Monthly Archives: July 2012

Building for the future

New building: latest images: look, no scaffolding!

Leave a comment

The scaffolding inside the concert hall, which has previously provided such great opportunities for artistic photography, was finally removed last Wednesday, and here are a few photos immediately after it disappeared.

Interior: without scaffolding

Rooflight

Without the scaffolding, you can really get a sense of the amount of light afforded by both the western window and the magnificent roof-light (pictured above). That first moment, seeing the hall in glory, was apparently quite intense – the Director of Music might even have shed a tear!

And finally, a shot from the balcony at the northern end of the building,  looking back towards the lighting box.

See a full gallery of all the images from  the project here.

Notes on Music

Making Music: live from Open Day

3 Comments

It’s that time of year again: we’re here once again at the ‘Making Music’ stand for the University’s Open Day.

It’s just after 9.30, and we’ve had six visitors to the stand already, from Birmingham, Staffordshire, West Sussex and elsewhere. This time, we are handily located right next to the Gulbenkian stand and also the Accommodation Office which crucially has a couple of Chuba Chups lollipop carousels (pictured)…

We’ll be live on Twitter, keep up with all that’s happening at @UniKent_Music as well.

We’ll be reporting live from here throughout the day, follow it all on the blog here.

20120707-095755.jpg

10.30 and we’re up to eighteen visitors to the stand, second cup of coffee of the morning and the obligatory stock of sweets which the Director of Music brings each time has just been broached; we’re now fuelled by caffeine and Maltesers. Ace…

11.30 and there seems to be a trend of visitors interested in music alongside degrees in History, Law and English. Although not all three at the same time, I should point out. Quite a few saxophonists, too; perhaps I should warn the conductor of the Big Band that, come September 2013, he may well have a Very Big Band on his hands.

12.30pm and the prize for the Visitor from the Farthest-Flung Corner goes to Gabrielle, who has travelled from Belgium: welcome! Still trending on Historians. A visitor from Bath, sadly just pipped to the post for the VF-FC award by Gabrielle: condolences!

2pm and we’re into the final hour, having taken advantage of an ever-so-slight lunchtime lull in visitors to grab sandwiches while we could.

3pm: and that’s it for the day. Over fifty visitors finding out about all the musical activities that happen as part of the student experience at Kent; lots of interest too in the new music building which will open its doors this autumn. A wide spectrum of musical tastes and interests, including lots of interest in jazz; I can see Jazz@5 becoming a regular feature from September 2013 onwards if all theses interested come to Kent! Thank you to all who attended throughout the day, safe travelling back home.

Building for the future

New building: latest images

1 Comment

A meeting with the architects yesterday turned into a site visit; I’ll spare you the images of myself and colleagues kitted out in the obligatory H&S hats, boots and reflective jackets and bring you instead some pictures of the latest developments:

Foyer
Foyer space, looking north

The foyer and reception space continues to unfold; the image above shows the view looking northwards, from what will be the continuation into the Gulbenkian Theatre, looking back towards the staircase to the first floor and across what will be the foyer space; here, the small foyer performance stage will be situated, together with tables and chairs.

Foyer staircase
Staircase to upper floor

Above, the foot of the stairs to the upper floor; beyond it, to the left, there’s a glimpse of the social space which will located in the north-east corner, a place to meet, to work, or to wait for a performance to begin.

Rehearsal room window
Let there be light...

Moving upstairs, the two large ensemble rehearsal rooms are taking shape as bright, airy spaces with the admitting of natural light through floor-to-ceiling windows; above, one of the windows in the smaller (yes, the smaller!) of the two rooms. On concert nights, these rooms will also function as green rooms for performers.

Foyer roof-light
Foyer roof-light and balcony

The foyer roof-light (above) will afford lots of light into the reception space below, underneath it will be a balcony offering standing-views overlooking the foyer performance stage below.

Hall balcony
Wood you believe it

The final image is inside the concert hall itself, from the balcony and looking northward again towards what will eventually be the choral seating. The wooden panelling (right), which will bedeck the inside of the hall, continues to appear.

Exciting times indeed. See a full gallery of all the images from yesterday, and throughout the project, by clicking the album below.

Images

 

 

Notes on Music, Now Hear This!

The Wheel Turns: the Brodskys on Radio 3

4 Comments

The Director of Music came in to work buzzing this morning, having been to Draper’s Hall in London last night to hear the Brodsky Quartet celebrating their fortieth anniversary in their ‘Wheel of 4-Tunes’ concert, which was broadcast live on Radio 3.

The concert, which by the sounds of it was a wonderfully engaging affair, saw members of the quartet introducing the ideas behind this novel approach to concert programming – pieces performed in the concert are selected at random by the spinning of the wheel – and talking about each of the pieces played.

As will happen when they bring the concert to Kent in the autumn, members of the audience spun the wheel to select each of the works in last night’s concert; Stravinsky’s Three Pieces, the Lutoslawski Quartet in the first half, and Tunde Jegede’s warmly evocative String Quartet no.2   (chosen in a lovely touch by Holly, daughter of viola-player, Paul Cassidy) and Mendelssohn’s op.80 in the second half (the latter chosen by the presenter of the programme, Martin Handley).

The Brodsky will be bringing the wheel, and all forty pieces on it, to the new Colyer-Fergusson Hall  in November for what promises to be lively, entertaining and excitingly unpredictable event. Not even the players themselves will know what will feature in the concert; you might hear Debussy, Ravel, Verdi, Beethoven, Britten, Barber – or even one of the pieces the quartet have themselves commissioned. Hopefully they’ll even bring the umbrella with them as well (you’ll have to listen later in the concert for the significance of that…).

The concert was broadcast last night, and is available on iPlayer for a week here.

And here are the Quartet performing another work by Jegede, Exile and Return, together with the composer himself, at the Bury St Edmunds Festival.