19 January 2017
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Musician Evelyn Grant broadcasts on RTE Lyric FM, and lives in Cork. She is involved in the Cork Pops Orchestra.
The annual series of concerts for primary and post primary schools – ‘The Colours of Music’ presented by Evelyn Grant and the Cork Pops Orchestra will take place on Wednesday 8th March at 10am and 12 noon in City Hall, Cork
This year students are invited to explore and experience The Colours of Music with the Cork Pops Orchestra. Happy music, sad music, peaceful music, or dramatic music – all these different kinds of sounds evoke an emotional response, which often correlates to colour. People tend to pair fast music in major keys with lighter, more vivid yellow colours, whereas slow music in a minor key is more likely to be associated with darker, bluer colours. Then, there are the fascinating accounts of composers and artists who have synaesthesia – a neurological condition through which the listener ‘hears’ music as ‘seeing’ colours.
Many classical composers, including Liszt, Rimsky-Korsakoff and Sibelius had this condition.Singer-songwriter, Pharrell Williams said of his compositions :
“It just always stuck out in my mind, and I could always see it…I could always visualize what I was hearing…it was always like weird colors.”
For painters, such as Kandinsky and Paul Klee, music and colour were closely linked. And with modern technology, music producers like D.J. Dashka are reflecting their sounds in visual images. Dance music producer, DJ Dashka will join forces with vocalist Keith Hanley for some contemporary surprises.
The programme makes connections between music of the past and present. The concert focuses on active and attentive listening, encourages audience participation, and is a multi-media experience. Classroom resources are provided to participating schools. These concerts are presented in association with CIT, RTÉ lyric fm and Cork City Council.
Primary school and Post Primary school concert notes with internet links and archived notes from previous concerts, can be found on the orchestra’s website on www.corkpops.ie
For bookings email corkpops@gmail.com Tel. 087 2462636
