of the Opera), ‘Why, God, Why?’ (Miss Saigon), ‘There’s a Fine, Fine Line’ (Avenue Q), ‘Falling Slowly’ (Once), and ‘Left Behind’ (Spring Awakening).
Also featured were the chorus numbers ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ and ‘One Day More’ (Les Misérables) performed by the City University Musical Theatre Chorus, a staged version of ‘What is this Feeling’ (Wicked), and a set by the City University Big Band that included ‘They Can’t Take That Away from Me’ (Shall We Dance), ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ (The Wizard of Oz), and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’ (We Will Rock You).
Some 60 performers were involved in the concert, which attracted a sell-out audience. Other highlights included the fully staged chorus ‘Another Op’nin’, Another Show’ (Kiss Me, Kate; shown above in rehearsal) to start the event, and a choreographed ‘Cell Block Tango’ (Chicago) featuring the City Block Tango Dancers.
For further information, please see: http://www.city.ac.uk/events/2013/march/a-night-at-the-musicals
Update: A promotional video about the concert and its associated academic module, featuring interviews from the students as well as footage of lectures and of the performance itself, was released in June 2013 and may be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC01cbDvaw0
DR CHRISTOPHER WILEY 