One of the many pleasures during Summer Music Week is the opportunity it affords to recognise particular outstanding contributions to extra-curricular music-making over the year in the annual Music Prize ceremony.

Following hard upon the Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital which took place on the Tuesday of this year’s music festival, the ceremony, hosted by Professor Dan Lloyd, Director of Education in the School of Natural Sciences, gives us the opportunity to celebrate particular talent amongst our community of student musicians at the University.

The Canterbury Festival Prize is awarded annually to a  final-year student who has made an outstanding contribution to music at the University. This year’s winner was Biomedical Science student and Music Performance Scholar, Ellie Gould. Ellie has performed numerous times throughout her time at Kent, including singing the solo verse in front of a massed congregation to open the University Carol Service in Canterbury Cathedral; a larger-than-life performance as the Queen of Hearts in a production of Alice in Wonderland: a Musical Dream-Play; singing solos in Faure’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah; she has been a committed member of University Chorus, Chamber Choir, Cecilian Choir and Minerva Voices, and also sang a particularly challenging song-cycle by John Woolrich as part of a Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital. A relentlessly enthusiastic member of the music community, Ellie is also the outgoing President of this year’s Music Society; she received her prize from the Chair of the Canterbury Festival, Professor Keith Mander.

The Colyer-Fergusson Prize is awarded to a student who has made a major contribution to the organisation of music at the University; this year, the prize was awarded jointly to Music Performance Scholars Emily Toman and Nathan Sharp, both of whom are on the Music Audio and Production course in Medway. Together they have been the driving force behind this year’s Medway Music Society, energising activities in Medway by organising the weekly Tuesday night gigs at The Deep End, and also playing as the house hand, regularly learning around ten to fifteen songs each week to allow other students to take the spotlight. Their prize was awarded on behalf of the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust by Professor Keith Mander.

The John Craven Music Prize is awarded to a returning student who has made a major contribution to music at the University, and this year was awarded jointly to Yuyu Hosokawa and Oliver McGinnes. Hailing from Tokyo and in her second year studying Law and Politics, Yuyu has been an outstanding member of the orchestral woodwind section and Concert Band, also playing as part of the Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital, the Crypt Concert in Canterbury Cathedral, and as part of a lecture exploring science and creativity involving Sir Paul Nurse, Director of the Crick Institute.

In his second year reading History, trombonist Oliver has been a stalwart of the brass section in both Orchestra and Concert Band, as well as playing in the Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital and the same lecture with Sir Paul Nurse, as well as in a workshop with the renowned Delta Sax Quartet. Their prizes were awarded by Professor Dan Lloyd.

The David Humphreys Music Prize is awarded to a student who has made a particularly special contribution to music-making; on this occasion, it was awarded not to a single student, but to the combined forces of Kent Gospel Choir, in recognition of their competition-winning performance in Croydon which led to their winning the University Gospel Choir of the Year competition. To receive prize on behalf of the choir were two Psychology students, Elizabeth Oyebola (President) and Simon Greaves (Choir leader), who received the prize from two of David Humphrey’s daughters, Josephine and Sophie, who came especially for the occasion.

Finally, the University First-Year Music Prize, which is occasionally awarded to a student who has made a major contribution to music in their first year, was this year awarded jointly to Masters students Sarah Strike and Teerapat Jerawattanakaset. Hailing from Florida and studying Social Psychology, Sarah has been an outstanding member of the Orchestral woodwind section, playing both flute and piccolo, and also as part of the Scholar’s Baroque Lunchtime Concert.

Teerapat, a Business Analytics Masters student from Bangkok, has similarly made an outstanding contribution playing both oboe and cor anglais in the Orchestra woodwind section as well as in Concert Band this year, and also played in the Scholars’ Baroque Lunchtime Concert, as well as with the String Sinfonia on both oboe and double-bass.

It’s a real measure of their commitment to (and enthusiasm for) fitting rehearsals and performances around their academic studies, making time during afternoons, evenings and weekends to participate in all that the Music department offers as part of the students experience at the University; their ability to manage their time effectively and still be able to practice and perform to such a high standard is a credit to them, and we’re hugely grateful for all their involvement throughout the year.

Congratulations to them all!