EXAUDI is passionately committed to education. We see ourselves both as ambassadors for contemporary music and for choral singing of all types. Our education work to date has taken many forms, from composer workshops with children, amateurs or young professionals, in which we try out new work guided by Britain’s top composers, to vocal and choral workshops.

We are particularly aware of the need for emerging composers to have the opportunity of hearing works-in-progress rehearsed seriously by singers, but we also believe firmly that workshops should lead to real performances. Recent projects with the Purcell School and spnm have demonstrated this commitment to helping young composers as thoroughly as possible.

Booking EXAUDI for an education event

We are always delighted to discuss proposals for a wide variety of education events. Please contact us if you would like to work with EXAUDI in this way.

Some recent education events

Universities' education projects
In 2006 we began a series of concerts and workshops at British universities, based around our 'Music for Four' programme. We gave an evening recital at Cardiff University and ran a workshop for undergraduate composers, facilitated by Judith Weir, on pieces written by them for EXAUDI. At Sussex University we worked with instrumentalists and singers, coaching them on various aspects of performance and giving a lunchtime recital.

James Weeks at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
In November 2004, James Weeks led a workshop with students from Holmfirth High School in a practical workshop in contemporary choral singing, preceding the afternoon's EXAUDI concert in the festival.

EXAUDI at the South Bank: The Rising Generation, February 2004
Soprano Elin Thomas  and James Weeks gave a seminar and brief vocal workshop to 30 of Britain’s most talented teenage composers as part of an exciting new initiative from Endymion. The focus of the talk was the historical primacy of the human voice in the development of composition, and included a detailed introduction to vocal technique and illustrations from plainsong to Cage.

EXAUDI and the Purcell School: ‘Places and Spaces’ project, March-November 2003
Eight young composers from the Purcell School wrote pieces for EXAUDI which were tried out in a workshop led by James Weeks and Alison Cox. These pieces were then performed in a showcase concert at the Royal Academy of Music, London, in November.

EXAUDI and Society for the Promotion of New Music at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, November 2003
In collaboration with spnm and composer Judith Weir, EXAUDI worked with three emerging composers, Dorothy Ker, Will May and Simon Pinnington, to create new works which were performed alongside Weir’s Missa del Cid at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.