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.

How 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.