Making Music - Connecting Communities

Musician and activist Ezé will join us in Durham from 18 October – 8 November 2023.  

Access the Ezé in Concert Booklet.

With Making Music – Connecting Communities we invite all people from Durham and beyond to make music together, listen, ask, dance, share, and enjoy this experience together.  

Be curious, open and encounter different ways of working together! Everybody is welcome to join! 

We aim at fostering connections between the local communities and the university and bring people together through music. Making Music – Connecting Communities is about communication beyond borders, about the people and the ‘togetherness’.   

We invite you to engage with Ezé’s creativity and passion for music and activism. Have a look and join us at our public events. 

In Durham, Ezé will be living in University College (Castle) and working alongside students and staff.  

We engage students from a variety of areas to actively participate in the project.  

During his stay, Ezé will rehearse with DUPO (Durham Palatinate Orchestra) to come on stage together at Castle. We are excited to hear Ezé and DUPO play together and express our thanks to Aysha Kojima, a dedicated and passionate music student, who is writing the Orchestra Arrangement for DUPO based on Ezé’s song ‘Abendland’ - which will premiere on 4th November 2023 at their concert in Castle. The song will be recorded together for public release. Thanks to Collingwood College who will let us use their new Mark Hillary Music Studios for this.    

In the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, Ezé will work with students in German. His workshops will bring passion for music, languages, and cultures, and initiate critical thinking. Together, they will engage with themes like racism, migration, and inclusion – make music, try instruments, discuss, and connect.  

To capture the events, activities, and the spirit of collaboration and cultural exchange, we will create a short video documentation about Ezé’s visit at Durham. Filmmaking and editing will be done by a team of students.

Theatre and Music

There’s a huge range of theatre, music and arts going on at University College. From our Castle Concert Orchestra to the Chapel Choir, Castle Big Band to Castle Theatre Company, there are events and opportunities for everyone. We regularly host productions and performances in our college spaces, from the Great Hall to our Norman Chapel. Our students get involved in a wide range of visual and performing arts in College and across the University and wider region. 

Durham Castle and our accommodation buildings has also featured as a venue for the biannual Lumiere light festival – the largest light festival in the UK.

Theatre 

We have a number of drama groups through which you can get involved either 'behind the scenes' or in performance (whether you have acted before or not!). Our longest-running group are called the 'Castle Theatre Company'. Our students put on outstanding performances throughout the year, performing in the University's assembly rooms theatre and in various venues around College including our atmospheric Norman chapel and our Undercroft bar. 

Music rooms 

There are two music practice rooms in Bailey Court and one room specifically for recording. We also have a boudoir grand piano of concert standard. The rooms are available for all Castle students, as well as students of the Music Department. Both practice rooms have claviola pianos. The recording studio is open for use for any student with appropriate previous experience.