Internationally acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams OBE has taken up a new role at Birmingham Conservatoire as Visiting Consultant in Vocal Performance.

London-born Williams, who won the Singer of the Year award in the 2016 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards, enjoys relationships with all the major UK opera companies and is particularly well-known for his notable interpretations of Mozart's leading men.

He has also sung world premieres of operas by composers including Michael van de Aa, Sally Beamish, David Sawer, and Robert Saxton.

The appointment will see Roderick Williams visit Birmingham Conservatoire on a regular basis, where he will give recitals, individual coaching and masterclasses for the students, as they seek to be amongst the next generation of great performers.

Williams has sung concert repertoire with all the BBC orchestras and many other leading ensembles throughout the world. His many festival appearances include the BBC Proms (including the Last Night of the Proms in 2014), Edinburgh, Cheltenham, Aldeburgh and Melbourne in Australia.

In 2015 he sang ‘Christus’ in Peter Sellars’ staging of the St. John Passion with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

He is also an accomplished recital artist who can be heard at venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Kings Place, LSO St. Luke's, the Wiener Musikverein in Vienna and on BBC Radio 3, where he is frequently played.

His numerous recordings include Vaughan Williams, Berkeley and Britten operas for Chandos and an extensive repertoire of English song. He was awarded an OBE in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to music.

On his appointment, Roderick Williams OBE said:

“It gives me great pleasure to cement my relationship with Birmingham Conservatoire formally and I am thrilled to be taking up a position as a Visiting Consultant in Vocal Performance, giving me the opportunity to consider alongside these talented students what it actually means to be a performer.

“That this appointment coincides with the Conservatoire’s move to its new home is a happy bonus for me and I look forward to sharing in these exciting times.”

Part of Birmingham City University, the new Birmingham Conservatoire will be a unique contemporary building, incorporating five public performance spaces including a new 500 seat concert hall for orchestral training and performance, private rehearsal and practice rooms, and teaching spaces for musicians from a variety of disciplines.

Furthermore, as the first purpose built conservatoire in the UK since 1987, the £57 million institution will be the only one of its kind in the country designed for the demands of the digital age, when it opens in September this year.

Paul Wingfield, Head of Vocal and Operatic Studies, Birmingham Conservatoire, said:

“We are absolutely thrilled that Roderick will be joining us at this exciting and dynamic time in the history of the Conservatoire. Roderick is already known to many of our students for his inspirational masterclasses and his unwavering commitment to young voices. I am sure that we will all benefit enormously from the wealth of his experience both on the operatic stage and the concert platform.

“His presence at the Conservatoire will help ensure we are at the leading edge of vocal training in the UK.”

Williams’ appointment follows hot on the heels of the Chinese cellist Jian Wang’s arrival as the Conservatoire’s International Chair in Cello beginning in September 2017.

With a history dating back to 1859, Birmingham Conservatoire is one of the leading music academies in the country. Internationally renowned cellist Professor Julian Lloyd Webber took up the role of its Principal in 2015.

Professor Julian Lloyd Webber, Principal, Birmingham Conservatoire, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Roderick Williams to Birmingham Conservatoire’s vocal team as our new Visiting Consultant. Roderick is one of the finest baritones on the international scene and already his work with our students has produced outstanding results. We look forward to seeing him in our wonderful new Conservatoire!”

Alzheimer’s Society’s National Dementia Friendly Awards are on the lookout for people in Birmingham and Solihull who are improving the lives of those affected by dementia.

Now in their fourth year, the awards celebrate people who are raising awareness,changing attitudes and challenging misunderstandings around dementia.

Dementia devastates lives and by 2021, 1 million people will be living with the condition. The awards team wants to hear from people who are leading the dementia movement, inspiring others and are determined to transform the dementia landscape forever.

This year there are 13 awards up for grabs across 10 categories, including:

• Dementia Friendly Organisation
• Community Partnership
• Dementia Friends Champion
• Innovation
• Young person’s contribution
• Journalist
• Inspiring Individual

Last year’s winners included a junior school performing novel work with a care home, the East of England Co-op for widespread staff training on dementia and an NHS dementia-friendly dentistry programme in the North West.

Maria Parkes, Services Manager for Alzheimer's Society in Birmingham and Solihull said:

“I’m keen to see a variety of entrants from Birmingham and Solihull as there’s some terrific dementia-friendly work taking place here throughout the year.

“Every day we hear examples of people in the community who’ve made a real difference to the lives of people with dementia. This year’s awards will give them the recognition they truly deserve.”

Anyone who has made a difference to the lives of people affected by dementia is encouraged to enter. Industry experts will unite with people affected by dementia to choose the winners.

Nominations close at Midnight on Monday 21 August.  Enter by searching ‘Dementia Friendly Awards’ at alzheimers.org.uk. Entrants can nominate themselves or others.

Winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 29 November by Alzheimer’s Society Ambassador, Angela Rippon CBE.

There was a royal visit, to London, as former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and The Ooni of Ife, was at the Excel Arena to unite nationals from the Diaspora from both home and abroad.

Addressing a combined crusade of the Cherubim & Seraphim Worldwide and Celestial Church of Christ he marked his presence by preaching the undying love of God which brings communities together and how people must show love to each other.

Quoting the passage 1st Corinthians 13: 13, he read: “And now these three remain; Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is love.”

Listing a number of attributes that he claimed God does not share with human beings, including: Omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience and eternity, he said: “These are great attributes of God which he keeps to himself.”

Chief Obasanjo added that there were attributes of God that he shared with human beings. These, according to him, include righteousness, kindness, compassion, love and “the greatest of these attributes is love,” which brought enormous cheers from the crowded ICC Hall. “Faith is the foundation and content of God’s message,” he said. “If you have no faith, you can’t believe in God, if you have no faith, you can’t even believe in yourself. To believe is to have faith.

Hope is the attitude and focus. Love is the action from one to another. God himself is love, as we have in 1st John, Chapter 4 Verse 8. Love is the attribute of God that he shares with us. Love is the only attribute that can change human beings, community, society; love can change the world. No matter what is happening to you, or happening within our nation, our continent, our world, the only way to bring about change is through love.”

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And in closing, he concluded: “This joint revival has been brought about by love. If we must make progress in our life, we must love. Hatred kills.”

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi also spoke at the event tagged ‘Comfort the Comforter Crusade stating, “What you are doing today is very good. Both Cherubim & Seraphim church and the Celestial Church that are having a joint revival were established in Africa by black men. I don’t believe in the saying that nothing good comes out of Africa. If we don’t acknowledge our own, who will do it for us?

“The cloth that we wear was first worn by Oduduwa Ateworo. Oduduwa was the first to wear cloth in the entire world. We blacks were the first to produce iron; that is why they call us blacksmith. Today, they use iron for every good thing – cars, aeroplane, houses, even this mighty hall, where we are, cannot stand without iron.”

Wye Valley Brewery has received a visit from Professor Julian Lloyd Webber to discuss brewing a bespoke bottled beer for the Birmingham Conservatoire’s brand new facility.

Principal of Birmingham Conservatoire and a long-time fan of Wye Valley Brewery’s ales, including Butty Bach and Hereford Pale Ale, Professor Lloyd Webber plans to serve the bespoke bottled beer, as well as a cask ale, in the bar of the new building.

The internationally renowned cellist and conductor will be returning to brew the bottled beer alongside Head Brewer, Gareth Bateman, this August.

Commenting during his visit last week, Professor Julian Lloyd Webber said:

“I am very excited to be brewing a bespoke Wye Valley Brewery beer. It will be a real treat for students and visitors at the Conservatoire to have this popular local brewery create something special for them.”

Part of Birmingham City University, the new £57 million home for Birmingham Conservatoire will open in September 2017 as part of the institution’s £280 million investment in its facilities.

Brits look in the fridge or food cupboard 23 times per day, according to new research.

A survey of homeowners carried out by leading household appliances retailer, AppliancesDirect.co.uk, revealed Brits look in the fridge 14 times and the cupboards 9 times per day on average, despite eating or drinking something from them just 6 times.

The research, which looked in to the eating habits on the nation, found that women looked in the fridge or cupboard 25 times per day compared to men who looked just 21 times.

When quizzed on their behaviors in the kitchen, just 22% of respondents say they look because they are hungry while 35% say they do it because it’s habit and they don’t have any intention of actually eating anything.

The data also revealed the go to snacks for fridge raiders in the UK. Cheese came in first place, as 35% of those surveyed say they will regularly snack on this, followed by cold meats (33%).

Chocolate came in third place for 29% of fridge raiding Brits, while healthier options such as fruit (27%), and vegetables (22%) came in fourth and fifth place.

Mark Kelly, marketing manager at AppliancesDirect.co.uk comments: “The data revealed some interesting findings about the nation’s snacking practices, especially the number of times people look in the fridge and cupboards just out of habit.

“Everyone has that one family member or friend who looks in the fridge or cupboard for a snack whenever they visit, and we’re all guilty of doing it at other people’s homes, but it’s not that often we actually take something out and eat it.

“That said, it’s interesting to see that when we do snack, it seems to be the savory options that are the nations firm fridge raiding favorites.”

Games such as ‘i-spy’, traditionally used to help pass the time on long car journeys with children, could soon be a thing of the past as more and more children turn to phones and tablets for entertainment on the road, according to new research among parents planning to drive on holiday this year from Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Less than a third of children (31%) now play i-spy in the car. Instead, 45% play games on phones or tablets, while 36% watch TV shows on their technological devices.

When asked what keeps the children amused for the longest time in the car, over half (51%) of parents now say phones and tablets are the runaway winner, and just one in ten (10%) think i-spy or ‘other car games’ (9%) are effective.

This shows a marked increase in the use of technology among children in just the last two years – in 2015 Enterprise conducted similar research which showed over a third of parents (36%) still found car games to be an effective way to keep children entertained.

Four in five parents (79%) say that their children play on phones or tablets for ‘hours on end’, and a third of parents (32%) say they ‘never limit’ how long their children use them. Almost a third of parents (29%) also say their children can use their ‘phones and tablets how they want to’ and they don’t control what content the children have access to.

This includes use of social media; 76% of all parents, including 71% of parents with children aged 10 and under, allow them to access social media – despite age restrictions which are supposed to prevent children under 13 from using most social media platforms. Among the under 10s, YouTube is the favourite social media platform (44%), followed by Facebook (32%), Instagram (22%), and Snapchat.

While some parents are relaxed about their children using phones and tablets for extended periods of time – 22% say ‘they aren’t bothered at all’ and 16% say they ‘don’t care as long as it keeps them quiet’ – others have concerns. When questioned, 20% of parents said they would rather their children engaged with other people in the car, nearly a quarter (22%) say they wish they would play traditional games instead, and almost one in five (18%) are worried this level of tech usage could be bad for their general health.

Tech in the car can also cause friction. Four in ten (40%) parents say phones and tablets cause arguments in the car, with 16% saying arguments are due to their children being glued to it, while 13% say they argue over who gets to use the phone or tablet.

However, no amount of technology is sufficient to stop children saying the dreaded words ‘are we there yet’ and ‘I need the loo’. On average, children now ask ‘are we there yet’ only 37 minutes into the journey and say they ‘need the loo’ after only 44 minutes – making the 37 to 44-minute period of a car journey the ‘seven minutes of doom’ when parents need to rush to find a suitable place for a break.

The research – which was conducted across several European countries – showed British children to be the most impatient in Europe. German children ask, ‘are we there yet’ on average after 45 minutes; French children after 44 minutes, Spanish children after 41 minutes and Irish children after 38 minutes.

On most occasions (64%) parents will wait until the next service station to allow their children to answer the call of nature, although 15% say they pull into the hard shoulder, and a strict 8% make their children wait until they reach the final destination.

It is hardly surprising then that many parents admit to the odd ‘fib’ ahead of a lengthy car journey – half of parents (50%) say they have told their children that a long car journey would be shorter than they expected it to be.

Ben Lawson, Vice President of Rental for Europe, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, says: “I have fond memories of playing games like i-spy in the car when I was a child. And like other parents, I still make the effort to play these games with my own children now, even though I also let them use tablets and phones once we’ve exhausted the amusement potential of car games.

“Our research shows that nine out of 10 people find it stressful to drive abroad on holiday – so keeping the children amused on longer trips means the parents can concentrate on the road – and of course, on finding that vital location for a loo break within 45 minutes!”