Music graduate’s lockdown piece gets BBC Radio 3 airtime

A graduate from The University of Manchester’s Department of Music has had a piece of his music played on BBC Radio 3.

Alexander Hopkins’ ‘Wash Me Thoroughly’, which he wrote over lockdown in May 2020, was played as part of the station’s Night Tracks series on 19 October.

The piece is performed by the Coro Spezzato, which Hopkins and a friend formed during the pandemic with a view to putting together a virtual performance to be uploaded to YouTube. Hopkins was approached by a Radio 3 producer after the performance was published.

“I’m immensely proud to have had my piece played on the radio, especially given the circumstances surrounding its writing, performing, and recording,” he said. “I think my composing improved especially in my final year at Manchester, and ‘Wash me Throughly’ really felt like a culmination of my time at the University from a compositional perspective.”