Summer Music Week came to a flourishing finale on Saturday, as the last two days of our week-long end-of-year celebration seemed to go in a flash.
Friday afternoon saw the Music Theatre Society previewing their ‘Send in the Showtunes’ showcase on the foyer-stage at lunchtime, with some characterful renditions of parts of Little Shop of Horrors and Cabaret. The evening concert featured the Chamber and Cecilian Choirs in choral music from the Renaissance to the present-day – another opportunity to feature the new departmental harpsichord, in Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir – including the premiere of Ringing Changes by composer Matthew King, blending choral music with electronics.
The foyer and concert-hall were in their decorative best on Saturday for Music for a Summer’s Day, the traditional finale featuring the Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Choir bidding a final farewell to the musical year. There were tears, too, as final-year sopranos Kathryn Cox and Rowena Murrell stepped out from the Chorus’s bustling West Side Story medley to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone, and also as all those performing with the department for the final time stood for their applause. The Chamber Choir moved from the atmospheric landscape of Chydenius’ Autumn under final-year Emma Murton to lively pop and close-harmony jazz; Michael Sosinski handled his cork-popping solo in the Champagne Polka with regal dignity; and the concluding chorus of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ was conducted with great aplomb by Pro Vice-Chancellor, Keith Mander, a terrific champion of music at the University, for whom this was the last concert.
The sunshine was also on hand as performers, parents and guests mingled on the Registry lawn for post-performance cream teas, and the opportunity to say goodbye.
You can see photos from throughout the week over on our Pinterest board. Formal photographs from the week will be appearing shortly; stay tuned…