Hosted by Dr. Lou (Dr. Louis Niebur) & Dr. Phill (Dr. Phillip W. Serna), this podcast will sample music from the almost 50 year history of Doctor Who, discussing and debating the technical minutiae involved in the music, how it relates to the story, as well as explore the varied composers and musicians who have worked on the show.
In this Episode we’ll be looking at the music of BBC Radiophonic Workshop composer Peter Howell. Here we will examine Serial 6W – Story 140 – The Two Doctors, a 3-part serial originally broadcast between the 16th of February and the 2nd of March 1985 on BBC One.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS – DR. LOU: I am an Associate Professor of Musicology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where I write about and teach classes on avant-garde and popular music of the post-war era, focusing on musics that bridge the categories of high and low culture in society through media technology. In other words, I write about pretty music made on complicated equipment used in television and radio. Most of my stuff tends to be about music in the UK, although I have also written about American science fiction. My most recent publication is a history of the BBC’s electronic music studio, the Radiophonic Workshop, for Oxford University Press. Before becoming chair of the music department in Reno, I taught classes about television music, film music, music and gender, and popular music, as well as the more standard classical music history courses. After getting my undergraduate degree in singing from the University of Iowa, I spent a few hazy years bartending in nightclubs, listening to lots of dance music, and traveling as much as possible to England. Eventually, I decided I needed a career and did a Masters degree in musicology at the University of Texas at Austin, writing a thesis on music in Doctor Who. After that I moved to Los Angeles and did a PhD at UCLA in musicology, studying with Susan McClary and Philip Brett, among other amazing scholars. At UCLA I wrote what would become the first half of my Radiophonic history as my dissertation.
I also, like Dr. Phil, am a performer of early music. But unlike him, for me it is purely a dilettante pursuit. I have sung early music since 1989, and at UCLA was the director of their early music ensemble, Musica Humana. Upon moving to Reno, I founded REM (Reno Early Music), Reno’s premiere early music group. Actually, we are Reno’s only early music group. But it’s fun. I also run the Reno Time Team, a local group making our way through all of classic Doctor Who. For more information on Louis Niebur, visithttp://www.unr.edu/cla/music/pages/bios/niebur.htm, and for information on Reno Early Music, visit http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/boardman/music_REM.htm. For more information on Special Sound: The Creation and Legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, visit http://www.unr.edu/cla/music/publications/special_sound.htm.
ABOUT YOUR HOSTS – DR. PHILL: My name is Dr. Phillip Serna – you can call me Dr. Phill as many of my colleagues, friends and students do. I’m a performer and teacher here in the Chicago area where I received my Master & Doctoral degrees in Music at Northwestern University. On double bass I perform solo, chamber, orchestral and contemporary literature. I am also a performer of Early Music on viols – or violas da gamba – a family of bowed guitars that were popular in Europe from the 15th through the late 18th centuries.
On double bass, I perform with many ensembles including the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, New Philharmonic Orchestra, Northbrook Symphony Orchestra, the Northshore Camerata, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and many others. In Early Music, I regularly perform on violas da gamba (treble viol, tenor viol and bass viol), period double bass/ violone and vielle with modern orchestras such as the Concord Chamber Orchestra and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, as well as with period instrument ensembles such as Ars Antigua, the Bach Collegium of Fort Wayne, the Callipygian Players, the Chicago Early Music Consort, Duo fantaisie en Echo, the Madison Bach Musicians, the Newberry Consort, the Oriana Singers, the Second City Musick, the Spirit of Gambo – a Chicago Consort of Viols, the Third Coast Viols and many others. In performance, I’ve appeared on Chicago’s 98.7FM WFMT, Wisconsin Public Radio and Milwaukee Public Radio. My Early Music Outreach program ‘Viols in Our Schools’ was the recipient of the 2010 Early Music America Outreach Award, which honors ensembles or individual artists for excellence in early music outreach and/or educational projects for children or adults. For more information, visit http://www.violsinourschools.org/About.html or http://www.phillipwserna.com/.
ABOUT OUR THEME: The theme to ADVENTURES IN TIME, SPACE AND MUSIC is a remix by Isaac Arsenault. Isaac started mashingup music in the winter of ’09, After reading Jordan Roseman’s “Audio Mashup Construction Kit.” Working with sound Equipment and being technical leader for two bands he opened his taste for music by studying it mathematically and learning the science behind it. To find out more about Isaac’s work, visit http://www.twitter.com/drautobob.
‘Adventures in Time Space and Music’ is not endorsed by the BBC in any way and is intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
Doctor Who, all associated logos, names and references to characters, vehicles and any other Doctor Who related items are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of the BBC, or their respective trademark and copyright holders.
In this episode we’ll be featuring the second part of an interview with BBC Radiophonic Composer Peter Howell with guest co-host Steven Schapansky of Radio Free Skaro joining me at the central console. Recorded the 11th of January, 2011.
ABOUT YOUR HOST: My name is Dr. Phillip Serna – you can call me Dr. Phill as many of my colleagues, friends and students do. I’m a performer and teacher here in the Chicago area where I received my Master & Doctoral degrees in Music at Northwestern University. On double bass I perform solo, chamber, orchestral and contemporary literature. I am also a performer of Early Music on viols – or violas da gamba – a family of bowed guitars that were popular in Europe from the 15th through the late 18th centuries.
ABOUT OUR GUEST CO-HOST: Steven Schapansky is one of the hosts of Radio Free Skaro, one of the most popular and longest running Doctor Who podcasts around. As co-host, he has interviewed many luminaries from Doctor Who’s past an present, including Murray Gold, Graeme Harper, Phil Ford, Tracie Simpson, Gary Russell, and many others. He has also memorized every Doctor Who production code from the classic series and can point out on a map and name all 195 countries of the world. And he does it all without eating meat. For more information on Steven’s work on the widely popular Radio Free Skaro, released every Sunday, visit http://www.radiofreeskaro.com/.
ABOUT OUR SERIES GUEST: Peter Howell is a musician and composer who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1974-1997 – shortly before the workshop disbanded. His musical career began in the 1960s where he played what is referred to as ‘psychedelic folk’ with groups ranging from Agincourt to others. Beyond his contributions to Doctor Who, Howell’s prolific output includes scores for science fiction series, dramas, documentaries and children’s television including Horizon, The Body in Question and Michael Palin’s Full Circle.
Peter Howell began his work on Doctor Who began in 1975 with an uncredited contribution to Revenge of the Cybermen. Carey Blyton composed the incidental music for this serial, but producer Philip Hinchcliffe asked the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to enhance the score, which was done by Peter Howell, adding synthesizer cues to Blyton’s score. Additionally he performed special sound design on Serial 4H – Story 81 – the Planet of Evil. Later, when John Nathan-Turner became producer of Doctor Who in 1980, he approached Peter Howell and the Radiophonic workshop to create a new arrangement of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme as well as to provide incidental music, thus replacing Dudley Simpson who had been the longest-running composer on Doctor Who. In addition to his score to the Leisure Hive, Howell’s incidental music contribution spans the Tom Baker stories Warrior’s Gate, the Peter Davison stories Kinda, Snakedance, the Five Doctors, the Awakening and Planet of Fire as well as the Colin Baker story the Two Doctors – his final contribution to the series. Along with composer Paddy Kingsland, Howell also composed part of the for Meglos, as well as scoring the Doctor Who spinoff special K9 and Company and Jon Pertwee’s Radio Dramas The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space. His music would also appear in the 1999 Steven Moffat Doctor Who spoof – the Curse of the Fatal Death – starring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor.
Since his days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Peter Howell is the founding Director of Sound Music Design Ltd, a company specializing in providing of music and sound design for the film, television and radio. In May of 2009, Howell participated in a live concert revival of the Radiophonic Workshop at The Roundhouse in London. Additionally Howell teaches music and sound design at the National Film and Television School, as well as lectures at Bournemouth University’s Media Department, Leeds College of Music, and the Screen Academy Scotland where he has trained over 40 composers who now compose music for feature films, theatre, television and computer games.
ABOUT OUR THEME: The theme to ADVENTURES IN TIME, SPACE AND MUSIC is a remix by Isaac Arsenault. Isaac started mashingup music in the winter of ’09, After reading Jordan Roseman’s “Audio Mashup Construction Kit.” Working with sound Equipment and being technical leader for two bands he opened his taste for music by studying it mathematically and learning the science behind it. To find out more about Isaac’s work, visit http://www.twitter.com/drautobob.
DEDICATION: This episode is dedicated to composer Peter Howell, who was one of my musical childhood heroes and to whom I am deeply grateful that we were able to chat with. Your music is always a reminder to me that this show we love can take us anywhere, and that is certainly the case with the music!
‘Adventures in Time Space and Music’ is not endorsed by the BBC in any way and is intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
Doctor Who, all associated logos, names and references to characters, vehicles and any other Doctor Who related items are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of the BBC, or their respective trademark and copyright holders.
In this episode we’ll be featuring the first part of an interview with BBC Radiophonic Composer Peter Howell with guest co-host Steven Schapansky of Radio Free Skaro joining me at the central console. Recorded the 11th of January, 2011.
ABOUT YOUR HOST: My name is Dr. Phillip Serna – you can call me Dr. Phill as many of my colleagues, friends and students do. I’m a performer and teacher here in the Chicago area where I received my Master & Doctoral degrees in Music at Northwestern University. On double bass I perform solo, chamber, orchestral and contemporary literature. I am also a performer of Early Music on viols – or violas da gamba – a family of bowed guitars that were popular in Europe from the 15th through the late 18th centuries.
ABOUT OUR GUEST CO-HOST: Steven Schapansky is one of the hosts of Radio Free Skaro, one of the most popular and longest running Doctor Who podcasts around. As co-host, he has interviewed many luminaries from Doctor Who’s past an present, including Murray Gold, Graeme Harper, Phil Ford, Tracie Simpson, Gary Russell, and many others. He has also memorized every Doctor Who production code from the classic series and can point out on a map and name all 195 countries of the world. And he does it all without eating meat. For more information on Steven’s work on the widely popular Radio Free Skaro, released every Sunday, visit http://www.radiofreeskaro.com/.
ABOUT OUR SERIES GUEST: Peter Howell is a musician and composer who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop from 1974-1997 – shortly before the workshop disbanded. His musical career began in the 1960s where he played what is referred to as ‘psychedelic folk’ with groups ranging from Agincourt to others. Beyond his contributions to Doctor Who, Howell’s prolific output includes scores for science fiction series, dramas, documentaries and children’s television including Horizon, The Body in Question and Michael Palin’s Full Circle.
Peter Howell began his work on Doctor Who began in 1975 with an uncredited contribution to Revenge of the Cybermen. Carey Blyton composed the incidental music for this serial, but producer Philip Hinchcliffe asked the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to enhance the score, which was done by Peter Howell, adding synthesizer cues to Blyton’s score. Additionally he performed special sound design on Serial 4H – Story 81 – the Planet of Evil. Later, when John Nathan-Turner became producer of Doctor Who in 1980, he approached Peter Howell and the Radiophonic workshop to create a new arrangement of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme as well as to provide incidental music, thus replacing Dudley Simpson who had been the longest-running composer on Doctor Who. In addition to his score to the Leisure Hive, Howell’s incidental music contribution spans the Tom Baker stories Warrior’s Gate, the Peter Davison stories Kinda, Snakedance, the Five Doctors, the Awakening and Planet of Fire as well as the Colin Baker story the Two Doctors – his final contribution to the series. Along with composer Paddy Kingsland, Howell also composed part of the for Meglos, as well as scoring the Doctor Who spinoff special K9 and Company and Jon Pertwee’s Radio Dramas The Paradise of Death and The Ghosts of N-Space. His music would also appear in the 1999 Steven Moffat Doctor Who spoof – the Curse of the Fatal Death – starring Rowan Atkinson as the Doctor.
Since his days at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Peter Howell is the founding Director of Sound Music Design Ltd, a company specializing in providing of music and sound design for the film, television and radio. In May of 2009, Howell participated in a live concert revival of the Radiophonic Workshop at The Roundhouse in London. Additionally Howell teaches music and sound design at the National Film and Television School, as well as lectures at Bournemouth University’s Media Department, Leeds College of Music, and the Screen Academy Scotland where he has trained over 40 composers who now compose music for feature films, theatre, television and computer games.
ABOUT OUR THEME: The theme to ADVENTURES IN TIME, SPACE AND MUSIC is a remix by Isaac Arsenault. Isaac started mashingup music in the winter of ’09, After reading Jordan Roseman’s “Audio Mashup Construction Kit.” Working with sound Equipment and being technical leader for two bands he opened his taste for music by studying it mathematically and learning the science behind it. To find out more about Isaac’s work, visit http://www.twitter.com/drautobob.
DEDICATION: This episode is dedicated to composer Peter Howell, who was one of my musical childhood heroes and to whom I am deeply grateful that we were able to chat with. Your music is always a reminder to me that this show we love can take us anywhere, and that is certainly the case with the music!
‘Adventures in Time Space and Music’ is not endorsed by the BBC in any way and is intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
Doctor Who, all associated logos, names and references to characters, vehicles and any other Doctor Who related items are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of the BBC, or their respective trademark and copyright holders.
