Music Research Seminar

Join us for our recent Music Research Seminar, featuring some of the world's leading researchers in music.

About the talk

Research investigating the hedgerow habitat led me to consider what affordances the bagworm moth’s lifecycle might have as a folk horror narrative. What could a folk-horror opera look, sound and feel like? How could the operatic artform be made more sustainable, accessible, and engaging? How could tensions between nature and technology be brought to light for audiences? Developed through practice methods with voice and multimedia technologies, Bagworm (a folk horror opera) has also addressed how multisensory elements can make opera more immersive and accessible. The forum will offer a window into the creative process, illustrated with video examples and live demonstration.

About the speaker

Nina Whiteman is a composer, vocalist and multimedia artist. Recent work engages with the natural world, probing tensions with technologies through playful performances that often involve audience interaction. Bagworm (a folk horror opera) (2025), written and performed by Nina, has toured independent DIY venues.

Her project BELOW GROUND is a collaborative interdisciplinary investigation of the subterranean (funded by Arts Council England in 2023). It includes devised multisensory performances alongside chamber-scale multimedia works Moss (2023) and Earthed (for Adam Swayne, 2024), as well as ‘Sonic Gardening’ workshops in the community.

Nina is Professor of Composition at Royal Holloway, University of London, founding Co-Artistic Director of Trio Atem, and founding Co-Artistic Director of Manchester Contemporary Opera.  

Car parking

If you are a guest visiting us on campus, please get in touch with musicperformance@rhul.ac.uk to log your parking details. This will need to happen in advance of your visit.