Tag Archives: Music Scholars

Image Gallery: Summer Music Week: Part One

Summer Music Week is in full swing here in the Music department, our annual music festival celebrating the end of the academic year.

Photos here from the first few events: the Music Performance Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital and the Big Band in rehearsal ahead of Wednesday night’s Gala concert. And there’s still three days to go.

Images © Chris Wenham / University of Kent

In pictures: Summer Music Week 2021

It was marvellous to get back to music-making at the end of term, to bring musicians and audiences together for the annual musical farewell to the University’s academic year. Many thanks to the University photographer, Matt Wilson, for capturing the events throughout the course of the week.

Big Band: Sunday Swing

 

Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital
(read the programme here)

 

Music Scholars’ Evening Recital: Canterbury Cathedral

(read the programme here)

Closing concert: Music for a Summer’s Day

(read the programme here)

With thanks to all the performers, audiences, staff and technicians who made this all possible. An especial farewell and thanks to all those who were performing for the final time.

Images: © Matt Wilson / University of Kent

Summer Music Week: Big Band Sunday Swing and Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital

The first two events in this year’s Summer Music Week have got the series off to a flying start; at the weekend, the Sunday Swing with the University Big Band, conducted by Ian Swatman, and vocalist third-year Elle Soo, went down a storm!

The event was also the inaugural livestream direct from Colyer-Fergusson and had a lively online audience watching at the time – since then, it has gone on to garner (at the time of writing) well over 800 views – if you missed it, you can see it below or watch it here:

Yesterday saw the first of two Scholars’ Recitals (the second takes place on Friday in Canterbury Cathedral); a selection of this year’s Music Performance Scholars presented a programme including a classic number made famous by Etta James, some sparkling French flute repertoire, and closed with a vivacious duet for two violas by Telemann.

l-r: Weiqi (Arthur) Zhang; Euan Bonnar; Charlotte Cane; Kira Hilton; Joanna Adaran; Beth Chapman

Many thanks to all the performers involved in both events; it’s great to be back making live music in Colyer-Fergusson once more and welcome audiences through the doors; and it’s not over yet…

Summer Music Week 2021: rehearsals are underway

For the first time since December, we’re able to resume in-person rehearsals once more, as we come together in preparation for this year’s somewhat smaller (but no less welcome!) Summer Music Week.

It’s the first week of term, and at first the Chamber Choir and String Sinfonia have begun rehearsals, as well as some of this year’s Music Scholars in preparation for various recitals.

Photo: Flo Peycelon

Wednesday night saw Concert Band and Big Band back in action:

Photo; Jonathan Stott

And Thursday saw the Symphony Orchestra coming together tutti for the first time since March 2020:

Photo: Ian Swatman

rbt

It’s a very welcome return to music-making! Follow the pictorial story through the term over on our Pinterest board here; Summer Music Week is on its way…

Going digital: part two

Filming of some of this year’s Music Scholars and Music Award Holders has continued this week, featuring third-year Film Studies student and pianist, Kiyan Agadjani:

and second-year Physics student and Indian classical singer, Ridima Sur.

Both students will be appearing in a special filmed performance by some of our student musicians which we will be presenting online shortly.

Part of their sessions were also livestreamed over on our Instagram IGTV account, a charming piano piece by Schumann and a mesmerising raga, both of which you can see here:

Stay tuned…

Lockdown Lunchtime Concert with University Music Scholars

In these unusual times, we’re pleased to present a ‘virtual’ Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Concert as part of a re-imagined Summer Music Week.

The concert featured several Music Performance Scholars and Award Holders, who had each filmed themselves performing in isolation from their homes around the country. From Scottish piping to French art-song, nimble woodwind pieces and a song from Disney’s Prince of Egypt, a novel way of highlighting just some of the musicians that take part in our extra-curricular music-making.

With thanks to all the performers (and their accompanists!) who took part.

Debussy at Dockside: Music Scholars perform at Medway

Congratulations to University Music Performance Scholars Tom Wust and Meg Daniel, who performed trio music at the  Galvanising Cafe last Friday as part of Dockside Live, a series of lunchtime concerts each Friday during term-time run by the University’s Arts and Culture team.

A home-turf event for fourth-year clarinettist Tom, who reads Business Studies on the Medway campus, the concert also featured second-year flautist and Law student, Meg, in a colourful programme with Your Loyal Correspondent joining them on the piano in the Petit Suite by Debussy,  the slow movement of Piano Concerto K467 by Mozart,  and closing with three cheeky waltzes by Shostakovich.

The Galvanising Cafe is a great, informal performance space, and the opportunity to avail oneself of coffee and pre-concert toasted sandwiches and fries is never one to miss…

Following the concert, we grabbed some of the students in the audience who had travelled over from Canterbury to visit the HMS Gannet, and then a crucial post-performance analysis over a meal at Nando’s with the Medway Music Engagement Officer, Chris Barrett (pictured, right).

Our thanks to Chris for the opportunity to participate in the Dockside Live series – we look forward to coming back…

Summer Music Week: Day Three and Four

Two further music-filled days as part of this year’s Summer Music Week; on Monday, the University Rock Choir, directed by alumni Jonathan Grosberg, had an enthusiastic audience clapping along to songs such as Don’t Stop Believin’  and Roar; the choir’s debut brought a standing ovation in Colyer-Fergusson Hall.

And Tuesday saw the annual Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital, which began in unique fashion this year with first-year Biosciences student and highland bagpiper Eloise Jack – her skiriling pipes were heard outside the hall before she entered on the balcony to instant applause.

Final-year Computer Science student, Robert Loveless, dazzled in a rhythmically vivacious Bossa Merengova by Mike Mower.

Four final-year violinists then delivered a pitch-perfect performance of Telemann’s second Concerto for Four Violins; Zaneta Balsevic (reading Music Performance), Florence Nightingale Obote (Biosciences), Molly Richetta (Mathematics) and Melody Brooks (Psychology).

The programme took a folksy turn in the form of two saxophone duets from two first-year Music Scholars, David Curtiss (reading Physics) and Megan Daniels (Law), in melodies from Bulgaria and Spain.

The concert drew to a close with final-year sopranos Fleur Sumption (History of Art) and Helen Sotillo (LLB Law Senior Status) in a lyrical rendition of the ‘Barcarolle’ from The Tales of Hoffmann.

A highly responsive audience greeted all the performers at the end for a collective bow – our thanks to all the players. The concert was followed by the awarding of this year’s Music Prizes, about which more anon…

Image: Millie Falla

There was Of Course time for selfies afterwards…

Our music festival continues tonight with the annual roof-raising extravaganza that is the valedictory concert from the University Concert Band and Big Band under the baton of Ian Swatman. Still plenty more to come…

Main photos: © Matt Wilson