Thanks to the support of the Barry Wright Legacy, a generous bequest left to the Music department specifically to support international students and their involvement in extra-curricular music, we have welcomed Biochemistry student and cellist Ricky Chan into the musical life of the University. Here, Ricky reflects on what music means to him and the opportunity to get involved.
I joined the Symphony Orchestra and the String Sinfonia in the Music Department during my second year in the University of Kent. At first, I did not know there would be a big presence of classical music in the university.
I had always been an enthusiastic listener of all types of music, including classical, which started when I was young when my parents would play classical music from CDs. At school I learned to play the cello and joined the school orchestra. I liked the cello because its range is so similar to that of the human voice, which makes it sound more expressive and rich.
When I was chatting with some members of the Music Society, I was thrilled to hear that I can participate in the Orchestra and String Sinfonia through the support of hiring a cello by the Music Society. This meant that I could continue my hobby even though I could not bring my instrument which was kept far away at home. I thank Sophie and Dan for this opportunity which was enabled by a dedicated music fund, enabling me to have an opportunity to do something musical outside of my Biochemistry degree.
Playing in the Orchestra and the String Sinfonia feels challenging but enjoyable. I became immersed in the music when playing, even though sometimes I find myself struggling during practice as some of the pieces had tricky bits (but it was good fun!). Some memorable highlights last year were the String Sinfonia concert in Folkestone and in Faversham, as well as the annual concert with the University Chorus in Canterbury Cathedral.
I thank Flo Peycelon for bringing so much enthusiasm and life in the Strings Sinfonia, and Dan Harding, the conductor and Head of Music Performance at Kent for the passion he brings to the Orchestra. I look forward to the rest of my final year with Kent Music Society.
Ricky Chan
Second-year Music Scholar and Biosciences student, Ruth Webster, (pictured above, second from left) will be familiar to those of you who have come to choral events over the past couple of years – Ruth sings with the University Chorus, Chamber Choir, Cecilian Choir, Minerva Voices and has sung as soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah and Horovitz’s Horrortorio; she was also joint winner of the John Craven Music Prize for her contribution to music-making last year.
This year, though, Ruth is trading in the wood-panelled concert-hall and the Biosciences lab for exotic food and clothes markets, tropical storms and the richly-hued life of Malaysia, where and she and several other students from the University of Kent are studying at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Johor Bahru, in the very south of Malaysia.
The project, in collaboration with Dr Dan Lloyd in Biosciences, will be unfurled next spring.