Category Archives: In-Choir Within

In-Choir Within: Alice Baker

Continuing our series introducing choral singers at Kent; this week, first-year soprano with Minerva Voices, Cecilian Choir and Chorus, reading Wildlife Conservation, Alice Baker.


How did you get into choral singing ?
When I was younger my parents took me to our local church (St. Matthew’s, Redhill) and I can remember always staring at the choir as they paraded through the church at the beginning of every service. By the time I was nine, I was already involved in choirs my primary school organised and was certain that I would be good enough for the church one! Thankfully, the Choir Master and Vicar agreed and in 2006 I joined their SATB choir as their youngest ever member. Very soon after this I went to my Secondary School and instantly joined their Yr.7 choir and progressed up the school, joining choirs wherever I could. Eventually I joined the school’s Senior Choir where I had some of my best singing experiences.

What’s your favourite piece ?
Alice_BakerThis is such a difficult question to answer! I have sung so many pieces in a variety of styles, both in choirs and as a solo performer, that choosing one is no easy task… I think my favourite choral piece has got to be ‘And The Glory Of The Lord’ from Handel’s Messiah because it is so much fun to listen to as well as sing, although it’s no easy task!
That being said, I do also love How Beautiful Upon The Mountains by John Stainer. This was a real favourite at my church and I love the joyful yet haunting qualities of it, created by the harmonies between all four voice parts and the delicate accompaniment.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ?
My best memory is a bit of a tie… When I was presented with my Dean’s Bronze Award medal I had the honour of singing at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. It is an iconic building and singing in there was really special. My other best memory is being told that I had been chosen to sing the Once In Royal David’s City first verse solo for our church’s Nine Lessons and Carols service. This is one of the most popular services of the year and when I heard my voice ring out through the knave I think it was the first time I thought to myself: ‘Wow… That actually sounds pretty good’!
I’d like to think that I don’t have a worst memory but after some thought, a pretty nightmare-ish one came to mind. Our choir had organised a concert to raise money for a new set of robes and the day before the performance, I lost my voice. Every singers’ worst fear! (I think I am already gaining a reputation in Minerva Voices for losing the ability to talk every time I get even the slightest cold!) So I spent the day before the concert not making a sound, didn’t sing during the final rehearsal, and only practiced my solo once. When the performance arrived my silence had, thankfully, paid off and I was able to sing every piece to a decent standard. But I can honestly say I have never been so nervous for a solo before and probably won’t be again!

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ?
I think the music itself is the key component to capturing and inspiring an audience. And I feel the only way to do this is if the music has  already captured and inspired the choir who will be performing it. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether the people watching came in liking that style of music, if the choir show they enjoy it and performed it well, then the audience should walk away with a new-found respect for whatever was presented. I think this inspires anyone watching and listening to keep an open mind, and it will help them seize opportunities to try new musical experiences in the future. This to me is a choir’s purpose, to bring music to the masses and show them something new and exciting.

Follow Alice on Twitter @AlViBa18

In-Choir Within: Harriet Gunstone

Continuing our series introducing choir-members at Kent. This week, third-year BioSciences student and soprano in Minerva Voices and the Cecilian Choir, Harriet Gunstone.


Harriet GunstoneHow did you get into choral singing ?
My parents have both been choral singers at a church in Greenwich since before I was born and so every Sunday was spent at church listening to choral music and Sunday afternoons were spent in the pub. The choir is a real community and it seemed only natural that I joined when I was 17. Joining the choir was quite intimidating at first with new pieces every week but being thrown in the deep end had its benefits as I was always expected to just keep up.

What’s your favourite piece ?
My favourite piece has to be And I Saw a New Heaven by Edgar Bainton. It has such beautiful words and the interweaving lines which fade away into a single line at moments make this piece particularly beautiful. I particularly love the moment where the tenors sing ‘And God shall wipe away all tears’ for the second time.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ?
One of my best and worst memories has to be the first time I had a solo at church. There were three solo soprano  lines and we had to sing on the balcony above the choir. While it was nerve-wracking experience, it was also quite exciting and amazing to see how one voice can fill such a large space!

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ?
The moments I most enjoy about singing in choirs are when everything comes together and the music becomes so much more than just a series of notes. The emotion which can be conveyed by a single group of people is astonishing.

Follow Harriet on Twiterr @HGunstone.

In-Choir Within: Catriona Bradley

Continuing the series introducing choral singers at the University this year. This week, second-year Biology student and alto with Minerva Voices, the Cecilian Choir and Chorus, Catriona Bradley.


How did you get into choral singing ?
I think the first time I heard Choral music will probably have been around Christmas time, there wasn’t really a choral culture back home where I lived, where pop, rap and musical numbers were more the bill, but my family and I enjoy such a wide range of music it was inevitable I’d stumble across it.

Catriona_BradleyI enjoyed listening to Choral singing when I got the opportunity to, such as listening to King’s at Christmas or other events, but it was only really when I joined the University of Kent last year and I joined a full SATB choir that I fully was able to appreciate the music and get into it.

What’s your favourite piece ?
I don’t have as wide a knowledge of Choral music as I’m relatively new to it but I greatly enjoyed Verdi’s Requiem when we sang it in Chorus last year.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ?
No worst memories as of yet (hopefully that will last a little longer), although I remember singing “Land of Hope and Glory” last summer unexpectedly with the Chorus and couldn’t look my mum (who was sat in the audience) in the face as we were both recalling my 5-year-old rendition, where I changed the lyrics from:
Land of Hope and Glory, Mother of the Free,
How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?
Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet,
God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.
to the embarrassing words:
My dad is snoring….
My dad is snoring….
My dad is snoring….
Please help me to sleep.
The best experience would certainly be singing Verdi’s Requiem in Canterbury Cathedral, it’s such a beautiful place both architecturally and spiritually and to be able to hear such an immense and beautiful sound echo and flow around the building really created an atmosphere I think will be hard to ever re-create.

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ?
When I’m singing in the choir it feels very different to singing a solo, when singing alone I feel like as I sing I’m revealing a small part of my soul to a room of people with each word and note I sing. However, singing as a choir it’s like you are revealing and joining a part of your soul with those around you to form a new beautiful body that is the music you create together. It’s hard to explain such a feeling particularly when going through the rehearsal process as you only get snippets of it, it is in the final performance when all is brought together that there is that light feeling and power that comes through the words and notes that creates this body of sound that although strong and powerful is lightening to the spirit to be part of.

A lot of modern music loses this so singing Choral music is a great way to escape the bustle of modern life that I don’t like and return to a more primal, traditional, spiritual feeling that I enjoy much more.

Catriona is on Twitter @HighlandGirl95

In-Choir within: Ruth Webster

Continuing our series introducing choral singers at the University. This week, second-year BioSciences student, Music Scholar and alto with Minerva Voices, the Cecilian Choir and University Chorus, Ruth Webster.


How did you get into choral singing ?
I always loved singing as a child and was part of various primary school choirs. When I was ten, I auditioned for the Derby Cathedral Girls’ Choir and began my 7-year career as a chorister there. The rest, as they say, is history!

Ruth Webster Chorister PicWhat’s your favourite piece ?
I’d be lying if I said I could pick just one favourite piece. My most favourite pieces involve anything Christmassy, especially Britten’s Ceremony of Carols and Handel’s Messiah. The final verse of Oh Little Town of Bethlehem gets me every time!

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ?
During my first ever performance of Handel’s Messiah as a little eleven-year-old I had a coughing fit in the middle of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus.’ My eyes were streaming throughout the whole piece and I remember seeing my mum in the audience holding back the giggles! My favourite choir memories involve the amazing travel opportunities I’ve been afforded and the incredible venues in which I’ve performed such as Notre Dame, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ?
Along with the beautiful music and stunning venues, I love the sense of community and camaraderie you feel as part of a choir. Hours of rehearsals and a mutual love of choral music makes for a great sense of togetherness among singers. The more experienced members of the choir are able to take new singers under their wing and help them build on their skills while new members can look up to and learn from their peers. I’m looking forward to see how our new upper-voice choir, Minerva Voices, grows and develops as a team this year!

Ruth is on Twitter @himynameisruthy.

In-Choir Within: Alice Hargreaves

Continuing our series featuring choral singers at the University. This week, first-year soprano with Minerva Voices, Chorus and the Cecilian Choir Alice Hargreaves.


How did you get into choral singing ?
From a young age I loved choral music, as I watched my older sister sing in many concerts, but it started properly when I performed a solo in my Junior School Concert at the age of 10. I will never forget how nervous I was, and how amazing it felt after I had sung.

Alice Hargreaves

Alice Hargreaves

What’s your favourite piece ?
There are so many pieces that I love. But if I had to pick one, it would probably have to be Silent Noon by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is such an amazing piece and it sends shivers down my spine every time I sing it.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ?
My worst memory would have to be when I was 12 years old and had been practising for a choral concert, it was an unusually warm day and I remember in the rehearsal on the day, I was so ill that I couldn’t actually make the performance. I was so upset at the time but looking back I think it was for the best!

My best memory, well, I have two! My first would be when in July I sang ‘Pie Jesu’ from Faure’s Requiem in St Paul’s Chapel, Ground Zero in New York. It was a special moment and one I will never forget. My second would be when my school were fortunate enough to perform the choral work Every Purpose Under The Heaven written and conducted by Howard Goodall.

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ?
Being able to meet and sing with so many other people, and connect with them through beautiful musical works, with the result of this connection being something special and magical.

Alice is on Twitter @alhargreaves_

In-Choir within: Alice Scott

Continuing our series meeting new members of the choir. This week, first-year soprano with Minerva Voices, Chorus and the Cecilian Choir, Alice Scott.

How did you get into choral singing ?
I’ve always loved music and choral music has always been a part of my life, but it started properly when I first performed Stainer’s Crucifixion at the age of six.

Great Scott: first-year soprano, Alice

Great Scott: first-year soprano, Alice

What’s your favourite piece ?
It’s impossible to name just one! I love Stanford’s The Bluebird, The Lamb by Tavener, Allegri’s Miserere, Let all Mortal Flesh Keep Silent,  How Shall I sing that Majesty to Coe Fen (the ending always makes me cry) and The Stars in their Courses by James McCarthy.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ?
A not-so-fun memory is of my first performance of the Crucifixion – I had super-loud hiccups throughout the whole work and then got completely lost in ‘Fling Wide the Gates…’ I told the conductor it was too fast! I have some wonderful memories over the years, but some of the best include performing in Truro Cathedral, opening Nine Lessons and Carols with the solo verse of Once in Royal David’s City, performing The Stars in their Courses and performing with my friend Matt White, a piece composed by him, This is the Place.

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ?
The timeless and uniting power of faith which has inspired composers across the centuries makes choral singing a real delight.  You’re transported as a musician and take the listener on an amazing journey. The works are magical, when simple or complex, and their effect is incredibly prayerful.

Alice is on Twitter as @alicetscott.

In-Choir Within: Joe Prescott

Meeting members of the Chamber Choir. This week, tenor Joe Prescott.

Tenor madness: Joe Prescott

Tenor madness: Joe Prescott

How did you get into choral singing? I first got into choral singing when I sang with Lichfield Cathedral choir at the age of nine.

What’s your favourite piece? My favourite piece is Allegri’s Miserere, when the soprano hits the top C it is such an amazing feeling! I get ‘goose bumps’ every time I sing it, from the first chord to the tierce de Picardie at the end.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ? My best memory would be singing in Montserrat Cathedral in Barcelona as it was incredibly impressive to sing in such a prestigious place and to hear the sound fill the room was amazing .It was one of the best experiences of my life. My worst memory is when I forgot to bring my black shirt to a concert at Barcelona Cathedral! I had ten minutes to buy a new shirt and run through the streets of Barcelona in forty degree heat to get back for the concert! Thankfully, I got there just in time!

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing?

Listening to the harmonies in a choir inspires me every single time I sing. Just hearing the harmonies grow and fall through the choir is spectacular and when you finish a piece and the echo just carries the sound it is just one of the best feelings ever.

In-Choir Within: Matthew Norman

Meeting some of the singers with the University Chamber Choir. This week, bass Matthew Norman.

Pipped to the post ?

Pipped to the post ?

How did you get into choral singing? At the age of eight, after a much acclaimed performance as Mr. Tomato in the play Mr. Tomato, it was suggested that I join my local choir.

What’s your favourite piece? I am very fond of Eric Whitacre’s work, especially Sleep. Its haunting dissonance is beautiful and never fails to move the audience and myself.

What is your best and worst memory of singing in a choir? I do not have one standout memory of my choral experiences. Instead, I enjoy the togetherness and friendship you earn through long hours of rehearsal. I relish that one intangible moment where the choir’s sound clicks, leaving all involved speechless.

In stark comparison, my worst memory is arriving at a rehearsal vaguely inebriated, after birthday celebrations, and struggling to count!

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing? Its intrinsic ability to transcend life’s trials and tribulations. No matter how stressed or anxious you may be, choral singing has a somewhat cathartic ability to relax you and put your worries into perspective.

In-Choir Within: Matt Bamford

Meeting some of the singers with the University Chamber Choir. This week, bass and student-conductor, Matt Bamford.

How did you get into choral singing ? I started singing as a member of the Lichfield Operatic Society whilst taking part in their musicals. I properly made the transition to choral singing when I joined the University Chorus at the beginning of my first year.

Fine conduct: Matt Bamford

Fine conduct: Matt Bamford

What’s your favourite piece ? It’s difficult to name one piece in particular as my favorite. I’m a big fan of Eric Whitacre though, in particular his Alleluia.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ? I’ve had many funny moments whilst singing in choirs. The highlight is probably singing in the naive of Canterbury Cathedral. One of the most awkward moments was during school when our conductor fell almost a bar out of time with the Organ during the Carol Service. It was a very interesting rendition of the Shepherd’s Pipe Carol!

What do you find the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ? Choral Singing is great fun and is a really good way to get away from the stresses of university life. The feeling when you end a piece that has gone really well is a feeling that you don’t really get anywhere else. I’m really looking forward to both singing and conducting in the acoustics of the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral in a few months’ time.

 

In-Choir Within: Emma Murton

Meeting some of the singers from the University Chamber Choir. This week, (hailing stanuchly from Somerset!), soprano Emma Murton.

Bear necessities ?

Bear necessities ?

How did you get into choral singing ? When being raised by a pack of wolves in the darkest glades of Somerset, a knack for loud howling was useful. Upon returning to the human world this progressed onto choral singing at Wells Cathedral and Somerset County Youth Choir.

What’s your favourite piece ? Very hard choice! Although I am prone to bouts of gibberish folk tunes that arise from testing barrels of cider, I will always love singing The Long Day Closes by Sullivan.

What’s your best/worst memory about singing in a choir ? My worst moment was when I was in a chorus singing Rutter’s Requiem at Wells cathedral. As we turned to move off the raised scaffolding the heel of my shoe got stuck and I stumbled, dropped all my music and watched it plonk the head of the person in front whilst I was left windmilling the air to gain some balance, managing to successfully whack most of the altos as I did!

The best was definitely getting to further my choral experience at University.

What do you find is the most inspirational aspect of choral singing ? Well it reminds me of my wolf roots, and also of the glorious union of everyone joining together in song. It’s a instrument which is part of everyone and is a sometimes scary thing to share. It also is good for letting off from animal instincts without having to throw mud about!