Teesdale u3a

Please see Calendar for upcoming activities.

The aim of the Group would be to seek to gain a better understanding of classical music, initially by using educational material - videos etc. - from various sources.

Examples of topics that could be included in group meetings are:

• The different periods in musical development - baroque, classical, romantic etc.
• The lives of the great composers and influences on their work.
• Elements of musical structure - What is fugue?  What is sonata form? How are these incorporated into symphonic compositions?
• Historical development of different genre - symphonies, opera, ballet etc.

Latest Group Reports

• September 2026 - Why Music Moves Us - Milton Mermikides, Gresham College
  This month's session took a more academic turn, drawing on Gresham College's free lecture catalogue for Professor Milton Mermikides' talk "Why Music Moves Us." Reception was mixed — some members found parts of it heavy… Read more: September 2026 - Why Music Moves Us - Milton Mermikides, Gresham College
• August 2026 - Cole Porter
  20th Century Greats Part 4 with Howard Goodall – Cole Porter  Once again in this series, Goodall's persistent theme holds: classical music had drifted into a narrow and increasingly inaccessible cul-de-sac, too esoteric and avant-garde… Read more: August 2026 - Cole Porter
• July 2026 - 20th Century Greats Part 3
  Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein will best be remembered for two things: composing what is arguably the greatest work of musical theatre, West Side Story, and his international reputation as a conductor. Less celebrated are his three… Read more: July 2026 - 20th Century Greats Part 3
• June 2026 - 20th Century Greats Part 2
  It has been said that classical music did not die in the 20th century but continued as film music, and if so, Bernard Herrmann must be its greatest exponent. Herrmann's film music embraced Citizen Kane,… Read more: June 2026 - 20th Century Greats Part 2
• May 2026 - Howard Goodall: 20th Century Greats – The Beatles
  Howard Goodall traced the turbulent arc of classical music through the twentieth century. He argues that the art form reached its lowest point in the 1950s and 60s, when composers such as Stockhausen pursued extreme… Read more: May 2026 - Howard Goodall: 20th Century Greats – The Beatles