Concerts and events reviews.
Congratulations to everyone involved in last Saturday’s annual Colyer-Fergusson Cathedral Concert; to all the performers in the University Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, the stewards, those working behind the scenes, conductor Susan Wanless and soprano soloist, Rachel Nicholls.
Congratulations to the Chamber Choir, which participated in an unusual event last Friday at St Michael’s Church, Hernhill.
During the winter months, the church offers the opportunity to escape the pace of the Digital Age, and sit for an hour in a fifteenth-century venue by candlelight, listening to a sequence of music and silence as a means of creating a calm, meditative space in which to reflect and relax.
The Chamber Choir performed an evocative combination of choral music and silence by candlelight, creating a meditative space rich in contrasting colours. The church bell striking eight o’clock during a moment of silence partway through was especially atmospheric, matched by the sighing of the wind in the roof, the creaking of the ancient timbers and the guttering candle-flames dancing in the draughty dark.
A magical experience for an appreciative congregation; the Choir is talking about doing the event again, so watch this (meditative) space…
It’s been an action-packed musical week this week, with several events unfolding across three days.
Composer Russell Hepplewhite came to Colyer-Fergusson on Wednesday to hear Minerva Voices, the University’s upper-voice chamber choir, perform his recent work, Fly away over the sea, as part of the choir’s lunchtime concert. Members of the String Sinfonia joined the choir for a programme which includes music by Vivaldi, Mozart and Ola Gjeilo, alongside plainsong and an American spiritual
Yesterday, the string were in action once again as the String Sinfonia performed a tea-time concert of serenades, including works by Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Britten’s Simple Symphony.
The action continues tonight, as the University Chamber Choir performs a meditative service by candlelight at St Michael’s Church, Hernhill, called Breathing Space, an hour-long event combining music and silence that creates a space for tranquility and reflection. The event starts at 7.30pm and is free, and draws the week to a close in an oasis of calm.
Which will last until next Friday’s annual roof-raising gala concert with the University Concert and Big Bands…
It was a busy weekend for the Music department; on Friday, the University Chamber Choir travelled out to perform at Wye Parish Church, at which the choir premiered three movements from Between Worlds by composer / violinist Anna Phoebe as part of an exhilarating programme.
And on Sunday afternoon, we were delighted to welcome back various alumni musicians as the University Camerata came together to perform Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, narrated by Senior Lecturer in Drama, Will Wollen.
Now to get on with the rest of this week…!
Congratulations to all the performers involved in last Friday’s performance of Dido and Aeneas. Students and staff in the University Cecilian Choir and String Sinfonia were joined by some of the Music Performance Scholarship singers in a production of Purcell’s timeless story of love and loss, conducted by Your Loyal Correspondent.
Costumed courtiers promenading the foyer greeted audience members arriving for the performance, whilst a string trio performed trio sonatas on the foyer-stage. Below are some of the photos from the dress rehearsal that afternoon.
Special mention to postgraduate Law student and Music Scholar, Helen Sotillo, as the doomed Queen of Carthage, and third-year Scholar, Fleur Sumption, as Belinda, and second-year Drama student and Scholar, Carmen Mackey, as the evil Sorceress.
And here is the cast and performers taking their bows after the performance:
Thanks to photographer Molly Hollman, not only for these atmospheric photos of the performers in last Friday’s Lunchtime Concert, but also for her spectacular landscape photography which featured in the performance.
A string quartet of third-year students Florence Obote, Melody Brooks, Molly Richetta (all of whom are University Music scholars or Award holders) and cellist Ken Macdonald, together with Your Loyal Correspondent at the piano, unfurled the meditative music of Icelandic composer, Olafur Arnalds, into a darkened concert-hall, against a backdrop of Molly’s photographs capturing the natural landscapes from around the country.
A rapt audience was kept spellbound during the entire performance; thanks to all the performers.
We were delighted to welcome the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, Michael Ellis, to Colyer-Fergusson yesterday, at the formal announcement of the successful partnership bid for funding from the Cultural Development Fund to develop culture and heritage sites in the Thames Estuary region.
Pictured here is Michael looking around the concert-hall with Director of University Music, Susan Wanless, and in conversation with Director of Arts and Culture at the University, Liz Moran, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen Cox. Congratulations to everyone involved in the successful bid.
Images © Matt Wilson / University of Kent
The preparations to the University Big Band’s annual Christmas Swingalong were featured on BBC Radio Kent last night on The Dominic King Show.
Your Loyal Correspondent is heard talking with the conductor of the Big Band, Ian Swatman, as well as student players Owen Kerry (Physics), Megan Daniel (Law), Fleur Sumption (History of Art) and David Curtiss (Physics) about life in the ensemble, fitting music into their academic life, and Christmas jumpers…
You can listen to the interview online here, starting at 1 hr 28 mins and 31 secs. Many thanks to Dominic King for featuring the band on the airwaves.
