Cheltenham Music Festival Residency
Wednesday 10 July 2013
RCM Professor of Performance Science Aaron Williamon is taking part in a unique series of talks at this year’s Cheltenham Music Festival.
The World of Surgery takes between Thursday 11 and Saturday 13 July, and sees Aaron bring to life his ground-breaking research into the science behind musical performance. He appears at the Festival alongside Professor Roger Kneebone, Professor of Surgical Education at Imperial College.
Their first talk Instruments explores what the word ‘instrument’ means to surgeons, performers and musical instruments makers. The Solo Performer then features a discussion of the similarities and differences between how professional musicians and surgeons cope with the stresses of life in the front line. Their third and final talk Ensemble Performance investigates what makes a successful ensemble, drawing from their unique collaboration as featured in BBC Radio 3’s The Scalpel and the Bow.
Finally, Festival-goers get the chance to test their own skills in What's It Like To Be A Performer?, showcasing unique interactive simulations of musical and surgical performance.
Cheltenham Music Festival has significant connections with science, especially through its sibling festival, the Cheltenham Science Festival. ‘The World of Surgery’ is part of the festivals’ LabOratory events, which bring bio-medical science to life across the four festivals of Jazz, Science, Music and Literature.
