BU Abroad: Where Classical Music Thrives
Laura Carpenter (CFA’10) finds London grooves
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In the video above, visit London with Laura Carpenter (CFA’10), a classical trumpet player who also joined pub musicians.
“I actually cried when the plane touched down,” Laura Carpenter says about returning to the States after a semester at the Royal College of Music in London. “I wanted to stay in England forever.”
Carpenter (CFA’10), a classical trumpet player and musicology student, was in England for about four months last fall. “The nonmusicians I made friends with were almost equally knowledgeable and passionate about the music I played as I was,” she says. “Classical music seemed more important as a respected cultural phenomenon than it is in America.”
This summer, Carpenter made her way back across the pond to attend an orchestral course called — she kids you not — the Week of Beer and Music, which gave her the opportunity to travel to different parts of England and play in concerts with other young musicians. The event is sponsored by the Uley Brewery, one explanation for the name. “But really,” she says, “it was because of all the drinking.”
Before her junior semester abroad, Carpenter hadn’t considered living outside the United States. Now, she says, “I would return to the Royal College of Music in a second for my grad work.”
But that’s looking ahead. She has another year to go at BU, planning to complete her undergraduate studies — and spread the gospel of studying abroad. “I’ve been asked to speak to incoming students because of my fervor for it,” she says.
Devin Hahn can be reached at dhahn@bu.edu.
Next week, another foreign visit. Read more about BU Abroad.
12 Comments
Yay, Laura!
Your enthusiasm and zest definitely comes across! You make an awesome advocate for studying abroad at the RCM.
Very nicely done. The video makes me want to a) adopt her; b) be her; c) move to London; d) start taking my viola lessons again
Another great one
Man, these videos are so much fun.
This video is fantastic!
It’s so wonderful to see classical music get this kind of hip video treatment. Kudos to BU for making this kind of travel/study possible, and for sharing it with the world. Play on! Film on!
YES Study Abroad!
way to go, laura!
The narrator’s spirit is very infectious! (I’m about to go pull out my old trumpet with the sticky valve.) Very beautifully done piece.
Across the pond
Look forward to these, and the wait is so worth it. Thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful glimpse. Keep them coming!
Thanks for all the support, everyone! If you want to hear more of Stanley, which trust me, you do, check out http://www.myspace.com/stanleymusic and buy the EP “Nothing to Say” on iTunes!
Kudos all around
A fantastic video with a fantastic subject! Laura really captures the essence of study abroad and the passion she has for London and the Royal College of Music. I hope it is an inspiration to all!
that band...
that folk-indie-country-pop band Laura played with – check them out here:
http://www.myspace.com/stanleymusic
See this video on YouTube
at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hynwteprZ_0
BU London rocks! Definitely the best and most defining moment of my undergraduate career. EVERYONE should study abroad. I miss London oh so much. Cheers :)