Just under twenty-four hours until baton-down in the Nave of Canterbury Cathedral, as tomorrow’s all-day musical extravaganza looms.
Orchestra and Chorus in fine form last night; the Orchestra meets again tonight to put some finishing touches to the Vaughan Williams symphony, and then it’s back on campus at 9am sharp tomorrow, for the technical team (including your loyal correspondent) to organise all the equipment to be moved down to the Cathedral.
Not long to go, team…
Next Saturday sees the annual Colyer-Fergusson Cathedral Concert, in which the University Chorus and Orchestra will come together to commemorate the start of the First World War in music by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Bach and Fauré.
This Sunday is our all-day rehearsal in the hall, a first combined run-through; then it’s Monday – Thursday – Friday – Saturday over the course of next week, and then Sunday for everyone to recover…
The concert on the 15 March features Elgar’s Spirit of England, for which we’ll be joined by soprano Sally Silver, Fauré’s Cantique de Jean-Racine, Elgar’s arrangement of Bach’s Fantasia in C minor, and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony no.3.
Looking forward to Sunday’s Greater Coming Together; Ladies and Gentlemen of the Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, we’ll see you there!
A dizzying profusion of events is unleashed over the coming months, as you can now see from our online events calendar.
The free Lunchtime Concert series includes a visit from British saxophonist Martin Speake, who brings his trio as part of his current UK tour, and from acclaimed sitar-player, Jonathan Mayer. There’s the annual Colyer-Fergusson Cathedral Concert with the University Chorus and Orchestra, this year commemorating the First World War with music by Elgar and Vaughan Williams, and the Chamber Choir returns to the Cathedral Crypt to sing a programme including Palestrina, Brahms, Whitacre and Paul Patterson.
Conductor Ian Swatman leads the Concert and Big Bands at the end of February in Ravel and Earth, Wind and Fire, and later teams up with the Big Band from St Edmund’s School in a charity gig in aid of the Pilgrim’s Hospice. There’s music down the hill, too, as the Lost Consort explores the music of Hildegard von Bingen in the Roman Undercroft of St Thomas’ Hospital, and the Chamber & Cecilian Choirs at St Peter’s Methodist with music by Hassler, Maskats and Chilcott.
Visitors to the concert-hall include Rachel Podger, who brings a recital of works for solo baroque violin, and later in May there’s a recital from pianist Malcolm Binns.
Plenty to enjoy over the coming months; see the calendar online here, or download the brochure (PDF) here. Meanwhile, the Lunchtime Concert series begins on Weds February 12 with music for two-pianos and four-hands by Poulenc, Ravel and Gavin Bryars with pianists Matthew King and your loyal correspondent, who is now off to practice…
The University Chorus and Symphony Orchestra brought their term to a rousing conclusion on Saturday night in the Colyer-Fergusson hall.
But the music doesn’t end there; this Wednesday, there’s a seasonal ‘Watch This Space‘ on the foyer-stage, with festive contributions from the Chamber and Cecilian Choirs, the Lost Consort, Tutti Flutties, The Canterberries and the Dance Band starting at 1.10pm; then there’s live jazz from 2-3pm.
Then at 5.15pm, the University Big Band invites us to Swing-along-a-Santa, including communal carols with the Brass Ensemble. Sadly, all the tickets for the event have now gone – it promises to be a packed and festival finale to the term.
Drum-roll please….our new Autumn music events details are now online!
Kicking off in October with the Marici Saxes, the Lunchtime Concert series also sees music from Covent Garden Voices and the KD Jazz and Dance Orchestra. The Brodsky Quartet returns with a concert celebrating the musical anniversaries of Wagner, Verdi and Britten, and there’s also Britten from the award-winning Kent College Choristers in Friday Afternoons. We are very excited that the Doyenne of Wagner, Dame Anne Evans, will be giving a singing masterclass and also appearing ‘In Conversation’ to talk about her career on the stage in November.
The University Chamber Choir will celebrate the beginning of the Advent season at Blean Church, and the December concert with the Chorus and Orchestra includes Vivaldi’s ever-popular Gloria alongside Respighi , Verdi and Cimarosa.
Our informal series of foyer-gigs, Watch This Space, will burst into life again on the foyer-stage, starting with live jazz in October, and the University Big Band will be providing some seasonal entertainment to round off what promises to be a very busy term.
We’re pleased to welcome the Canterbury Festival, who will be bringing the English première of a new opera by Sally Beamish in a double-bill with Britten’s Curlew River, and pianist Mikhail Rudy exploring Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Other visitors to the Colyer-Fergusson concert-hall include John Harle and the Festival Chamber Orchestra, Ashford Choral Society, Simon Langton Girls’ Choir and Caritas Chamber Choir.
See for yourself online here; you can also download the new brochure (PDF) here.
Recent Classics graduate, Dan Pargeter, on musical life at Kent, and continuing choral life afterwards in a new barbershop group named after a former well-known rehearsal venue on the campus…
I have often wondered, just when exactly would it be my time to contribute to this space? And what would it be that I contribute? I have read the pieces that precede this one, many written by talented musicians who I am fortunate enough to call friends. Friends with whom I have spent countless happy hours, over the course of my university career, making music. One more time then still, allow me to join you. Fitting is it that the occasion I write about now began at the University of Kent.
First Music Social – I arrive a little late, who would’ve thought, me!? Better late than never. For me before, not ever has the phrase rung so true. Told to join something, anything, at university; a music society was better than I had hoped. Monday night Chorus rehearsals? Yeah, why not, a great way to start the week. Hmmm Tuesday evening Chamber Choir practice, sign up for auditions here. A little soon after Monday, but well, nothing to lose right! Apart from my voice almost, before my audition, but that’s the state it’s in at the end of Freshers’ week and immediately after football trials. Just give it your all. 110% even! Evidently I was still in football trial mode.
What a wonderful four years it was. University Chorus, Chamber Choir, Cecilian Choir, even a spot of barbershopping. Rehearsals, concerts, soirees, champagne receptions. Of course I’d do it all again, exactly like that, in a heartbeat. But unfortunately it cannot be.
So what now?
Keep singing. And so I did.
I received an email about a choir that was based not too far away from me, which rehearsed on a Monday night 7.15-9.30pm. ‘Hmmm,’ I thought, ‘I’ve done that before.’ A little earlier a start than I am used to perhaps, but I’ll most likely be late every week of course so actually it is quite perfect.
Rehearsing for my first concert with the choir. Early days but how it felt good to be singing again. Life after Kent.
An opportunity arises. There’s a vacant spot in the concert. They are interested in the barbershop group I’d briefly mentioned at some point. ‘Wow, yes, that would be great.’ So I ask the boys, send over a recording, and we are in the programme as guest performers. Our first gig on pastures new.
A wonderful reason to get together with the old gang. With a month to prepare, we will give it our all and hope for the best.
June 29th, 2013 – Royal Opera House Fused Festival
The beginning of a long day. The boys stayed at mine the night before. A quick sing-through our programme but little more than that. We arrive at the venue, the London Cruise Terminal, shortly before midday. Not quite sure what to expect, we receive a warm welcome from the events team. We are swiftly guided through to the performance space, where we await our scheduled sound check.
Ah, an encouraging sign. I notice a smile on the face of a member of the sound team when we finish our first line. Hopefully not the last smile of the day! We sing through our set, careful not to do too much, and once everyone is satisfied we thank the crew and depart the performance area. However this doesn’t mean that today’s preparations stop here. I still have a rehearsal with the Chorus. And then there are the two workshops that the barbershop has signed up to. An action-packed day ahead!
At 2pm, finished with Chorus rehearsal, I head over with the other chaps to take part in the Male Voices workshop. Involving professional musicians, this one is led by a particularly charismatic chap whose energetic style is evident from the beginning. This is just what we need to motivate ourselves for tonight. We explore the male voice through a series of sing-backs and rounds, taking us from the bottom of our “chest voice” through to the top of the falsetto. Something for everyone!
3pm sees us begin the Vocal Warm-ups class. Having done 3 hours of singing today, voices feel warmed-up already. In fact, rather tired is more accurate! Regardless we power through.
The basics reiterated, current knowledge refined, and new techniques to further explore, the workshop leaves us all feeling thoroughly warmed-up and singing in best voices. I personally feel somewhat rejuvenated and fresher than before I went in. The barbershop vow to perform a thorough warm-up before every rehearsal in the future! Good intentions.
And now a couple of hours rest before the evening concert. Or so we thought… We ask one of the event organisers if they could perhaps take a photo of the four of us together. ‘We have a professional photographer for this sort of thing,’ cometh the reply. Well, how lovely!
An hour later, and a hundred or so shots, we have just completed the group’s first photo shoot! Did not see that one coming. Feeling like stars (see below), we sit down, relax, and wait.
Buttons buttoned, laces laced, cuffs linked. We’ve even found time to sit and enjoy the first half of the concert! But now we are backstage waiting to hear our name.
‘Old. Telephone. Exchange!’
‘Old Telephone Exchange,’ I repeat to myself. I smile. We exchange nods. That’s us. We are ready. I walk out to take the stage, stop and turn. We face an audience of four hundred, our biggest yet, and bow in response to a very warm welcome. Experiencing a cocktail of emotion, I compose myself and give an Ab. Immediately the note blossoms in my head into the first chord. Excited, I take a deep breath…
And yes, even though this music-making wasn’t on familiar ground, as our voices began to fill and resonate in a new space, I think I can safely say that our feet were still very much firmly planted on the floor of the room that we knew as The OTE.
Dan Pargeter
To keep up-to-date with the Old Telephone Exchange, follow them on Twitter. For further details on the group, visit the group’s website www.t-o-t-e.co.uk. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the future…
Click the album below to view photos from events throughout Summer Music week: more added as they come.
For non-Flash users, open the gallery here. More photos on the Music Week Twitter account.
Images © University of Kent
Continuing the series profiling this year’s Music Scholars. This week, mezzo-sopano Olivia Potter.
I have always loved singing; apparently, when I was very little, I would make up songs on long car journeys that lasted for hours (sorry mum!). Yet, when the time came for me to chose an instrument to learn at the age of ten, I chose the drum kit, having been inspired by my dad, who was a keen drummer himself.
It was only when I moved to secondary school that my passion for singing really took off. St Aidan’s Church of England High School in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, has a rich musical life and the number of music ensembles was extensive. At the school, I was involved in three choirs and three wind bands, performing in local venues such as the Royal Hall and Leeds Town Hall. I was also lucky enough to sing a solo in Ripon Cathedral. I started singing lessons in year 8, achieving grade 7 singing by the end of sixth-form (and somehow managing to pass grade 5 theory along the way, albeit with much help from my sister’s flute teacher who, with a great deal of patience, taught transposition, intervals and cadences to a girl who couldn’t really read music).
It was the school’s sixth-form Chamber Choir that allowed me to reach new heights in my singing abilities. It was an auditioned choir, made up of around 60 year 12 and 13 students. It had won the Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year award in 2006 and had been in the final of that competition another three times. It was a privilege being in a choir that produced such a high standard of singing. Perhaps the highlights of my time there was singing Eric Whitacre’s Sleep at the Music For Youth School’s Prom in the Royal Albert Hall and performing in Westminster Abbey, singing an arrangement of King of Kings, Majesty. Our repertoire was challenging, but it allowed me to grow in confidence, so when the time came for me to decide where I would like to go to university, I was drawn to the music opportunities here at Kent.
Getting into the Chamber Choir was an honor. I really enjoy being a part of Chorus and the Cecilian Choir as well. I love singing with such lovely and talented people. The Music Department is so supportive and passionate, and the new music building is fantastic. It’s wonderful that so much music making is encouraged at a university with no music degree course, making it accessible to anyone who just loves music. For this reason, I feel incredibly privileged to be a part of it.
Olivia Potter
See all the other features in this series here.
