On the afternoon of Friday 24 March, the Department of Classics at King’s College London will hold a Greek myth and music workshop for school students aged 14-18 (years 9-13). We would like to invite you to bring a small group of your students to participate in this event.
Here at King’s we are collaborating with a composer, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and a librettist, Jeanne Pansard-Besson, in the writing of some new staged music that tells the story of Penelope from Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad, our creative artists are experimenting with how to give a musical voice to Penelope and to the enslaved girls working in her palace. The piece, called ‘Penelope’s Web’, is still evolving.
Throughout Cheryl’s and Jeanne’s work on this project they are inviting different groups of public participants, including school students, to learn more about the process of turning myth into music, to contribute new ideas, and to engage in a dialogue about the creative and performance process. Students are invited to read Atwood’s The Penelopiad in advance of the workshop. They may also like to watch a short film about the project when it was hosted by Oxford University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umZahL9i3lQ.
This first workshop in London will take place in the Bush House Arcade on the King’s Strand campus. The Bush House Arcade is simultaneously hosting an exhibition produced in collaboration with the charity Art Refuge, called ‘Letters of Refuge’. Students will be given an opportunity to engage with the exhibition as well as to take part in the workshop, and to reflect on both projects in conversation with the researchers and artists involved in them.
Planned timetable:
2.30pm Arrival and talk about studying at King’s (optional)
3.15pm Tour of the Strand campus with a student ambassador (optional)
3.45pm Break and refreshments
4pm Workshop on Penelope’s Web, facilitated by the following people:
Jeanne Pansard-Besson – librettist and opera director
Cheryl Frances-Hoad – composer
Karima El Demerdash – singer
Emily Pillinger – King’s researcher in ancient literature and modern music
James Corke-Webster – King’s researcher in ancient history
6pm Finish
We understand that students may not be able to miss all their Friday afternoon lessons, so schools are welcome to come either for the whole event or for just the workshop.
To sign up for the workshop email
[email protected]. Please let us know how many students you plan to bring, and whether you will be attending the whole event or just the workshop.