Editorial Tea with the Soloist - Jonathan Storey Graduation - A Day to Remember Celebrating Charles Ives Musings on Music Journalism Go On... Try Something New Brendan Duffy at the Black Swan Definitive Saxes is Coming! 'We Are One' : The Music of Obama's Inauguration 2009: Composer Anniversaries Robert Burns at 250 Where are they now? The new Classical Chart These are a few of my favourite things - Catherine Duncan Something from Guy! Ornamentation and Improvisation Workshop with Pamela Thorby Daphnis: First of a Kind Pringle Jingle! The Importance of Western Popular Music in the Redevelopment of Cambodia Arvo Pärt's Fratres Operagasmic Contemporary Analysis for Humans The YUMU team Music Department Home

Graduation: A Day to Remember Sam Stadlen The graduation ceremony is one of those things that most students seem to look forward to with a mix of trepidation and excitement. It is the culmination of three years of hard (or not-so-hard) work distilled into an hour of waiting; a moment on the centre of a stage; and the chance to shake hands with, more often than not, a celebrity university official. In the case of York, the celebrity handshake comes from the University’s Chancellor Greg Dyke (former Director General of the BBC and Dead Ringer for Michael Caine) who manages to maintain in his presentation of the ceremony both a sense of awe and humour that just borders on tongue-in-cheek. The ceremony that took place on 24 January will have passed most undergraduates by, as it was primarily for the Masters and PhD students who reached the end of their studies in late September. From the music department, many of last year’s MAs returned, some from as far afield as Greece, to don their grey postgraduate robes (this time brightened by a splash of red) and receive their certificates. In addition to the postgraduate contingent, congratulations also go to Raphael Clarkson who received his undergraduate degree having been unable to attend the ceremony in July. Thankfully, although recycling some material from my undergraduate ceremony, Greg Dyke’s speech was both thoughtful and entertaining, acknowledging the rather negative view of students held by the older generations and enthusiastically refuting it. His pro-student cause was aided by Professor Tanya Byron (of T.V.’s House of Tiny Tearaways and Am I Normal? fame) who received an honorary degree from the university, and pointed out that young people have been accused of moral corruption since the time of Plato. There can be no doubt, however, that all those who graduated on the 24th will go on to show their quality and carve out successful careers in the future. Congratulations to them all (even if that means congratulating myself...)!