Tag Archives: Music Scholars

Image Gallery: Summer Music Week 2024 in pictures

A marvellous end to the academic year at the University, our annual Summer Music Week festival saw a packed programme of events bidding a musical adieu to the year.

From the opening Bond and Beyond with the Big Band, String Sinfonia and Festival Voices, through the Big Band gigging at Deal Bandstand, two student lunchtime recitals, Minerva Voices and Consort at the Cathedral Crypt, and concluding with Chorus, Orchestra, Cecilian Choir, Concert Band and student soloists in the closing gala, it’s been an action-packed week showcasing the extra-curricular music provision here at Kent in vibrant, robust form.

(Here’s a small snapshot of the events over the course of the festival; many more can be found on our Facebook Group).

Congratulations and huge thanks to everyone who took part, to all the performers, to the various donors and music supporters, and to the audiences who came to support the concerts. It’s been a great year of music-making – we’re already looking forward to the next!

Students perform with the Gavin Bryars Ensemble at Canterbury Cathedral

Congratulations to an intrepid band of several of our musicians, who recently performed alongside the Gavin Bryars Ensemble in a mesmerising performance of Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet at Canterbury Cathedral.
A unique experience, in a specially crafted incarnation of Bryars’ seminal piece, the students, a combination of Music Performance Scholars and Award Holders, including students reading Law, Economics and Chemistry, rose to the occasion in a piece that requires a quite different set of skills, using a modular score, stopwatches, and a pre-recorded (and rhythmically uneven) vocal track against which to play.
And there they are standing alongside the man himself.
A marvellous opportunity to play in an important work as part of the ensemble of professional musicians, working alongside them under the direction of the composer.
Well done Yuyu, Justin, Lois, Seb, David and Jack; we’re hugely proud of you!
Main images © University of Kent / Nathan Eaton-Baudains
Other photos by Dan Harding

Image Gallery: Summer Music Week: Part One

Summer Music Week is in full swing here in the Music department, our annual music festival celebrating the end of the academic year.

Photos here from the first few events: the Music Performance Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital and the Big Band in rehearsal ahead of Wednesday night’s Gala concert. And there’s still three days to go.

Images © Chris Wenham / University of Kent

In pictures: Summer Music Week 2021

It was marvellous to get back to music-making at the end of term, to bring musicians and audiences together for the annual musical farewell to the University’s academic year. Many thanks to the University photographer, Matt Wilson, for capturing the events throughout the course of the week.

Big Band: Sunday Swing

 

Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital
(read the programme here)

 

Music Scholars’ Evening Recital: Canterbury Cathedral

(read the programme here)

Closing concert: Music for a Summer’s Day

(read the programme here)

With thanks to all the performers, audiences, staff and technicians who made this all possible. An especial farewell and thanks to all those who were performing for the final time.

Images: © Matt Wilson / University of Kent

Summer Music Week: Big Band Sunday Swing and Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital

The first two events in this year’s Summer Music Week have got the series off to a flying start; at the weekend, the Sunday Swing with the University Big Band, conducted by Ian Swatman, and vocalist third-year Elle Soo, went down a storm!

The event was also the inaugural livestream direct from Colyer-Fergusson and had a lively online audience watching at the time – since then, it has gone on to garner (at the time of writing) well over 800 views – if you missed it, you can see it below or watch it here:

Yesterday saw the first of two Scholars’ Recitals (the second takes place on Friday in Canterbury Cathedral); a selection of this year’s Music Performance Scholars presented a programme including a classic number made famous by Etta James, some sparkling French flute repertoire, and closed with a vivacious duet for two violas by Telemann.

l-r: Weiqi (Arthur) Zhang; Euan Bonnar; Charlotte Cane; Kira Hilton; Joanna Adaran; Beth Chapman

Many thanks to all the performers involved in both events; it’s great to be back making live music in Colyer-Fergusson once more and welcome audiences through the doors; and it’s not over yet…

Summer Music Week 2021: rehearsals are underway

For the first time since December, we’re able to resume in-person rehearsals once more, as we come together in preparation for this year’s somewhat smaller (but no less welcome!) Summer Music Week.

It’s the first week of term, and at first the Chamber Choir and String Sinfonia have begun rehearsals, as well as some of this year’s Music Scholars in preparation for various recitals.

Photo: Flo Peycelon

Wednesday night saw Concert Band and Big Band back in action:

Photo; Jonathan Stott

And Thursday saw the Symphony Orchestra coming together tutti for the first time since March 2020:

Photo: Ian Swatman

rbt

It’s a very welcome return to music-making! Follow the pictorial story through the term over on our Pinterest board here; Summer Music Week is on its way…

Going digital: part two

Filming of some of this year’s Music Scholars and Music Award Holders has continued this week, featuring third-year Film Studies student and pianist, Kiyan Agadjani:

and second-year Physics student and Indian classical singer, Ridima Sur.

Both students will be appearing in a special filmed performance by some of our student musicians which we will be presenting online shortly.

Part of their sessions were also livestreamed over on our Instagram IGTV account, a charming piano piece by Schumann and a mesmerising raga, both of which you can see here:

Stay tuned…

Lockdown Lunchtime Concert with University Music Scholars

In these unusual times, we’re pleased to present a ‘virtual’ Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Concert as part of a re-imagined Summer Music Week.

The concert featured several Music Performance Scholars and Award Holders, who had each filmed themselves performing in isolation from their homes around the country. From Scottish piping to French art-song, nimble woodwind pieces and a song from Disney’s Prince of Egypt, a novel way of highlighting just some of the musicians that take part in our extra-curricular music-making.

With thanks to all the performers (and their accompanists!) who took part.