The Director of Music's Office - about us

The Director of Music's Office was set up in January 2006 following the announcement of the closure of the University's academic music department.  The Office exists to ensure the continuation of extra-curricular music-making at Exeter and to provide facilities and expertise to make this possible.

Who are we?

The Director of Music's Office employs two permanent members of staff, a temporary Administrator and six student interns who together ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the department.  Please feel free to pop into Knightley if you have a query, or alternatively contact us using the details below.

Staff

Director of Music - Marion Wood, BSc PGDip

Marion Wood studied Music and Electronics at the University of Keele, and went on to study Postgraduate Orchestral Conducting at the RCM.  Following this she was appointed chorusmaster of the Belfast Philharmonic Choir, one of the youngest ever appointments to a major symphony chorus in the UK.  She worked as a freelance orchestral conductor and assistant conductor in London, Staffordshire and the Republic of Ireland, and highlights of her career have included assisting international conductors in a complete Wagner Ring Cycle, Mahler symphonies and Stravinsky ballets. She continues to conduct a range of ensembles both on and off campus, and is currently the conductor of the Exeter Music Group Symphony Orchestra.

As Director of Music, Marion is responsible for the development of music within the University.  Her work is extremely varied; a "typical" day may involve attending a University meeting, leading a lunchtime African drumming session, giving a Scholars' lecture, conducting one of the many ensembles, and maybe sound engineering for a gig in the evening! Marion is very much enjoying being back in an academic environment, partly for the breadth of music going on here (classical conductors are not elsewhere supposed to be into VJ-ing and Beats & Bass!), but mostly for the pleasure of working with such intelligent students, whose horizons are necessarily broader than pure music.

Contact the Director of Music at M.Wood@exeter.ac.uk / 01392 723042

Assistant to the Director of Music - Mark Barretto, BA (Hons)

Originally from Plymouth , Mark spent several years involved with theatre arts in the south west, including working as a scenic artist and prop maker, and as a Stage Manager for a Theatre-in Education company touring local schools. His interest in theatre led him to contribute to several writing for performance workshops and he was involved in the South West Theatre Consortium’s attempt at launching comedy on local radio. As a frustrated script writer and performer he wrote and performed his own work and collaborated in many local theatre and film projects. His other theatre endeavours included forming a small-scale company performing street theatre at festivals, carnivals and fairs.

Following this, Mark joined the Theatre Royal in Plymouth as a member off the lighting crew, working as a follow-spot operator and stage electrician on large-scale plays, musicals, ballets and operas on the main stage, and small-scale productions in the Drum Theatre.

The wish to extend his knowledge and understanding of theatre arts prompted Mark to head north to study a degree in Technical Theatre Arts at the University of Manchester . The course broadened his skills base to include lighting design, stage management, set & costume design and art history. Whilst studying in Manchester he took advantage of the many opportunities the city’s vibrant arts scene provided and his freelance work included work as a lighting technician at venues such as the Library Theatre, the Royal Exchange, the Greenroom, and the Royal Northern College of Music. As part of the stage management team for Manchester City Council he worked on several large-scale outdoor events across the city.

After graduating, Mark worked as the resident Scenic Artist at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre. Making the most of his skills, Mark took on the additional roles of Assistant Stage Manager for several productions, and on occasion worked with the Octagon's Active-8 Youth Theatre group as their Deputy Stage Manager.

Contact the Assistant to the Director of Music at M.Barretto@exeter.ac.uk on 01392 723814

Music Office Administrator (Temporary)  - Clare Greenall, MA Dip Lib

Clare Greenall was born in London and moved to Brighton to become one of Brighton’s first “Expressive Arts” students. After graduation she played violin in a number of orchestras, ensembles and groups and continued work as a practicing artist. To prevent starvation she began working part time in libraries finally taking a postgraduate diploma and MA in Information Studies at the University of London. She worked at Devon County Council for a number of years running the County’s Performing Arts Library Service whilst keeping up a busy playing schedule and teaching a small number of violin pupils.

Contact the Music Office Administrator at C.T.Greenall@exeter.ac.uk on 01392 723813 

Student Interns

The student interns are employed by the Music Office to oversee and approve requests made by students, staff and external organisations to use the Music Office's facilities.

Kay House Bookings Coordinator - Sam Hayes and Tim Raybould

Sam and Tim manage all booking requests for Kay House. Their involvement covers every aspect of the booking process including:

• Ensuring clashes in scheduling events are avoided
• Arranging the provision of seating, tables and AV equipment
• Coordinating stewards for external events
• Delivering building and staging setup training

If you have any queries about using Kay House, please email Sam (sah217@ex.ac.uk) or Tim (tar204@ex.ac.uk)

Student Band Practice Coordinators - Emma Baker and Lindsay Smith

Emma and Lindsay oversee and approve bookings for Elmbrook (The Bunker) in New North Road and the Amp and Jam Jar practice rooms in Kay House Duryard. Their role covers

• Approving booking requests for the practice rooms
• Liasing with Campus Bands over membership lists and bands
• Carrying out regular practice room inspections to ensure the practice room rules and terms of fair use are upheld
• Reporting and correcting gear faults or missing items, including ensuring the drum kits owned by the Music Office are all in a playable condition
• Dealing constructively and fairly with borrowing and booking conflicts

If you have any queries about using the band paractice facilities, please email Emma or Lindsay (exeterbandpractice@gmail.com)

Technical Gear Coordinator - Andrew Tyrrell

Andrew keeps a check on the technical gear belonging to the Music Office. He should be contacted for queries on

• Certifying instrument and gear loan and return
• Notifying and actioning of repairs
• Invoicing and collecting hire fee where charged
• Monitoring the list of people with permission to borrow gear, including making recommendations for adding or removing people if appropriate.

If you have any queries about borrowing instruments or sound gear, please email Andrew (at294@exeter.ac.uk)

Where are we? 

We have four Music buildings across the Streatham Campus. Each building is identified on the Streatham Campus map by a number.

Knightley (#55) is the musical and social hub of the Director of Music's Office.

Clayden (#54) is located behind Knightley.

Elmbrook Cottage (close to Elmbrook House #49) is located opposite the Imperial pub.

Kay House Duryard (#85) lies adjacent to the INTO Halls of Residence.  

For access to these buildings, please contact the Music Office.