Dr Thomas Seltz passed away on 29 November 2017. He was Lecturer in Composition and Head of Jazz and Pop Performance Studies, as well as a much-loved and highly valued teacher, colleague and friend. On Monday, 5 February 2018, the Music Department will celebrate his life and music with two events that reflect two sides of his personality and artistic career. Admission at both events is free.
The two events are as follows:
Turner Sims at 13:00
Music’s professional lunchtime concert series honours Thomas’s professional work as a composer alongside personal tributes.
Department colleagues David Owen Norris and Vincent Lindsey-Clark perform ‘I dreamt a new reality’, a work for piano and guitar by Thomas, and Elizabeth Kenny presents the world premiere of the theorbo suite ‘Elizabeth’, a piece Thomas wrote for her.
The Talking Heads, Southampton from 19:30
Students, past and present, will be celebrating Thomas’s memory with an informal evening of live music. Artists include Kitty O’Neal, David Cefai (The Sea Slugs), Charlie Hawkins, Lost or Stolen and Nine Ace Deck.
If you wish to attend either event, please register on Eventbrite.
Lecturers in Music, Dr Valeria De Lucca and Dr David Bretherton, share their tribute to Thomas:
“Thomas will be sorely missed by the entire Music Department at the University of Southampton. As Head of Jazz and Pop, he mentored dozens of up-and-coming student musicians, many of whom are still going strong now that they have graduated.
In 2015 Thomas was the creative mind behind Share the Sound, an annual jazz and pop festival run by and featuring Music students that has since become a highlight of the Southampton cultural calendar.
During his time in the Music Department, he developed many close creative partnerships, writing music specially for several of our colleagues to perform.
When he was not composing, teaching, or playing his guitars, Thomas loved to spend time outdoors kayaking and open-water swimming, and he was also a keen yogi and kickboxer. Ever concerned to promote the welfare of others, he spent countless hours trying to persuade friends in the department to join him in these pursuits…with mixed results!”
