A crop of photos taken last Friday at the new Colyer-Fergusson construction site. The windows of the upper ensemble rehearsal rooms and the staff offices have been going in recently, as well as the rather large window in the western side of the concert-hall.
Thefoyer roof-light is in the process of being installed as well.
View all the images from the construction project by clicking on the album below. Exciting times…
Congratulations to our brothers and sisters over on the Medway campus, who won ‘Society of the Year’ and ‘Most Improved Society’ for the Medway Music Society at the UMSA awards ceremony at the King Charles Hotel last night.
Vice-President and Secretary, Jack McDonnell won Personality of the Year, whilst President this year Ethan Sacre picked up the award for ‘Outstanding Contribution.’
This is some well-deserved recognition for all the hard work the trio of Executives (together with Secretary, Clive Berry) has done to create a vibrant musical society life on the Medway campus, with band nights, competitions, links with local music businesses and charity fund-raising. As anyone who’s followed their activities on Facebook and their blog will know, it’s been a buzzing year both for musical activities as well as other society life on the Medway campus.
Hats off to the team; what will next year bring, I wonder.
My review of last night’s barn-storming gig by the Julian Joseph Trio (and surprise guest) has gone onto the Sounds New Festival’s blog this morning: you can read it here.
A fiery, inventive and terrific gig; and who was the special guest ? Well, you’ll just have to read it to find out…
Photo credit: Peter Cook.
Colossus of the British jazz world, fearlessly inventive pianist, presenter on Radio 3, and stalwart of the British jazz scene, Julian Joseph brings his trio to the Gulbenkian Theatre this Sunday.
I’ve written more on Julian Joseph here, where he answers ‘Three Questions’ about coming to the Gulbenkian as part of the Sounds New Festival that’s ringing around Canterbury at the moment.
Here’s Julian Joseph playing ‘Autumn Leaves.’ Be sure not to miss this, a chance to hear one of the major figures of British jazz in intimate trio mode. Umissable: see you there…
The Gulbenkian Theatre will be bursting with music, art, face-painting and more on Sunday to celebrate Worldwide Mothers’ Day as part of Sounds New Festival this year.
From 11am to 3.30pm, Musical Mother’s Day will include performances on the hour, every hour, including art and drama workshops, song, dance, instrumental music, flowery fun, food and more, in an event that will please youngsters of all ages!
From 12pm at regular intervals throughout the day, events will feature Canterbury Christ Church Chamber Orchestra, Canterbury Youth Music Big Band, Wide-Eyed Theatre, Dance Warehouse and Simon Langton Girls School dancers and much, much more!
In the afternoon, eminent British jazz pianist Julian Joseph will lead a jazz workshop, prior to his trio’s evening concert later on.
The event is free to children and £5 for adults. More details here: come and join the fun!
A new feature, profiling this year’s new crop of University Music Scholars: this week, viola-player Amy Wharton.
—-
The first instrument I ever played was the recorder at the age of four at my Infants School, which was followed by the viola at age eight, the clarinet at age ten, the piano at eleven and the double bass at thirteen. The viola was always my favourite instrument, and at age nine I started attending Wellingborough Music and Performing Arts Centre every Saturday morning, playing in various groups until the afternoon.
I then started secondary school (Weavers School in Wellingborough) and joined the school orchestra, which I was a part of until it disbanded two years later. When I was eleven, I auditioned to be in a county group, and successfully became a member of the Northamptonshire County Training Strings, and that is really where it all started. The next year I became a member of the Training Orchestra and the String Sinfonia, until I moved up into the Northamptonshire County Youth Orchestra when I was fifteen and when I was seventeen I sat on the front desk. I also became part of a string quartet (the Rank in 4) and did paid gigs.
Since being at Kent I have been delighted to find a thriving orchestra, which I enjoy being a part of as well as the Camerata. I am also looking forward to rehearsing the string quartet that I have set up along with three other string players. There are lots of musical opportunities at Kent, the concert at the Cathedral was amazing and I’m looking forward to the new building that we will be based in next year.
A University Music Scholar and saxophonist with the Concert and Big Bands, first-year Tim Pickering was invited to play in Canterbury’s Sounds New Festival of Contemporary Music on Saturday, as part of the ‘Big Brand New’ band. Here’s his story…
—-
Saturday 5th May… What an exciting day!
In the morning, I was invited to play my tenor sax in Whitefriars shopping centre in town with ‘Big Brand New’, an exciting new band set 
up by Peter Cook and the music department at Langton Girls School. Big Brand New is somewhat of a hybrid between a ‘traditional’ big band, and a junk orchestra! The musicians are from local schools, and a few University students, from Canterbury Christchurch and Kent.
The set started off with a few tunes composed by Peter especially for the band, followed by arrangement of Count Basie’s Flight of the Foo Birds. The final number we player was Herbie Hancock’s ‘Watermelon Man’, for which the ‘junk’ orchestra joined the rest of the band. There were several ingenious instruments being used, the bass line being played on tuned lengths of drainpipe, along with a percussion section comprising of everything from man-hole covers to buckets. There were also some assorted flutes and clarinets made out of lengths of PVC pipe!
The band certainly has some great potential, and it was brilliant to see so many young musicians getting stuck into taking solos and improvising… a daunting task, especially in the middle of a busy shopping square! I think that the use of the ‘scrap’ instruments was great – my favourite was the drainpipe bass! – I am very excited to be involved with the band. There is talk of in the future involving some of the school’s keen Music Technology students to mix some live sampling into the band, which will certainly make this band very different to anything else I’ve played in before!
After ‘Big Brand New’ had finished playing, KYJO (The Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra) took to the stage, just as the heavens opened! Despite the weather, they performed a fantastic set, and continued to draw a crowd, despite the conditions! They concluded with a lively performance of Jaco Pastorius’s ‘The Chicken’. Whilst listening to KYJO, myself and another sax player from ‘Big Brand New’ were interviewed by ‘CSR FM’ (97.4FM or online!) for their Saturday evening Jazz Show, 8-9pm. I’m sure there’ll be lots on about Sounds New in the next few weeks, so it’ll be worth tuning in.
In the evening, I was lucky enough to have a ticket to watch the BBC Big Band perform at the Gulbenkian… And just wow! I don’t think I need to say much more!
Two days in, and the festival has certainly started in style! I look forward to what the next few weeks bring…
—-
The Sounds New Festival of Contemporary Music runs until Tuesday 15 May.
I’m delighted to say that details of our Summer Music events here at the University have just been published online.
Taking place from Wednesday 6 – Sunday 10 June, Summer Music celebrates the end of the academic year with a rich feast of musical events, including a Scholars’ Lunchtime Concert; the annual Big Band Gala at the Gulbenkian; Lunchtime at the Labyrinth; a two-choirs choral concert at St Mildred’s, Canterbury; the Musical Theatre Society; and the traditional summer Music Society concert, complete with balloons and cream-teas!
Click here to view all that’s happening, as University Music provides a vibrant conclusion to another year of music-making.
