From the meeting of music and science in the recent Cellular Dynamics lunchtime concert, pianists Dan Harding and Matthew King, with projections by Dr Dan Lloyd in the School of Biosciences.
Images © School of Biosciences / Dr Wei-Feng Zue
All posts by Daniel Harding
Scholars’ Spotlight: Zaneta Balsevic
Continuing the series profiling Music Scholarship students at the University of Kent. This week, first-year studying Music, Zaneta Balsevic.
My interest in music was well established from the age of 11. This interest came during a local school concert where I saw a group of string players perform. This had an immediate impact on me and soon after I convinced my parents to register me for the local music school, which became my daily passion. I began to appreciate the power and meaning that music has as well as develop my performance skills on the violin. In my native country, Lithuania, I studied in a music school for four years before moving to the UK. There, I was part of a string ensemble, with whom we performed regularly in music school concerts as well as national festivals. A year later, I became part of a piano trio and in 2010 we won 2nd place in the Third Annual Dainius Trinkunas Junior Chamber Music Festival at the Lithuanian National Academy of Music and Theatre. We also performed in numerous other competitions and concerts.
As I grew older, I became increasingly captivated by my instrument. I have learnt that a successful performance requires many challenges to be overcome such as gaining high self-confidence and learning to communicate musically with the audience.
Since I moved to the UK in 2012, my goal has been tightly focused; to study music at a highly respected music institution. I believed that a conservatoire education would enable me to become a successful professional violinist. I also believed it is a great place to meet like-minded musicians and develop ensemble skills through playing in chamber ensembles and orchestras. This motivated me to prepare for an audition and as a result I gained place to study Violin Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. Yet, I soon realised that university is a more suitable place for me as a musician and a student. I believe that having gained an academic degree it would enable me to be more flexible with regards to my career options, while being part of orchestra and chamber groups, therefore helping me to developing equally as a student and a musician.
I was a member of the Musica Nova Academy, where I participated in various concerts often taking place in St. Steven’s Church and the Rossotrudnichestvo Centre in Kensington. For a year, I have been a part of trio ensemble in my music school. With the trio, we have performed a tango piece Primavera Portena and Ave Maria by Astor Piazzolla. This is also when I passed my grade 8 in violin with distinction.
One of my greatest performance experiences was at the international music competition in Bulgaria ‘Zvezdna Dga’ where I performed Tchaikovsky’s Melodie. I was awarded first place in the category of solo classical performance. This experience helped me to overcome my greatest fears and to realise the importance of the performer as a communicator who isn’t afraid to imprint their own interpretation of the music that they play.
In addition to playing at ‘Music Nova’ I have also fully supported my secondary school music department in many ways. I was a member of the school Orchestra and I also lead the string orchestra and played in the band for a musical last year. In addition to this, I led a sectional of 60 primary school students in the school’s annual ‘Primary School Choral and Orchestral Day’. I believe that working with less-experienced musicians has helped to strengthen my communication, leadership and social skills and I enjoyed acting as a musical role model for younger musicians in the school.
I have greatly enjoyed participation in a music competition ‘Stars of the Albion’ in February 2014 and have won a second place in the category of solo violin classical music.
Visiting the University of Kent, I was astonished by this beautiful place, course, and people. This led to a decision to study here. Currently, I participate in University Choir and Orchestra (Medway), Chamber Music Forum and City of Rochester Symphony Orchestra.
#EarBox series brings Chamber Choir to Studio 3 Gallery Fri 24 Feb
The #EarBox concert series bringing music and visual art together continues with a visit to Studio 3 Gallery from the University Chamber Choir on Friday 24 February at 1.10pm.
Set against the backdrop of Soft Formalities, the gallery’s new exhibition, the Chamber Choir will unveil a choral programme in the venue’s sonorous acoustic, ranging from Purcell to Alec Roth, taking in madrigals by Hassler and Lassus, and works by Tavener, Peter Warlock and Alexander Campkin.
The new exhibition explores layered complexity in a series of paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramics, and the music provides a similar, sonic exploration in line and colour, from the drama of Purcell to the ravishing hues of Alexander Campkin, including the dramatic simplicity of Tavener’s The Lamb and a veritable textural tour de force for double choir in Lithuanian. There is also a rare opportunity to hear a piece by the Canadian female composer, Jean Coulthard.
The event is free, and starts at 1.10pm; come and experience the gallery’s latest display with an astonishing aural landscape from the Baroque to the contemporary. Find out more about the event here, and read more about Soft Formalities at the gallery here.
Scholars’ Spotlight: Fleur Sumption
Continuing the series profiling Music Scholarship students at the University of Kent. This week, first year Art History student, Fleur Sumption.
Ever since I can remember, it seems that constantly being surrounded by music of some kind has had a massive impact on my life. Whether it was my Grandad taking me to various symphonies or being sat as a baby on the lap of the drummer in my Mum’s Jazz Band that she ran. Initially, I was encouraged to learn the piano, and for a child who could rarely sit still, when I got to about 8 years old it was decided that I’d rather take up the alto sax and have singing lessons instead.
My introduction to the world of the Theatre started at age 10, when I was picked for the children’s choir in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End. Having been “bitten by the performing bug”, this marked the start of many musical possibilities. I then went on to participate in Bill Kenwright’s touring production of Joseph in the following year, and appeared on Children in Need as part of the Joseph Cast. In 2012, my passion for singing increased when I was in the English National Opera cast of Carmen at the London Coliseum and was swiftly followed by recording Andrew Lloyd Webber’s children’s recording of Cats with The Really Useful Company.
Closer to home, I frequently participated in Music Festivals in Essex, winning classes across the seven years when I competed. In 2015 this lead me to be named Havering Young Musician of the Year, through the annual competition ran by the Rotary. I have also previously been awarded the Jacamar Shield for outstanding performance, having reached the Regional Finals of the Rotary competition. At home, I am a member of Firebirds, a local theatre group, being Cast as Martha in our production of the Secret Garden in 2014, and the Baker’s Wife in our 2016 production of Into the Woods– the latter of the two won many local awards, including “Best Performance by a person aged 18 and under” for my portrayal of the Baker’s Wife.
At my Secondary School and Sixth Form, The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School, I was able to complete my ABRSM Grade 8 for Singing, and also my Music Theatre Diploma. Throughout my years there, I have been fully involved in the music scene, being able to perform with the Symphonic Wind Band at the Mansion House for the new Lord Mayor each year, having travelled to Birmingham for the Music for Youth Finals, and played and sang around Italy in our bi-annual music trip. In my last year at Sixth Form, I was invited to perform at prestigious company events and gigs, including a wedding at the top of the Gherkin in London!
At University, I have been lucky enough to gain a place in the University Chamber Choir (pictured above) which is a huge privilege when you see the other musical talent in the University. Also taking part in Chorus and the Cecilian Choir, my musical diary is always bursting with events and rehearsals. I really love that there are so many wonderful musical opportunities here, and I am extremely excited to see how my musical journey will progress at the University of Kent.
Review: triumph for Musical Theatre Society in ‘Urinetown’
Hats off to the Musical Theatre Society for a terrific production of Urinetown at the Marlowe Theatre Studio in Canterbury this weekend; a hard-working ensemble were led by a strong cast, delivering an energy-filled and very physical performance, with some wonderful comic touches and some genuinely touching moments.
Soprano Francesca Charlton had great charm and vocal presence as Hope Cladwell, whilst Charlie Hunt was outstanding as a deliciously villainous Caldwell B Cladwell; Matt Cooke was a delight as Bobby Strong, ranging from rabble-rouser to vulnerable with great skill, whilst Charley Tench dominated the stage as Miss Pennywise – she brought a hugely expressive face to the production, striding around like a colossus whenever she was present. Philip Hunt was an engaging narrator in the role of Officer Lockstock, whilst Anna Reith played Little Sally with beguiling charm, the fulcrum character representing the meeting-point between the downtrodden citizenry and the money-grabbing powers of the upper world. And a tip of the hat to Daniel Hemming, who played several roles (including Pop Strong) and was a scene-stealer throughout the performance, with comic timing and a devilish sense of mischief that was a delight to behold.
Directors Ben Chamberlain and Sarah Butt demonstrated a great eye for tableaux and some fabulous ensemble pieces, and the set design and costumes showed real inventive flair; there were occasional salient nods to the current political climate too, plenty of in-character interaction with the audience both before the performance began and during the interval, which brought us closer to the production, and a few in-jokes to appeal to the local crowd.
Supported by a tight-knit and musically agile pit band under the baton of Jack Gray, this was a top-notch production greeted rightly with terrific applause from a packed house; bravo to everyone involved!
Main images courtesy of the Musical Theatre Society
Where science meets beauty: new exhibition in Colyer-Fergusson Gallery
Today marks the official opening of our new exhibition here in Colyer-Fergusson, an exploration of beauty in the scientific environment from the School of Biosciences.
Curated by Dr Dan Lloyd, the collection of images, each generated through engagement with current research, showcases the beauty in scientific data.
The exhibition aims to shed some light on laboratory life and the process of discovery in the biological sciences.
Every image shown has a story to tell, and explores cutting-edge research in the fields of biomedical science, biochemistry, genetics and biotechnology. In addition to introducing new and interesting concepts at the forefront of scientific research, the exhibition aims to encourage the viewer to explore their own perspectives on art within the context of the biological sciences.
The exhibition forms the backdrop to an exciting lunchtime concert on Weds 1 February in the concert-hall, Cellular Dynamics, which brings together science and music in image-projection and time-lapse photography, accompanied by live music for piano by Philip Glass and Tarik O’Regan, and Gavin Bryars’ My First Homage for two pianos, performed by Dan Harding and Matthew King (details here).
Admission is free, and the exhibition is on display during building opening hours. Find out more about the images drawn from the Stacey Collection here. The exhibition is supported by Creative Campus.
Flushed with success: MTS presents Urinetown
Stand by for the energetic trailer from the Musical Theatre Society for Urinetown, as the Society returns to the Marlowe Studio in style next week.
Originally opening in 2001, the original show parodies such august musicals as Les Miserables and We Will Rock You, and was inspired by a pay-per-use toilet, going on to win three Tony awards (the show, not the toilet…).
The production at the Marlowe Studio takes place on Friday 3rd February at 8pm, and on Saturday 4th February with a matinee at 3pm and evening performance at 8pm.
Splash out on tickets online here.
In memoriam: Veljo Tormis
Sad to learn over the weekend of the death of the Estonian composer, Veljo Tormis, at the age of eighty-six.
His extensive output of choral music is imbued with his love of native Estonian folksong, in which, within the space of a few bars, with notes carefully scattered here and there, he evokes landscapes and emotional spaces far beyond the often miniaturist scale of his colourful choral writing.
We performed his Spring Sketches last year, an exquisite series of tiny portraits of the season for upper-voices. The evocative opening of the St John’s Day Songs, building upwards to short fragments of melody echoing between the upper voices, captures this perfectly; the robust rhythm underpinning Bridge of Song illustrates his use of dancing rhythm inherited from his native musical tradition. The skittish, semi-chanted St Catherine’s Day Songs for upper voices evokes an almost ritualistic scene, gradually becoming more intense as static chords build to a feverish cry. Here’s the intimate On hilissuvi (It is later summer) painting the colours of the season:
But it’s the wonderful Laulud pulmades opitud (Songs learned at weddings) that perhaps encapsulates his music; hypnotic, rhythmic, dancing, powerful yet tinged with a wisp of melancholy.
A teacher at the Tallinn Music School, Tormis included Arvo Pärt amongst his students. As Tormis once remarked, ‘It is not I who makes use of folk music, it is folk music that makes use of me.’ His choral legacy stands as a testament both to the energy and power of folk music and to his exquisitely crafted choral writing.