Category Archives: Now Hear This!

Music you should hear at least once…

Cecilian Choir singing Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral: watch on demand

Congratulations to the students, staff and alumni of the University Cecilian Choir, who sang the service of Choral Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral earlier this week.

Group of thirty singers dressed in formal black standing on red-carpeted steps amidst the ornate architecture of Canterbury Catrhedral

The choir, accompanied by organist John Wyatt and conducted by Your Loyal Correspondent, travelled to the heart of the city to take part in the service as one of the visiting choirs that carries on providing music  whilst the Cathedral choir is on half-term break, a wonderful opportunity to sing in the Quire and be part of the tradition of evensong.

If you missed the service, it was livestreamed on the Cathedral’s YouTube channel and remains online for online viewing;  click below to watch the whole service (the Choir begins processing at just after the six-minute mark).

 

Circle of Remembrance: new album on Spotify features Kent alumna Aisha Bové

Fresh out on Bandcamp is a reflective album, The Circle of Remembrance, by singer-songwriter Jeska Onderwater, which also features the cello-playing of Kent alumna, Aisha Bové.

Aisha graduated in 2013 with a BA in English & American Literature and English Language and Linguistics, and played cello in the Symphony Orchestra, leading the section, as well as playing chamber music, whilst at Kent; she is also one of the founding members of the String Sinfonia. Aisha currently teaches English on the IB programme at L’Athénée de Luxembourg.

Aisha, pictured playing in Colyer-Fergusson Hall in 2013Aisha recently had the chance to record some backing cello sounds for Jeska, who originally came from the Netherlands but now lives and works in Luxembourg.

Jeska contacted her in March when she was looking for a cellist to add some final parts to her recordings. The album was recorded in different places, mixed and mastered in again other places, including Portugal and Luxembourg. Jeska and Aisha met up at Unison studios in Luxembourg to record the cello lines.

“She gave me a lot of freedom in deciding what I wanted to play,” recalls Aisha, “ and so I added some background sounds that went nicely with her singing, but also some solo parts. As her music is generally quite calm, I saw it as my main role to add that extra layer, almost like a cushion/ carpet. We recorded the four tracks in one afternoon.”

A gently meditative album, drenched in birdcalls and sounds of nature, Aisha’s cello provides a warm counterpoint to some filigree guitar and an intimate vocal line, playing as she does on tracks 6,7,8 and 11.

“The musical memories from Kent are some of the fondest ones I have, and I believe that the variety of music-making, from orchestra, to different ensembles and even busking in the streets of Canterbury have really helped me become the musician I am today.”

The String Sinfonia performing on campus in the summer of 2013

Take a reflective listen on Bandcamp here.

Legacy to the Music Department to build choral collection in memory of Cynthia Hawes

The Music department is very grateful to have received a legacy from the late Cynthia Hawes, one of the University’s very first employees, who passed away shortly before Christmas in 2020.

Cynthia Hawes

Cynthia was Secretary to Vice-Chancellors Geoffrey Templeman and David Ingram, subsequently transferring to the Graduate Studies Office as an Assistant Registrar. An enthusiastic choral singer, Cynthia was a long-time member of University Chorus, regularly singing with Chorus in concerts in Eliot Hall (prior to the opening of the Colyer-Fergusson Building) and Canterbury Cathedral, and also sang with Canterbury Choral Society; Cynthia sang with Chorus up until 2018.

University Chorus and Orchestra performing in Canterbury Cathedral in March, 2010

Thanks to her generous legacy, the Music department has founded the Cynthia Hawes Collection, in which her Fund will be used to support the continued activities of Chorus by purchasing vocal scores for the choir to use in its rehearsals and performances.

It’s a lovely gesture from a committed member of Chorus, who was a regular performer with the choir. Thanks to this wonderful legacy, Chorus will be able to build a library of vocal scores for the choir to use, and each time we sing from them, the choir will be performing in her memory; a very special way to commemorate and reflect Cynthia’s long-standing commitment to music here at Kent.

Read more about about Cynthia here.

Premiere of new commission by Cecilian Choir and Consort

Congratulations to all the members of the University Cecilian Choir and Consort on last Friday’s night’s premiere of the new commission piece by Russell Hepplewhite.

The combination of words, music and images brought the new setting of the Magnificat, in which the sacred text was interspersed by new poetry by Nancy Gaffield, to vivid life. The Choir and strings, comprising students and staff from across the University, came together in vibrant form to deliver an accomplished performance of a brand-new work, always a  challenge and especially in front of a live audience including both composer and poet!

If you missed it, the piece will be performed again on Friday 9 June as part of this year’s Summer Music Week, our annual music festival bringing the musical year to a close.

Minerva Voices singing at Canterbury Cathedral: watch on demand

Congratulations to Minerva Voices and organist John Wyatt, who yesterday sang Choral Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral. Conducted by Your Loyal Correspondent, the choir presented contemporary settings by Jeremy Woodside and Justin Breame as part of the music sung during the service.

The service was livestreamed on the Cathedral’s YouTube channel, and can be viewed below:

(The choir begins processing in just after the four-minute mark)

Well done to all the students involved; the Choir will be in action again at the start of June, singing as part of the choral concert in the Cathedral Crypt on Friday 2 June as part of Summer Music Week.

Filmed interview: extra-curricular music-making at the University of Kent by Kent Creative

The latest film by the Faversham-based company, Kent Creative, promoting excellence in arts and culture across the county, features an interview with Your Loyal Correspondent, talking about extra-curricular music at Kent, the social aspect of music-making, the Colyer-Fergusson Building, and more.

Filmed a few weeks ago, it also features Minerva Voices, our upper-voices chamber choir, in rehearsal as it prepares to sing Choral Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral; one of this year’s Music Scholarship students having an instrumental lesson; and photos from the recent concert by University Chorus and Symphony Orchestra.

Many thanks to Nathalie Banaigs for creating such a lovely way of highlighting extra-curricular music at the University, and all we do.

You can also listen to the interview as a podcast on Soundcloud here.

Magnificat commission: rehearsal with poet Nancy Gaffield

The University Cecilian Choir has been hard at work rehearsing a brand-new setting of the Magnificat, the Song of Mary, which the Music department commissioned as part of its year-long anniversary celebrations of the Colyer-Fergusson Building’s ten years. Last night, the Choir was delighted to welcome poet Nancy Gaffield to the rehearsal; Nancy has written four new poems which are interspersed with the text of the Magnificat, with music written by Russell Hepplewhite for mixed choir and string orchestra.

Poet Nancy Gaffield (centre) with the University Cecilian Choir
Nancy Gaffield

The new piece is an exciting blend of high energy, driving rhythms, lyrical melody and sumptuous harmonic colours, particularly in the sections setting Nancy’s poetry; each of the four poems is written in response to a famous piece of art representing stages in the life of Christ, including Michelangelo’s The Birth of Adam, Ghirandaio’s The Visitation,  and Piero della Francesca’s The Baptism of Christ. Here, the music revels in the same richly-colourful textures as each of the paintings; last night was an opportunity for Nancy to talk with the choir about her poems, the relationship to the paintings, and to hear some of the piece coming to life in rehearsal.

The first performance takes place in Colyer-Fergusson Hall on Friday 31 March, with a second performance on Friday 9 June as part of this year’s Summer Music Week; details and tickets for the premiere performance online here. It should be quite something…

Drumming up business: third-year Music Performance Scholar Nathan Sharp

It’s been a busy period for third-year Music Performance Scholar and drummer, Nathan Sharp.  Alongside studying Music and Audio Production, Nathan has been in action gigging in London recently, including an EP release with Adam Kelly, and two gigs with singer/songwriter Nate Francis.

Nathan plays on Adam Kelly’s ‘The Way That I See You’ EP, which is now out on Spotify here.