Following on from the previous feature, a gallery of images from the Donor reception held in the foyer of the Colyer-Fergusson Building, with some of the supporters of the University.
Images: © Matt Wilson / University of Kent
This morning’s reception in the foyer was a wonderful opportunity for us to say a very warm ‘thank you’ to some of the philanthropic supporters of the University, and in particular some of those who support music-making at Kent.
We’re very fortunate to have so many people interested in supporting the University in all manner of ways, of which supporting music through the Scholarship scheme and donations towards the Colyer-Fergusson building is crucial to nurturing, developing and encouraging all the young musicians who come to Kent. This morning’s reception was an opportunity for us to say thank you to some of them, for their continued interest in Kent and in the young minds and musical talents that arrive each September.
Two of our Music Scholarship students, soprano Kathryn Cox and trumpeter and singer, Joe Prescott, were among the crowd, talking about music-making and what the generosity of the supporters allows them to achieve.
A lovely occasion, and a reminder of the importance of what the University does, not only for those who are studying here, but to a much wider community. Our thanks to all of them.
The University Cecilian Choir, fresh from its seasonal debut on the foyer-stage at Christmas, is currently in rehearsals in preparation for its concert towards the end of term, in which the Choir will present a range of contemporary pieces alongside Hassler’s Missa super Dixit Maria.
But before then, the Choir will be singing in a lunchtime concert next Wednesday, as the ‘Watch This Space’ series celebrates LGBT Month with the music of Benjamin Britten. The programme will include movements from the Ceremony of Carols including harpist Emma Murton; folk-songs sung by Kathryn Cox and Paris Noble; and will conclude with movements from Britten’s rambunctious Friday Afternoons.
The event starts at 1.10pm; admission is free.
Rachel Podger, a leading exponent in the field of period performance, will be appearing at the Colyer-Fergusson Hall next week, in a programme of music for solo violin.
Former leader of The English Concert from 1997 to 2002 and a guest director with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as establishing the Brecon Baroque Festival, Rachel is an inspirational performing musician. The concert on Friday 21 February includes Bach’s Flute Partita in A minor, transposed for violin, and Biber’s ‘Guardian Angel,’ the final work from his Mystery Sonatas.
Here’s Rachel at the BBC Proms back in 2007, in the exquisite second movement of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D minor, playing with Andrew Manze.
More details on our What’s On page here.
As regular readers of this blog will know (well, maybe both of them will…), I’m a fan of British saxophonist Martin Speake, having written about him here and here when his playing has been broadcast on Radio 3; and I am Very Excited to announce that the Martin Speake trio will be coming to the Colyer-Fergusson Hall in March.
Speake has been a vital part of the British jazz scene ever since bursting onto the musical map as founder-member of the ground-breaking, ofttimes blistering sax quartet Itchy Fingers during the 1980s, a period which witnessed something of an explosion with groups like The Jazz Warriors and Loose Tubes and the arrival of Courtney Pine, Cleveland Watkiss, Django Bates and Andy Sheppard. A fertile period for British jazz, which had rather languished in the doldrums during the 1970s, and a time when that giant of British pianists, Keith Tippett, said he had to pick potatoes in order to make a living.
Emerging as part of this renaissance of British jazz, Speake forged a path which later saw the creation of the Martin Speake Group, with the album ‘Change of Heart’ released on that bastion of jazz record labels, ECM, in 2006, on which Speake partners the great pianist Bobo Stenson, bassist Mick Hutton and drummer Paul Motian. Active as a performer, he also teaches at Trinity Laban and the Royal Academy of Music.
https://soundcloud.com/martin-speake/09-when-your-lover-has-gone
Speake’s playing is at once effortlessly lyrical and restlessly, dextrously inventive, and is wholly accessible without being predictable or trite; it’s always subtle, assured and with a deft ear for melodic line. I’m ecstatic that the trio is bringing its current UK tour to the campus. Catch them live in the concert-hall on Wednesday 2 April at 1.10pm; admission is free. This is one gig you definitely won’t want to miss…
I’m reminded anew of this article in the Guardian some months ago about the impact culture and the arts are having in East Kent.
Writing last year, the Director of the Turner Contemporary Gallery, Victoria Pomeroy, states that
the arts are leading the way in raising the profile of the area as a desirable destination. From Whitstable to Folkestone, Canterbury to Dover, arts and culture are making a significant contribution to the tourism offer.
With the tourist industry bringing in ‘£3.2bn’ to the area annually, the partnership between the arts, heritage and the tourist industry is rejuvenating the county’s economic development, bringing visitors to historic and cultural attractions throughout the region.
Last year’s bid for East Kent as ‘City of Culture,’ drawn up by collaboration across venues and organisations across East Kent. may not have been successful, it’s true, but it does reflect a changing mentality across the county, triangulated in investment in iconic venues such as the recently-refurbished Marlowe Theatre and Beaney House of Art and Knowledge, the Turner Contemporary in Margate, and the University’s own award-winning Colyer-Fergusson Building. Since 2011, Revelation St Mary‘s has been developing an exciting series of events at the heart of Ashford town, and there are festivals such as the Canterbury Festival, Deal Festival, Lounge on the Farm, and Sounds New attracting major performers to the area; this year, in May, the new Whitstable Literary Festival will be launched.
There’s a sense that professionals across these industries locally are starting to forge working relationships, building on the sense nascent in the City of Culture bid that there is a vibrant county-wide cultural presence that can make a significant contribution towards supporting regional economic growth. We’ve certainly noticed an increased cultural vibrancy both here and next door in the Gulbenkian Theatre, with its developing partner-groups and youth theatre projects, and the number of local, regional and national performers coming into the music building; Kent really does have a lively artistic scene, one that engages the community across the age-range and brings them a high standard of artistic experience The recent high-speed rail link means Canterbury, Ashford and Margate are within easy reach of London, and are now more readily accessible. Notwithstanding the impact the Colyer-Fergusson building is having on the student experience and music-making provision on the campus, it’s exciting to see it forming a part of the cultural landscape developing across Kent.
Read the article online here.
Remember, classical pianists: practice regularly, and you too could end up, err, playing alongside Metallica at the Grammys…
*heads off to a practice-room*
The University Musical Theatre Society raises the curtain to the term this weekend, with performances of the ever-popular Sweet Charity at the Marlowe Studio Theatre, in Canterbury.
Performances are this Friday 24th January, 8pm, and a matinee and evening performance on Saturday 25th January at 2pm & 8pm. Tickets are £10 (concessions £9), and Discovery Tickets £8 (16-26 or Full-Time Student), so you don’t have to be a Big Spender to see it…
To whet your appetite, here’s the Society’s trailer…
Book tickets online here, and see the Society’s event page on Facebook here. It promises to be quite an occasion…
Follow the Music Theatre Society on Twitter.
