Music Appreciation for Adults

Angela’s passion for bringing classical music alive for those with limited knowledge of the subject began 30 years ago when she attended a concert in London for which the programme notes were clearly intended only for knowledgeable musicians.

Intent on helping a wider audience to enjoy classical music, Angela began giving Music Appreciation courses for adults after completing her B.Mus degree at Goldsmiths’ College, University of London. The impetus for her lecturing stems from the desire to break down the barriers of what she perceives to be an image of elitism surrounding the world of classical music, her primary objective being to encourage understanding and enjoyment by providing historical context, information about composers and explanation of how music works without unnecessary technical detail. It is not necessary to be able to read musical notation.

Angela has been running her own 10-week Music Appreciation courses in Hampshire and West Sussex for many years and since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis has been giving these online via Zoom. She has given courses at Birkbeck College, University of London, the WEA and several Adult Education centres in London, Hampshire and West Sussex.

Where resources allow, Angela uses PowerPoint slides and videos of performances, interviews and excerpts from documentaries to illustrate the theme of her lectures, recorded musical examples and live demonstrations at the piano and readings from the diaries and letters of the composers and their contemporaries.

Please note – Angela is continuing to teach during the Covid-19 pandemic using Zoom/virtual resources

If you would like to join one of Angela’s courses, please contact her to find out the subject and dates of future courses, whether they be online or at a venue. You are welcome to join a ’taster’ session before deciding whether to join one of her courses.

Some of the courses Angela has taught:

  • Classical Masterpieces Composed in Troubled Times
  • Discovering Women Composers
  • Rediscovering Musical Favourites
  • Composers and Concepts
  • Images in Music
  • 20th century Music
  • German Romanticism

Music Tours of Vienna

Having lived and studied music in Vienna, Angela has led two 4- day musical tours of the city, with specific emphasis on lives of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. The groups have visited the composers’ houses and attended magnificent concerts at Vienna’s famous Musikverein concert hall. Angela will be organising further tours of Vienna once it is safe to travel after the Covid-19 pandemic.

 “Signing up for one of Angela Zanders’ musical appreciation courses becomes one of the highlights of the week. Not only are they very relaxed and fun, but the knowledge one gains in a very unpressured way is unbelievable. I cannot recommend these more”. Robin (Liphook Music Circle student)

“Just a short note to say how much I enjoyed our weekly sessions where you brought so much great music to life for us, not just by selecting the music, but the background to the era of each composition and the composers. Your presentations were brilliant in every respect – totally informative but informal enough to really enjoy absorbing the content and interacting with you and our fellow-participants. You really added dimensions and colour to the music that will undoubtedly generate interest and appreciation from a very wide audience given all the human elements you illustrate so vividly such that the audience can have a far better understanding of the composers themselves as well as the expressions and sentiments they convey in their work. All that remains to be said (or rather requested!), other than thankyou again, is please bring more of this to us all. This course has been great for a wide audience, whether regular music listeners or not (and if they’re not, they’ll want to listen and explore more in the future!!!)” Neil (Chichester Music Circle student)

 

Contact

If you would like to contact me to discuss any queries you may have or to make a booking, please use the quick form below. I look forward to hearing from you!