With only two days left before the musical extravaganza that is the Music Society Showcase, Sing! are warming up their vocal chords in prepearation.
The student group, conducted by Maia Peacock and accompanied by Adam Henriksen are sure to warm up even the chilliest November night with performances of popular songs and showtunes, including California Dreaming.
Don’t miss them!
From the 1996 Richard D. James album, the weird and wonderful ‘4.’
Full of rhythmic trickery. Genius.
As I’ve mentioned over on ‘On The Beat,’ Radio 3 are currently broadcasting from the London Jazz Festival, and last night’s excellent gig by the Robert Glasper Trio is now on the iPlayer for a week.
Click here for more, including links to the programme, a review of the gig on the LondonJazz blog, and Glasper’s website. A treat for jazz fans. (The gig, that is!).
Proper Discord presents a breakdown of key marketing terms, and what they really mean. (Health warning: this article will have you in stitches.)
Whilst Greg Sandow looks at press releases, and how to write them.
What have we learned ?
Present ideas in ways that avoid cliché, keep press releases short and link to media examples where appropriate to give reviewers exanples of what you are trying to flog keen to promote, and don’t use buzz-speak – its meaning is usually diametrically opposed to what you are actually saying.
Traditionally the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, autumn is also the time when the hops have been harvested, and celebrations and thanks are given for a bountiful year.
Eac
h year, dignitaries from Shepherd Neame and representatives of the brewing industry gather at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Selling, for the annual Hop Blessing, instigated by the Faversham-based Shepherd Neame, Britain’s oldest brewery.
On Friday 1 October, singers from the University of Kent were invited to perform both during the blessing service, and afterwards at a traditional Hop-Pickers’ Lunch. The group sang Tourdion, originally an old French melody, translated as When I Drink Good English Ale, which celebrates the virtues (and the drawbacks!) of the grain and the grape.
After a hearty lunch of traditional hop-picker’s fayre, the group joined with everyone present in singing a selection of popular ballads, and also performed for the gathering an old English round, He That Will An Ale-House Keep and Anders Edenroth’s entertaining Words, rich in close-harmonies and a real a cappella calling-card.
With thanks to Tom Falcon, Production and Distribution Director for Shepherd Neame, for inviting us to perform, and to Alison Shelley for the photographs, for helping to organise the singers and making them feel so welcome.
The train of thought now departing is reflecting with great excitement on the details for the forthcoming Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, which starts on Friday.
Themes this year include John Cage, music by Composer in Residence Rebecca Saunders, and a masterclass with, and a premiere by, Howard Skempton!
You can see the full programme on-line here.
Radio 3 usually broadcast from the festival: I’m lining up iPlayer for it.
Via Alex Ross’ The Rest is Noise, an obituary by The Rambler‘s Tim Rutherford-Jones for Henryk Gorecki, who has died at the age of seventy-six.
Gorecki will perhaps be best remembered as the composer of the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs which leapt to fame in a recording by the London Sinfonietta and the soprano Dawn Upshaw, which is how I first came across it.
His choral piece Totus tuus probably comes a close second.
Continuing the series profiling musical alumni of the University of Kent. This week, Christiane Litman.
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When were you at Kent ?
From Sept 2002 – July 2005
What subject did you study ?
BA (Hons) in English Culture and Language/ Comparative Literature.
What occupation are you now engaged in ?
Primary School Teacher (I was music coordinator in my previous school)
If music is not your profession, do you participate in any musical experiences now ?
Yes, I sing in a church choir, a university chorus (Glyndwr in Wrexham, North Wales) and a professional chamber choir called Voices of the North. I also play the viola in the Chester Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, I help run the junior choristers in my church.
How were you involved in music whilst at Kent ?
I played the viola in the Orchestra, as well as in the Camerata during my degree. During my first year I was also part of a student-run string quartet.
What did you gain from your University music experience, and has this helped you in any way since leaving Kent ?
It gave me a circle of friends which was unrelated to just my degree studies. Through my involvement in music I also met my husband in Canterbury during my first year. Having played in the orchestra, following my degree I joined the Maidstone Symphony Orchestra for a while and then rejoined the university orchestra for a couple of concerts before relocating to North Wales.
What was your most memorable musical experience at Kent ?
Playing the children’s concerts with the Camerata- always great fun and the children’s faces when they came to “try out” at the end are unforgettable. Particularly their confusion when I explained that my instrument was not a violin!
What would you say to current musical students at the University ?
Have fun! And if you get the chance, also get involved in music outside of uni. There’s lots going on in Canterbury and the more you can do, the wider your experience is going to be.
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If you’re an alumnus and would like to be featured, get in touch via the Music Department website: we’d love to hear from you!