Category Archives: Now Hear This!

Music you should hear at least once…

Now Hear This!

Making waves at Medway: the Medway Music Society look ahead

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President of this year’s Medway Music Society,  Jack McDonnell, dishes the inside info on what’s been happening, and what’s to come, out West…

 

Medway Music Society
Jack McDonnell (centre) at the helm of the Medway Music Society Exec

Music Society are back with a bang in 2013 and have a plethora of auditory treats for your delectation in the coming weeks.

Last term we had great success with our events having launched our first ever weekend Socials and with Battle of the Bands raising over £125 for an array of charities including UMSA RaG and Kent Hitch.

BigBandPosterWe’re very pleased to say that we’ve successfully lobbied the University into securing professional leadership of the Big Band-esque ensemble “JAM” or Jazz at Medway (now lea by Peter Cook – Thursdays 5pm, The Galv) as well as the Universities at Medway Chamber Choir (now led by Sarah Dacey – Mondays 6pm, Medway Building) who have upcoming plans to become an UMSA Society in their own right. Both ensembles had a number of great performances last term, at Medway Law Group’s Annual Dinner and the UMSA Carol Concert in December. Our society memberships have smashed our peak from last year, and we’re well on target to break 100 members by the end of the year.

Medway_Chamber_ChoirMusic Soc’s infamous Tuesday nights in Coopers Bar continue this term with a unique mixture of old (band nights, open mic, rockaoke) and new (Music Soc vs Music Dept, Socials, Folk Night) over the coming weeks. To keep up with the news of these, upcoming executive elections as well as our contributions to the Asian Society’s Culture Shock, Diversity Celebration Fayre and the UMSA Summer Party join us online through…

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/musicsocietymedway/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigbandmedwayunis/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/medwayunischoir/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MedwayMusic_Soc

For a full details of membership benefits and how to join, visit our spread on the UMSA website.
Medway_Music_logoJack McDonnell

Now Hear This!

Ever wondered what Britten would have heard ?

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If you’ve ever wondered what composer Benjamin Britten might have been listening to, as he took his post-prandial ‘composing walks’ around Aldeburgh in the afternoon, now you can find out.

BrittenFamed wildlife sound-recordist Chris Watson has spent a year following in the composer’s footsteps, armed with a microphone – a clip of his findings is available to listen to, in his article in The Guardian earlier this week.

From birdsong to pealing church-bells, it’s an evocative exploration of the soundworld surrounding Britten’s daily walks through the Suffolk countryside – and all from the comfort of your own armchair.

Listen for yourself here.

Now Hear This!

Postgraduate Open Day; come and hear the Chamber Choir

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If you’re coming to the Postgraduate Open Day event this Saturday, by all means drop in to the Colyer-Fergusson building and hear the University Chamber Choir, which will be in the midst of its all-day workshop.

The Choir is busy preparing for its annual concert in the Crypt of Canterbury Cathedral in just over two weeks’ time, and at this point in the year, we hold an all-day rehearsal, getting to grips with the works in the concert and running the entire programme in ‘performance mode.’

The rehearsal lasts from 10am to 3.30pm; come and get a sneak preview of what’s to come in the concert on Friday 15 February.

You can find out more about the Postgraduate Open day, which runs from 10am-2pm, online here.

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The Brodskys are here on Friday

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The inimitable Brodsky Quartet will be here on Friday, celebrating its fortieth anniversary with a concert combining classical music with the slick feel of a game-show. The programme will be decided on the night by the spin of a wheel, with each of the ‘four tunes’ selected from their extensive repertoire by chance.

You can read a review of a similar concert the quartet gave a few months ago in an earlier post I wrote here.

Tickets on the Gulbenkan website; come and be part of something extraordinary.

Now Hear This!

Canterbury Festival starts this Saturday

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The wonderfully eclectic mix of music, drama, dance, art, comedy, lectures and more that is the Canterbury Festival swings into acton this Saturday, offering two weeks of artistic celebration at the heart of the city and beyond.

Highlights of this year’s festival include:

Festival logoLocal star of the international piano world, Freddy Kempf, will be performing Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto, which (in my humble opinion) is an even greater work than its more celebrated cousin, the second piano concerto; accompanied by the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the concert at the Marlowe Theatre opens this year’s festival this Saturday.

Contemporary music-lovers can look forward to the world première of When The Flame Dies by Ed Hughes at St Augustine Hall on Wednesday 17 October, in association with Sounds New.

Soloists from the Philharmonia bring Stravinsky’s spirited The Soldier’s Tale to St Gregory’s Centre on Sunday 21st October.

The legendary Van Morrison will be at the Marlowe on two nights, Tuesday 23rd / Wednesday 24th.

Stand-up comedy from Jo Caulfield, Sean Hughes and Mark Thomas will fill the Gulbenkian Theatre with laughter on various dates, whilst Marcus Brigstocke visits Shirley Hall at the King’s School.

Family events include the opening Festival Parade through the city streets this Saturday including carnival bands and a Chinese Dragon, and several family shows at the Gulbenkian each weekend.

Find out more on the festival website here.