Lecture, Barnard's Inn Hall, Friday, 20 Jun 2025 - 12:45

The Gresham Festival of Musical Ideas

Conducter's hands over a backdrop of a rising sun, song bird, factory, greek statue and mathematical symbols

A one-day event featuring discussions, presentations, and performances that explore and celebrate the intersection of music with other disciplines. The festival examines music’s role as a metaphor, language, and tool for understanding the wider world.

Charting an evolution of musical ideas, the day begins with the biology and co-evolution of human language and music, moves through Ancient Greek philosophies on music’s place in society, education, and virtue; and explores the mathematical principles that underpin both the explanation and creation of music.

We trace the convergent technologies of the 19th-century Jacquard loom and the player piano, before concluding with an exploration of the links between music and space—from Pythagoras to contemporary astro-sonification projects—tuning our ears to the symphony of the cosmos itself.

This is a drop-in event, and attendees are welcome to join any of the events at their convenience.

Read more about the lectures

Milton Mermikides

Professor Milton Mermikides

Gresham Professor of Music

Milton Mermikides is a composer, guitarist, technologist, academic and educator in a wide range of musical styles and has collaborated with artists and scientists as...

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Professor Robin May

Professor Robin May

Gresham Professor of Physic

Gresham Professor of Physic, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Professor of Infectious Disease at the University of Birmingham, Professor Robin...

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Professor Melissa Lane

Professor Melissa Lane

Gresham Professor of Rhetoric

Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics, Princeton University and is also Associated Faculty in the Department of Classics and Department of...

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Sarah Hart Professor of Geometry

Professor Sarah Hart

Professor of Geometry

Sarah Hart was the first woman Professor of Geometry at Gresham College, and was appointed in 2020. She is Professor of Mathematics and until recently was Head of Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck, University of London.

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Dr Victoria Baines

Professor Victoria Baines

Gresham IT Livery Company Professor of Information Technology

Professor Victoria Baines FBCS is a leading authority in the field of online trust, safety and cybersecurity. She frequently contributes to major broadcast media outlets...

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Professor Chris Lintott

Professor Chris Lintott

Gresham Professor of Astronomy

Professor Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford, and a Research Fellow at New College.

Having been educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge...

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