Reviews and comment from the Demon Crew - creative writers at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Defining music

Escapism. For me, this element alone has been both the content and outcome of music. One event, however, encouraged me to challenge this: John Speyer's Arts in Prisons lecture held at De Montfort University in Leicester.

From music as a means of communication in immigration detention centres all around the world, to the ways in which it can order and tranquillize psychological trauma, this explored music as medium, rather than a separate entity.

My favourite part of the event was when its presenters, who worked for a charity organization which runs music workshops in immigration detention centres, encouraged us to sing about home.  This allowed me to open up possibilities as to what home and its loss could mean. But the most significant part, for me, was the ways in which overlapping harmonies combined with their lyrical content, conveyed what home meant to different people.

Most importantly, this event showed me that participation in musical activity what allows it to be a medium rather than a distant stranger.


Reeja Sarai

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