1 December 2021
Christopher Wiley
Media, Publication, Research
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Company, film musicals, Gypsy, Into the Woods, media, Music, musical theatre, musicals, musicology, Stephen Sondheim, Surrey, Sweeney Todd, The Conversation, The Conversation UK, theatre, University of Surrey, West Side Story, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has written an article for The Conversation (by invitation) on Stephen Sondheim (pictured), who died on 26 November 2021 at the age of 91.
Dr Wiley’s contribution, entitled ‘Five of Stephen Sondheim’s best shows’, was published just a few days later on 1 December 2021. It discussed Sondheim alongside his musicals West Side Story, Gypsy, Company, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods, each of which was profiled in the article.
This is the fourth time that Dr Wiley has contributed to The Conservation, a global news website that offers commentary on news stories from leading academics. His most recent article, again on musical theatre, was published just over a year ago.
Bibliographic citation
Wiley, Christopher. ‘Five of Stephen Sondheim’s best shows’. The Conversation, 1 December 2021. <https://theconversation.com/five-of-stephen-sondheims-best-shows-172916>.
Update: Dr Wiley’s article has now been viewed over 30,000 times. It has been republished multiple times, including by The Theatre Times, Facts & Acts, and New York City News. It was the ninth most-read piece written by University of Surrey academics for The Conversation in 2021–22.
17 November 2021
Christopher Wiley
Conference, Performance, Presentation, Public Output, Research
Alexander S. Bermange, Bermange, British song, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, comic songs, composer, lecture, lecture-recital, lyricist, Music, musical theatre, musicals, musicology, recital, Surrey, theatre, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley delivered a lecture-recital on ‘The Comic Songs of Alexander S. Bermange’ on Wednesday 17 November 2021, as part of the lunchtime recital series at the University of Surrey.
The lecture-recital was given alongside Alexander S. Bermange (pictured) himself, who illustrated the talk with a series of performances of his comic songs. It opened the event ‘Laughing and Crying: Perspectives on 20th and 21st Century British Song’ held at the University that day.
Dr Wiley’s talk focused on musical allusion and compositional process in three songs by Alexander S. Bermange, ‘I Wish That My Life Were Like a Musical’, ‘I Think I Might Be Jesus’, and ‘The Seven Georges’, each performed by the composer-lyricist at the piano. Some 30 academics and students were in attendance.
10 November 2020
Christopher Wiley
Media, Publication, Research
A Chorus Line, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, film music, film musicals, Les Misérables, Mamma mia!, media, Music, musical theatre, musicals, musicology, Netflix, stage, Surrey, The Conversation, The Conversation UK, The Prom, theatre, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley contributed an article to The Conversation (by invitation) on film adaptations of stage musicals, published on 10 November 2020.
Entitled ‘The Prom: the challenges of adapting the stage to the screen’, Dr Wiley’s article was prompted by the upcoming release of the film adaptation of the musical The Prom on Netflix on 11 December 2020, while also discussing other examples such as A Chorus Line, Mamma mia!, and Cats.
This is the third time that Dr Wiley has written for The Conversation, his other articles being a piece on the 30th anniversary of the musical Les Misérables, and a scholarly response to Stephen Fry. Collectively these have received some 8,000 hits to date.
Founded in Australia in 2011 and launched in the UK in 2013, The Conversation is an independent global news website featuring stories and opinions from the scholarly community. The University of Surrey is one of its 13 founding UK partners.
Bibliographic citation
Wiley, Christopher. ‘The Prom: the challenges of adapting the stage to the screen’. The Conversation, 10 November 2020. <https://theconversation.com/the-prom-the-challenges-of-adapting-the-stage-to-the-screen-149783>.
3 April 2019
Christopher Wiley
Conference, Educational Research, Presentation, Teaching
assessment, BMus, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, conference, discussion forum, education, educational research, Higher Education, learning, Music, Music Project, musical theatre, panel discussion, presentation, student-staff partnerships, students as partners, Surrey, Surrey ExciTeS, teaching, teaching innovation, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley facilitated a student discussion panel at the University of Surrey’s sixth annual Surrey ExciTeS (Excellence in Teaching Symposium) on Wednesday 3 April 2019, on the subject of student-staff partnerships.
The forum, entitled ‘Giving music students ownership of their learning’, discussed the Music Project module that had taken place during the previous semester on the theme of musical theatre, and the wide range of activities that students undertook in their assessments, from performances to compositions to organizational roles.
The panel of undergraduate Music students – Diana Nemyrovska, Katy Jackson, Heather Neele, and Edward Bellett-Travers (pictured, l-r) – answered questions from academics and learning support staff from across the University.
Dr Wiley has delivered sessions at Surrey ExciTeS events in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, including a previous student discussion panel in 2017.
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
4 January 2017
Christopher Wiley
Conference, Educational Research, Presentation, Teaching
assessment, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, conference, discussion forum, education, Higher Education, musical theatre, online, panel discussion, presentation, Surrey, Surrey ExciTeS, teaching, teaching innovation, technology enhanced learning, University, University of Surrey, virtual learning environment, VLE, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley organized a student discussion panel at the University of Surrey’s fourth annual Surrey ExciTeS (Excellence in Teaching Symposium) on Wednesday 4 January 2017.
Entitled ‘Exploring the potential benefits of online discussion forums in enabling students to become agents of research-led teaching’, the session focused on Dr Wiley’s use of a student-led online discussion forum in his final-year undergraduate module on musical theatre.
The panel of Music students and recent graduates, comprising Karen Taylor, Octavius Longcroft-Wheaton, and Jadene Doak (pictured, l-r), addressed questions from academics drawn from across the University.
Dr Wiley has led sessions at all three of the previous Surrey ExciTeS events in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
The full programme for 2017 symposium (including abstracts) is available here: http://www.surrey.ac.uk/dhe/surrey_excites/Surrey%20ExciTes%202017%20Programme.pdf
8 October 2015
Christopher Wiley
Academic Management, Presentation, Teaching
acting, careers in music, careers in the arts, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, collaboration, Dance, digital media arts, extra-curricular activity, Guildford School of Acting, Music, musical theatre, networking, opportunities, professional production skills, School of Arts, Sound Recording, teaching, theatre, theatre and performance, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
The School of Arts at the University of Surrey held its first ‘Opportunities and Networking’ event in the Ivy main auditorium, Ivy Arts Centre on Thursday 8 October 2015, organized by Dr Christopher Wiley.
Over 100 students were in attendance across the subject areas of Music and Sound Recording, Theatre, Dance, Digital Media Arts, and the Guildford School of Acting.
The event introduced students to the many different possibilities for them to collaborate with one another on different School of Arts programmes, provided them with information about extra-curricular University activities related to the arts, facilitated their networking with students elsewhere in the School, and enabled them to register their interest in collaborating with one another via sign-up sheets.
Dr Wiley compèred the event, which featured contributions from range of other School of Arts staff as well as students. The evening ended with a series of networking activities designed to enable students to meet one another and to discuss their interests in collaborating on arts projects, followed by more informal opportunities to chat over pizza and soft drinks.
This ‘Opportunities and Networking’ event follows in the footsteps of an equally successful and well-attended panel discussion on ‘Careers in the Arts’, co-organized by Dr Wiley and hosted by the School of Arts earlier in the year.
7 October 2015
Christopher Wiley
Media, Publication, Research
30th anniversary, Boublil and Schönberg, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, film music, Les Misérables, media, Music, musical theatre, musicals, musicology, stage, Surrey, teaching, The Conversation, The Conversation UK, theatre, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has contributed an article to The Conversation on the enduring popularity of Les Misérables, the world’s most successful musical, ahead of the 30th anniversary of its London production on 8 October 2015.
Dr Wiley’s article, ‘Les Misérables at 30: breaking hearts and records’, discussed aspects of the show’s plot and musical score, the role played by writers Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and by producer Cameron Mackintosh, as well as more recent developments such as Tom Hooper’s 2012 film adaptation.
The full article may be read here: https://theconversation.com/les-miserables-at-30-breaking-hearts-and-records-48535
This is the second time that Dr Wiley has written for The Conversation, the first being a scholarly response to Stephen Fry, which has received 4,000 hits to date.
Founded in Australia in 2011 and launched in the UK in 2013, The Conversation is an independent global news website featuring stories and opinions sourced from the scholarly community. The University of Surrey is one of its founding UK partners.
Update: Dr Wiley’s Les Misérables article received over 1,300 hits by the end of 8 October (UK time), with readers fairly evenly distributed between the UK, US, Australia, and Continental Europe.
1 May 2015
Christopher Wiley
Educational Research, Media, Public Output, Research
blog, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, educational research, electronic voting systems, film music, Michael Jackson, module evaluation, music and literature, musical theatre, musicology, research, SRI, Surrey, Surrey Research Insight, Turning Technologies, TurningPoint, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has recently been profiled in an interview on the Surrey Research Insight blog as well as a case study written by Turning Technologies.
Turning Technologies’ feature on Dr Wiley’s pioneering use of electronic voting systems (EVS) in arts and humanities teaching, ‘TurningPoint in the Arts: Electronic Voting Systems as a Springboard for Student Engagement’, was published on their website on 14 April 2015. It discussed various aspects of Dr Wiley’s use of EVS in higher education teaching including multiple-choice questions that test deep-level understanding, game-based learning employed alongside flipped classroom techniques, and the technology’s moment to moment and demographic comparison features.
Surrey Research Insight (SRI), which manages the open access repository of academic publications for the University of Surrey, interviewed Dr Wiley in a blog post entitled ‘SRI talks to Dr Christopher Wiley’, which appeared on 1 May 2015. Dr Wiley spoke about his published work on Michael Jackson (which is available on open access), his interests in musical theatre and film music, and his current research on literature and music and on student evaluation of teaching.
The full texts may be viewed at the following links:
Surrey Research Insight: https://surreyresearchinsight.wordpress.com/2015/05/01/sri-talks-to-dr-christopher-wiley/
Turning Technologies: http://www.turningtechnologies.com/pdf/content/INTLCaseStudy-UniSurrey-DrWiley.pdf
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
16 December 2014
Christopher Wiley
Media
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, Disney, Eagle Radio, education, film music, Frozen, Higher Education, learning and teaching, Let It Go, media, Music, music and the moving image, musical theatre, musicology, newspaper, popular music, press, radio, Radio Verulam, study, Surrey, The Independent on Sunday, The Telegraph, University, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has contributed expert comment to an article appearing in The Telegraph on 16 December 2014, on the continuing success of ‘Let It Go’ from Disney’s Frozen.
‘5 reasons why Frozen’s Let It Go is so addictive’ by Alice Vincent may be read at the following link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11296986/Frozen-let-it-go-why-so-popular.html (subsequently republished on 25 December 2016)
Dr Wiley is quoted a total of six times in the course of the article, as a specialist in musical theatre and music and the moving image.
This press appearance comes three weeks after comments from Dr Wiley opened an article in The Independent on Sunday, ‘All you need is a music qualification’ by Widget Finn (23 November 2014), on studying Masters degrees in music.
Update: Dr Wiley has also given interviews on the Frozen news story for Surrey and Hampshire’s Eagle Radio (30 December, four bulletins) and West Hertfordshire’s Radio Verulam (28 December, live). An article featuring Dr Wiley was published on Eagle Radio’s website on 30 December (now cached).
Update: Dr Wiley was also quoted in this iTech Post article from 26 December 2016: http://www.itechpost.com/articles/68632/20161226/frozens-go-experts-explain-songs-popularity-through-science.htm
Update: Separately from the above, Dr Wiley was quoted on Frozen in this South Wales Life article from 17 January 2020: https://southwaleslife.com/frozen-the-musical/
23 October 2014
Christopher Wiley
Presentation, Public Output, Teaching
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, film music, Goldfinger, James Bond, Music, musical theatre, musicology, popular music, pre-event talk, pre-screening talk, Stephen Sondheim, Surrey, Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton, University of Surrey, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley has delivered two pre-screening talks at the University of Surrey as part of its programme of film screenings in the Rik Medlik Building during the 2014/15 season.
Dr Wiley’s talk ‘Music and the James Bond Phenomenon’ preceded a screening of Goldfinger on 23 October 2014, which inaugurated a series dedicated to some of the best-loved Bond films. The 45-minute presentation examined the celebrated phenomenon of the theme songs to individual Bond films as well as their relationship to their associated films’ musical scores, showing how they have become an integral and instantly recognizable part of the franchise.
On 5 November 2014, Dr Wiley gave his talk ‘Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd in Context’ prior to a screening of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, part of a scheduled series of films directed by Tim Burton. Dr Wiley discussed the literary origins of the Sweeney Todd story, situated Sondheim’s musical within his wider theatrical output, and explored the show’s cinematic adaptation.
Both events were well received by their respective audiences – more people attended Dr Wiley’s pre-screening talk on Sweeney Todd than stayed on to watch the film itself!
5 July 2013
Christopher Wiley
Conference, Educational Research, Presentation, Teaching
Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, City, City University London, conference, Crete, education, electronic voting systems, Greece, Higher Education, ICICTE, Jay Carpenter, learning, London, Music, musical theatre, popular music, presentation, research, teaching, Turning Technologies, University, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley facilitated a workshop on electronic voting systems at the International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Education (ICICTE) in Chania, Crete on 5 July 2013.
Dr Wiley’s presentation, entitled ‘Increasing Instructional Interactivity with Turning Technologies Response Technology’, was chaired and moderated by Jay Carpenter, UK Territory Manager from Turning Technologies.
Highlights of Dr Wiley’s presentation included findings from his research into student engagement with electronic voting systems, aspects of his own teaching in musical theatre and pop music, and even a dodecaphonic piece improvised on an iPad piano app.
Last year, Dr Wiley became the first ever person from the arts and humanities appointed to Turning Technologies’ global Distinguished Educator programme (see here).
The day’s programme for the conference may be accessed at the following link: http://www.icicte.org/ICICTE13Programme3.htm
A review of the conference by Olivia Fox may be found here: http://blogs.city.ac.uk/educationalvignettes/2013/08/01/review-of-icicte-technology-innovations-conference/
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
13 January 2013
Christopher Wiley
Media
Alexander S. Bermange, Bermange, Chris Wiley, Christopher Wiley, media, Music, musical theatre, musicology, radio, Radio Verulam, Wiley
Dr Christopher Wiley returned to Radio Verulam on 6 and 13 January 2013 as a guest on the Arts Programme, speaking in his capacity as a professional musicologist based in the St Albans area.
Presenter Alexander S. Bermange interviewed Chris live on a variety of recent developments in the world of music and musical theatre, including the UK release on 11 January of the film version of Les Misérables, whose all-star cast is led by Hugh Jackman.
Chris has become a semi-regular guest on the show in recent months, having made five appearances since April last year (see here).
Chris (left) and Alexander (right) are pictured below at the Radio Verulam studio.
Chris spoke on Radio Verulam again a few months later, on 5 May, giving a live telephone interview on Ghost: The Musical, which had recently returned to London.
DR CHRISTOPHER WILEY 