About us
The University of Warwick has a remarkable record of high-quality music making in the UK and abroad. Even though there is no music degree pathway at Warwick, the Music Centre provides a vibrant hub of activity for musicians from all disciplines, ability levels and musical backgrounds.
With more than twenty ensembles, there are plenty of opportunities for getting involved. All our ensembles are student-led, with several benefitting from have professional directors. We cater for all standards, from complete beginners to more experienced musicians, and the majority of groups are unauditioned - everyone is welcome to join in or come along to one of our many concerts.
There are plenty of ways to get creative with music too, with songwriting, music production, composition and improvisation opportunities embedded throughout the Music Centre.
We have a fantastic team of visiting professional musicians who offer individual vocal and instrumental tuition, as well as coaching ensembles, running masterclasses and leading workshops in a wide variety of musical areas.
The Music Centre offers three types of financial assistance to students at the University, for students from all disciplines. Scholarships and Exhibitions are awarded to undergraduates only, and Bursaries are available to all students.
We have a wide range of instruments available for short and long term loan to Warwick students. If you are coming to Warwick and can not bring your instrument with you or do not want to for any reason then please get in touch to see if we can help you with a loan: music.centre@warwick.ac.uk
We are one of the most dynamic and creative Music Centres in the country. We hope you’ll join us!
Who's Who in the Music Centre?
Chris Mapp - Head of Music
Chris is a bass player, improviser and composer living and working in Birmingham. His work falls somewhere between composition and improvisation, using sound, music and electronics to satisfy his own sonic curiosity. As a bandleader he has worked with Arve Henriksen, Maja Ratkje, Mark Sanders, Leafcutter John and Dan Nicholls with the ensemble Gonimoblast. He also leads the trio stillfelt alongside Thomas Seminar Ford and Percy Pursglove. Both bands have released music on the Stoney Lane Records label.
As a key member of the healthy Birmingham improvised music scene Chris has worked with many UK based and Internationally recognised musicians such as Rachel Musson, Ken Vandermark, Paul Dunmall, Jan Bang, Erik Honore and most recently as part of the trio CollapseUncollapse. Chris’ artistic practice uses written material as a way of igniting improvisation within an ensemble context combined with electronics, sound spatialisation and visuals. Written themes become points of departure, destinations or fragments of group improvisation. This work formed the basis of his PhD research titled “What kind of music do you play?” (2022) which focusses on defining meaning in improvised music making through the practice of writing about playing and playing about writing.
Suzzie Vango - Associate Artist
Passionate about the arts and choral education, Suzzie’s high-energy vocal workshops have gained her an international reputation as a vocal leader, working with singers of all ages around the world. In demand as a chorus master, choral director and voice coach, she directs and sings with the critically acclaimed female a cappella quintet Papagena, conducts the National Children’s Choir, Orchestra of the Swan Chamber Choir and Ex Cathedra Vocal Academy. Collaborations have seen her leading workshops for: the London Symphony Orchestra, Stagecoach, The Stay at Home Choir, Sing for Pleasure, ABCD and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain.
In addition to her role as Associate Artist at the Warwick Arts Centre, Suzzie is the Vocal Coach for the CBSO Youth Chorus, Singing Teacher at the University of Birmingham, Schools Programme Leader for Music of Life Foundation working with children with disabilities, and a vocal tutor for Ex Cathedra Education, regularly contributing her own compositions to their set of music education resources, “SingMaker”.
Her career as a soprano has taken her around the world, performing and recording with some of the top UK vocal ensembles, and her warm up book How to Make Your Choir Sound Awesome, written with Lucy Hollins, was published by Banks Music Publications in 2022.
Tom Newall - Orchestral Conductor
British conductor Tom Newall joins us as our Orchestral Conductor in 23/24.
He founded Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra in 2014 to give young professional musicians experience in a high-quality ensemble, helping to bridge the gap between a player’s studies and professional orchestras. The orchestra has established a busy schedule, with large-scale Symphony Orchestra projects at its base in Harpurhey, North Manchester. With PSO, Tom has just completed a large-scale community composition project, where young people have created and performed their own music, accompanied by the orchestra.
Tom is also very active as an opera conductor. Recent highlights have included Macbeth, La Bohème, The Magic Flute, A Masked Ball and The Turn of the Screw with Leeds Youth Opera, Cosi fan Tutte with Flatpack Music, Die Fledermaus with Fulham Opera and two premieres with Manchester Opera Project. In Summer 2018, he made his debut at Buxton International Festival conducting The Orphans of Koombu.
Tom has conducted much of the orchestral canon with works ranging from Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 to Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. He has worked with a number of professional and high-level community orchestras in the north of England. Tom is currently Music Director for both Salford and Congleton Choral Societies.
With a strong passion for new music, Tom has commissioned a number of new works, most notably The Gardener for chorus and orchestra by Lucy Armstrong, with a libretto by Rebecca Hurst. Tom conducted one of the first performances of Kate Whitley and Laura Attridge’s oratorio Our Future in Your Hands for Buxton International Festival in July 2022
Lizzy Whyte - Music Centre Administrator
Lizzy is a Music Graduate from the University of Sheffield and has worked in the Music Centre since 2008.
She is passionate about providing musical opportunities and experiences for students and staff.
She loves all things musical and plays piano and enjoys singing! Before coming to Warwick she worked at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a keen fitness enthusiast (well moving timps requires a lot of training!) and is a proud Mummy to Olivia, Sophie & George.