The spring term concluded with a final flourish last week, with three events in the space of five days. Monday’s evocative lunchtime concert with the Silk and Bamboo Ensemble was followed on Wednesday by an epic charity-raiser at St Edmund’s School with the University Big Band and Concert Band teaming up with the school’s own big band (see previous post).
Continuing the busy period for music at the University, the last concert on the Friday saw the newly-founded University Sirocco Ensemble making its debut with terrific poise; conducted by Deputy Director of Music Dan Harding, staff, students and Music Scholars combined in a deft and delightfully refined performance of Gounod’s Petite Symphonie before an enthusiastic audience at St Peter’s Methodist Church, Canterbury.
The church’s rich acoustics also resounded to the University Chamber Choir, who presented a mixture of sacred and secular pieces, concluding with a touching rendition of Lullabye by Billy Joel, conducted by second-year Drama student and Scholar, Steph Richardson, and a mesmerising performance of Whitacre’s Sleep with Dan Harding.
Our thanks to St Peter’s Methodist Church for the invitation to perform as part of their lunchtime concert series.
An eclectic week, and a fine way to draw down the curtain on all this term’s music-making. Keep an eye on our ‘What’s On’ web-page from mid-April, when there will be details about our celebrating the end of the academic year with our Summer Music events from 6-10 June.
Masters student and violinist Jon-Mark Grussenmeyer reviews the recent Cathedral concert.
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After rehearsing with Sue into the late hours of countless Thursdays, performance day was finally upon us. It promised to be a busy day, not least because my family had flown in from New Jersey to watch the concert.
My father kindly offered to drive me from my flat to the pre-concert rehearsal, at which we were supposed to arrive by 10:45. He promptly made a wrong turn at one of the roundabouts, though thankfully he was, at least, still driving on the wrong—I mean left—side of the road. By the time we pulled into town, I was nearly late. Knowing the English fondness for punctuality, and fearing being skewed by Sue’s angry baton, I sprinted into the Cathedral only to find that half of the orchestra had yet to arrive!
As a postgraduate student of Mediaeval Studies, I am often in the Cathedral, usually examining tombs and other objects related to long-dead people, but filling such a building with beautiful music was completely new to me. To sit and play in the vast nave, the gothic vaulting soaring far above our heads, sunlight piercing the leaded windows in dusty golden shafts, was, for me, an unforgettable experience.
After practicing for a while, we were allowed a brief respite, during which my stand partner and I rushed to purchase the coffee and muffins that would keep us alive for the rest of the afternoon. Of course, as we ate, poor Miriam was then subjected to a mini-lecture on the finer points of the Great Cloister’s architecture, which was only halted when we heard the rest of the orchestra tuning inside.
The second half of the rehearsal went quite well for the orchestra. Several times, the combination of such beautiful harmonies and stunning setting was so powerful that it brought tears to my eyes. Then, the beautiful shafts of sunlight began to shift until they shone directly in my face whenever I attempted to look up at Sue, so teary eyes necessarily remained an integral part of the rehearsal.
Rehearsal at an end, I ate a late lunch and wandered around town with my family. As evening wore on, we repaired back to my parents’ room in the Falstaff Hotel, where I changed into my dinner jacket and then walked back to the Cathedral, violin in hand. The only mishap en route was a ‘gentleman’ who attempted to lay hands on my dinner jacket whilst babbling something unintelligible, though I rid myself of him with a fierce look and a few well-chosen words.
We set up our instruments in the shadowy Cathedral Crypt, one of my favourite places in all of Canterbury, and waited for the concert to begin. As 7:30 rolled around, the chorus marched out to take their places on the enormous risers that seemed to reach as high as the quire’s rood screen, and we took our seats and tuned our instruments. I was stunned by the number of people filling the Nave, including the Lord Mayor, who was sitting across from me in the front row with his impressive chain of office. We certainly ought to have chains of office in the States. Finally, Sue, Jeremy, and the soloists emerged to thunderous applause, and the concert took off in the whirlwind of Haydn’s interpretation of Chaos. I am glad that I had time to appreciate my surroundings whilst playing during the rehearsal, for I had little time to notice anything but the notes, the baton, and Jeremy’s bow as I shifted into my intense concert mode. As I am on the front edge of the orchestra, I found it amply necessary to concentrate; in the complete view of the audience, I have to at least appear to know what I’m doing.
As with any performance I have ever completed, orchestral or theatrical, the concert seemed to fly by at breakneck speed, and suddenly, after weeks and weeks of tiring rehearsals, the orchestra and chorus were belting out the last magnificent strains of the Creation. As the echoes of our final chord lingered among the high-flung columns and the audience filled the nave with applause, I gazed up at that splendid Cathedral and at my fellow musicians, trying to etch the moment into my memory. Though I shall take many amazing memories back with me to New Jersey when my time here is over, the memory of this concert numbers among the very best.
The curtain has sadly fallen for the last time on this year’s production by the Music Theatre Society, and their assured performance of Sondheim’s Into the Woods that never puts a foot wrong. A strong cast and crew combined to give a professional production that at times transcended the auditorium and swept the audience beyond the theatre into the dark moral territory of Sondheim’s show in overwhelming fashion.
As Cinderella, Cheryl Ahmet demonstrated a refined, clear tone, and sang ‘No-one Is Alone’ in particular with a touching simplicity that was deeply moving.
Tenor Richard Simpson as the Baker projected great stage presence, and showed he had a clear insight into the musicality of his arias; he sang with considerable nuance to phrasing, and there’s a fine voice there as well. His delivery of ‘No More’ was full of subtlety and emotion, and held the attention of a rapt audience. Jenni Stewart played Little Red Riding Hood’s impudent childishness to perfection, and her face-muscles must have been working overtime as she portrayed the full range of impish expressions of the ever-snacking child.
The two princes were in very jolly form – the line ‘I was raised to be charming, not sincere’ was greeted with an appreciative and spontaneous round of applause.
Star of the show, however, has to have been scene-stealing Lucie Nash who, as the Baker’s Wife, was in inspired form as she painted the full spectrum of her character’s emotional range; moving from heart-rending desire for a child to puckish swagger and sultry seductress with the Prince, her comic timing in particular was immaculate, and the on-stage rapport with Richard Simpson as the Baker had a genuine warmth. Moving around the stage with an ease that radiated confidence, her ‘Moments in the Woods’ aria was especially beautifully crafted, and sensitive to the nuances in the score.
The orchestra and singers were held together well by the efficient direction of conductor Adam Abo Henriksen.
All in all, this is a triumphant achievement for director and this year’s society President, Lisa Crowhurst. The overall integrity of her sure-footed directorial vision was alive to the sophistication of both Sondheim’s music and text, and its clarity allowed a natural ebb and flow to the narrative drama in a manner which allowed the nuances of the players and the changing emotional and moral relationships between the characters to stand clear.
By the time you read this, the run will have come to its end and the woods will have been cleared; but the entire company can look back on three days of terrific accomplishment in the seaside playhouse. A triumphant achivement for the cast, crew and Society: bravo.
Second-year International Business student Matthew Bamford reviews last week’s Crypt Concert.
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The crypt of Canterbury Cathedral is an incredibly special and unique performance space. This intimate venue was host to the University of Kent Chamber Choir, conducted by Dan Harding and Steph Richardson.
The aim of the concert was to explore a whole day from the rise of the sun right the way through until midnight. Using a blend of sacred and secular pieces the programme consisted of madrigals, part-songs, motets and two pieces for solo piano.
From the first words of the plainsong Salve festa dies, I knew that I was in for a very enjoyable evening. This set the mood for the first section of the concert. Eric Barnum’s Dawn followed; the beginning of the piece using an incredibly simple harmonic structure. However at the end of the piece there was an interesting section where each of the sopranos sang an individual note of the scale. The composer’s idea here was to ‘create a golden light’. I think it is fair to say that this was most definitely captured.
My next highlight was the solo piano piece Un Sospiro. One of Liszt’z concert studies was expertly handled by second year music scholar Susan Li. The piece was received with rapturous applause after Li really brought out the richness of the piece.
As the day began to draw to a close, there was time for some playful madrigal singing before bed. Tutto lo di, a lively and fun piece written by Orlando di Lassus was intelligently sung by the choir. Despite the choir wanting to ‘play all day’, the long day did have to draw to a close with a beautiful rendition of this piece by Sullivan, conducted by Steph Richardson.
After twenty minutes in which to dwell on the first half, carrying a zebra print handbag (thanks Sophie!), the second half opened with the beautiful Sleep, Wayward Thoughts. The mood of the concert then headed to a more relaxed state as we heard In Stiller Nacht by Brahms. Sung in German, this piece focused on exploring the timelessness of night. This was captured well by the rhythmic sense of the choir and really was a very relaxing piece.
We were treated to another lovely piano solo, Chopin’s Nocturne in F Minor,’again received by the audience with excellent applause.
The concert ended with Eric Whitacre’s Sleep, which really is full of colour. This contemporary piece was delivered to an outstanding standard which left the audience wanted more (although I’m sure nobody was expecting the encore!).
We all thought it was over, until we had the pleasure of Harding’s arrangement of ‘Moondance’ by the legend that is Van Morrison. A completely contrasting piece to hear in the context of the rest of the programme, although everybody thoroughly enjoyed it and if like me, carried on singing it for the whole weekend.
Thank you to Dan Harding, Steph Richardson, Susan Li and The University Chamber Choir for a fantastic Friday evening; I’m looking forward to the next concert on March 30th.
The new lunchtime concert series this term got off to a vibrant start with a virtuoso performance from the St James Quintet in the Gulbenkian earlier today.
The first of Ibert’s Trois Pièces Brèves was deft and dazzling, whilst the second had some sustained and lyrical playing; the third was elegantly crafted, and demonstrated great dynamic flexibility.
The polished neo-Classicism of Hindemith’s Kleine Kammermusik Op 24 no 2 had great rhythmic verve, with an especially lilting second movement; the mini-cadenzas in the tiny fourth movement saw each player showing great assurety, whilst the final movement had excellent rhythmic punch and good control of the elaborate cross-rhythms.
The programme finished with a poised and refined reading of Reicha’s Quintet no 2 in E flat, including some fearsome agility in the bassoon in the last movement; whilst often an overlooked and neglected orchestral instrument, the bassoonist showed the instrument is no less agile than some of its more melodic brethren!
The group left the stage to an enthusiastic response from an audience clearly astonished at the virtuosity of the young players; throughout the programme the instrumentalists demonstrated controlled and accomplished playing which belies their youthful years. There’s an expressive sense of communication between the players, with some finely nuanced ensemble playing that sees them playing with great individual freedom and commitment, whilst maintaining an effortless unity as a group.
The St James Quintet will be appearing at the Dulwich Picture Gallery later in the year: keep an eye out for them, they are surely an ensemble with a promising future ahead of them.
Whilst over on On The Beat, a glimpse into the future and next month’s gig with the Concert and Big Bands at the Gulbenkian Theatre who’ll be taking things Nice ‘n’ Easy.
The final few festivities (too much alliteration ?) to mark the end of the term saw members of the University community in fine form, with ‘Carols Round The Tree’ on Wednesday night bringing staff, students, visitors and friends together on a brisk December night.
The University Brass Ensemble braved the temperature to provide some robust playing whilst accompanying singers in a variety of traditional favourites. The student group ‘Sing!’ and the Chamber Choir joined in with a couple of carols as well.
An all-male barbershop quartet, distilled from members of the Chamber Choir, proivded lunchtime entertainment in Rutherford College on Thursday for the annual Former Staff Association Christmas lunch.
As usual, it’s been a lively end to the Christmas term: thanks to everyone involved, to Kent Hospitality and the Estates Team for their support (and roast chestnuts and mulled wine!) on Wednesday night.
A terrific thank you to everyone who came along to the ‘Flashmob’ carols yesterday, as we surprised visitors to the University’s Open Day in Rutherford dining-hall with a choice selection of carols.
They really got into the spirit of it: as you can see, they worked hard to sneak onto the balcony in Rutherford dining hall unobserved before springing up with a chord of Bb in their hearts to begin with a rousing ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High!’ which was greeted with warm applause from an enthusiastic crowd of visitors.
With members of the University community gathering in the evening for ‘Carols Round the Tree,’ the campus truly was alive with festive singing!
Because it does. Doesn't it ? Blogging about extra-curricular musical life at the University of Kent.