Dr Sharon Choa
| Job Title | Contact | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Director of Music & Senior Lecturer |
S dot Choa at uea dot ac dot uk
Tel: +44 (0)1603 59 2451 |
Music Centre 0.15 |
Biography
Sharon has been a Lecturer in Music and Director of Performance Studies at UEA since 1996. Following four years studying performance at the Royal Academy of Music and a BMus at King's College London, She completed her PhD at King's in 1997 on Sonata-Fugue Synthesis in Joseph Haydn's String Quartets. During the course of her PhD Sharon also conducted research at the University of Heidelberg, the Joseph Haydn-Institut in Cologne and at Cornell University under Prof. James Webster.
Conducting
After an initial career as a violinist performing and recording with many London orchestras and chamber groups (in venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. John's Smith Square, St. James's Piccadilly) Sharon has since concentrated on conducting. In addition to conducting UEA Symphony Orchestra in 32 concerts between 1996-2005 in the UK, Italy (Bologna, Parma) and Germany (Winningen, Koblenz, Köln), her other professional engagements as a conductor since 1996 have included:
- Hong Kong Sinfonietta
- Hradec Kralove Philharmonic
- Wuppertal Sinfonietta
- St. Petersburg Camerata
- Prague Philharmonia
- Chamber Orchestra Anglia
She has participated in conducting masterclasses in Prague and St. Petersburg, as well as in the UK, with coaching from Jiri Belohlavek, Alexandre Politchuik, Diego Masson, David Parry and Lawrence Leonard. In 2001 she founded Chamber Orchestra Anglia, which has since given concerts in the Eastern Region (Norwich Playhouse, UEA, Assembly House, The Forum) and London (Almeida Theatre, British Library -BBC Proms series). The related coCOA Scheme established in 2003 to foster talented musicians (aged 11-25) runs orchestral workshops, including a collaboration with UEASO guest conductor, Sir Colin Davis. In 2003 Sharon was awarded an Arts Council Individual Award to work with Daniel Barenboim in Seville (with the East-Western Divan Orchestra) and Jiri Belohlavek in Prague (with the Prague Philharmonia and soloists from the Prague Academy of Music). The award enabled first-hand study of international organisations of youth music and youth education in performance, in conducting and in orchestral training.
Sharon also supervises postgraduate students, predominantly on the taught MMus in Performance (16 to date) and Conducting (2). She currently has 2 PhD supervisees, working on Haydn Keyboard Sonatas and Sevcik's Violin methodology.
Key Research Interests
Much of Sharon's research is 'applied' based on the premise that musical practice is the true focus of research activity. Accordingly she uses UEA Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra Anglia as a laboratory for putting musicological research (papers, critical performing editions) into performance practice. Her main areas of activity are Martinu, Haydn, Britten and performance research. Her work on Martinu concentrates on Symphonies No.4 & 5 and received funding from AHRB (2000 2001). Recent work includes:
Martinu Symphony No.4 - new edition of the score and parts (Boosey & Hawkes, London 2004)
- first public performance of the new edition of the symphony by UEASO conducted by Sharon Choa, November 22, 2000. (third performance August 2001)
- second public performance of the new edition by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by renowned Czech conductor Jiri Belohlavek, January 28 & 29, 2001.
- Recording of the new edition of Martinu's Fourth Symphony by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra: Supraphon SU 3631-2 031 (2004)
'"Battling with the Piano": Three Missing Bars in the Largo of Martinu's Symphony No.4' Czech Music Journal Vol.21, 2001/2, pp.79-106.
Martinu Symphony No.5 - new edition of the score and parts (Boosey & Hawkes, London 2004)
- First public performance of Sir Colin Davis' arrangement of Beethoven Op.132 for String Orchestra (UEASO, May/June2004, Norwich)
- World premiere of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde sung in Chinese in a new chamber version by Glen Cortese (COA, Aug 2004, British Library London-BBC Proms)
- Sharon recently instigated the 'Music & Genetics' project in collaboration with Public Health Genetics Group, Cambridge and John Innes Centre, Norwich (a project to foster the understanding of genetics/science through music) with forthcoming events in 2005 in Norwich, Cambridge and London
Conference & Research Papers include:
- 'The Sforzando as Bar-line: Form in the Finale of Joseph Haydn's String Quartet Op.50 No.4, Fuga' - Cambridge University Music Analysis Conference, August 1997.
- 'Form, dynamics and theory in Haydn's String Quartet Op.50 No.4' - Cambridge University colloquium series, March 1998.
- 'Battling with the Piano: Three Missing Bars in the Largo of Martinu's Symphony No.4' - University of Hong Kong colloquium series, February 2000 / The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, February 2000 / Cardiff University colloquium series, 2003
- 'On Editing Martinu', Sixth Annual International Conference, Musical Life in Prague at the Beginning of the 20th Century - Prague, May 2001.
- '"Quartet Opera': Themes and Structure in Beethoven's Op.132 String Quartet' UEA Norwich, 2003
Past Research Projects and Grants
| Project Title | Start Date | End Date | Funding Body |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developing a Web Based Thematic Catalogue: the music of Benjamin Britten | 1/6/2006 | 31/8/2009 | Arts and Humanities Research Council |
| Critical revision of Bohuslav Martinu's Symphony No. 4 | 1/10/1999 | 31/12/2000 | Arts and Humanities Research Council |
Teaching Interests
Sharon also supervises postgraduate students, predominantly on the taught MMus in Performance (16 to date) and Conducting (2). She currently has 2 PhD supervisees, working on Haydn Keyboard Sonatas and Sevcik's Violin methodology.
Article
Choa, Sharon (2007) Rejuvenating Britten: A First Report on the Production of Britten's Web-Based Thematic Catalogue. Brio, 44 (1). pp. 25-31.
Choa, Sharon (2001) Battling with the Piano: Three Missing Bars in the Largo of Martinu's Symphony No. 4 (1945). Czech Music, 21. pp. 79-106.
Book Section
Choa, Sharon (2009) Performing Early Britten: Signs of Promise and Achievement in Poème 4 and 5. In: Benjamin Britten: New Perspectives on His Life and Work. Boydell and Brewer. ISBN 9781843835165
Performance
Choa, Sharon (2004) Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (World premiere) Chinese vsn. [Performance]
Other
Choa, Sharon (2005) World premiere of Arnold Griller's Octet. UNSPECIFIED.
Choa, Sharon (2003) New edition of Martinu's Symphony No.4 & commercial recording of edition by the Czech Philharmonic, Supraphon SU 3631-2031 (Sept. 2003). Boosey & Hawkes London .
