Executive Summary

’Tree Carols’ will be a student-led exploration of the techniques and issues involved in creative collaboration between poets and composers that will address the stated aim of interdisciplinarity and promote student leadership. Documentation of the project by student participants will be encouraged.

It will be interdisciplinary in that students who are interested in writing poetry will be invited (or will apply) from all departments at the University, not just English, and they will work with student composers from Birmingham Conservatoire and student vocalists from Birmingham and Warwick.

Although the workshops will be hosted by professional musicians and a writer, the creative process itself will be entirely student-led through direct collaboration between student poets and composers resulting in the production of new work for public performance.

As a pedagogic intervention the emphasis will be on an applied approach to learning (poets and composers) with performative participation (student vocalists and poets) being encouraged where possible. The role of the professional musicians and writer will be to draw out the creative talents of the students, provide constructive, non-didactic guidance and stimulate discussion in an open workshop setting.