Words, music, poetry and song will echo around the stones of the historic cathedral city next week, at the opening weekend of Wise Words, Canterbury’s literary festival which blossoms anew each spring and autumn.
The festival encourages wonder and curiosity through new encounters with literature, the written, spoken and sung word, and this year features poet and Radio 3 presenter Ian McMillan, Olympic Poet Lemn Sissay, former Canterbury Laureate Patience Agbabi, current Canterbury Laureate John Siddique, and a host of writers, poets and spoken word performers.
Matthew Sharp
The festival has a strong musical thread running throughout its nine days, which sees all manner of performers take to the stage in the yurt in Greyfriars’ Garden, including cellist and baritone Matthew Sharp’s voyage from Bach to Tavener by way of Piazzolla; there’s a return visit from rapper and musician Dizraeli,
bluegrass with Gentlemen of Few, and even Your Loyal Correspondent in a lunchtime performance on the opening day, Saturday 30 April, at 12.30pm, as accompanist in a recital with mezzo-soprano Michelle Harris, in a programme of operatic arias and musical theatre songs ranging from Handel and Bizet to Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein. The opening musical weekend is a partnership with City Sound Project, Canterbury’s metropolitan music festival taking place in venues across the Bank Holiday.
Lemn Sissay
Poetry on the river; writing workshops and retreats; midday music each day; magic lantern parades and events for children and families expect the unexpected when Wise Words bursts to life in the city next week. The festival runs from Saturday 30 April to Sunday 8 May, find out more online here, or browse the digital programme online:
and keep an eye out for printed programmes around Canterbury. It all starts next weekend…
As a curtain-raiser to the performance of Tokaido Road, which comes to the Gulbenkian Theatre on 23 May, the lunchtime concert the day before is an exploration of the meeting-point between poetry and music for two pianos, set against a backdrop of some of the Hiroshige prints which inspired both poetry and opera.
Pianists Matthew King and myself, together with poet Nancy Gaffield, part of the Creative Writing team in the School of English and author of the original Tokaido Road cycle of poems, spent yesterday exploring the programme which we have put together, which intersperses music by Debussy, Ravel and Matthew himself with poems from the cycle, which Nancy will be reading. There is some wonderful connectedness between the words and the music – a phrase in a poem is echoed by a rising melodic shape; the opening arc of a poem emerges out of a slowly-dying piano chord; a cluster-sonority echoes the tone of one of the Hiroshige prints which is projected above the performers. We spent several hours immersed in floating words and chords in the darkened concert-hall, playing with moving between music and poem.
The concert will take place on Friday 22 May at 1.10pm, admission is free, more details here: come and immerse yourself in time-out-of-place with music, poetry and print.
We are very excited to be launching #EarBox, a new collaboration between the School of Arts’ Studio 3 Gallery and the Music Department next Wednesday, 28 January, at 1pm.
#EarBox is a series of events exploring the meeting-point between visual art and music, where visitors can experience the latest Studio 3 exhibition, or listen to the unfolding musical performance – or wander the new emotional landscape mapped by the intersection of art and music, where the experience of one medium informs and influences a response to the other.
The event next Wednesday will feature piano works by Debussy, John Cage, Chick Corea and Philip Glass; visitors can explore the paintings during the performance, or sit and listen to the music – admission is free.
This term’s exhibitions features an exploration of colour and form in paintings by Brian Rice, and sculpture by Richard Rome, and the music includes piano works performed by Deputy Director of Music, Daniel Harding, as well as performances later in the term by University ensembles including the Chamber and Cecilian Choirs and the Wind Ensemble.
Admission to all these events is free; make sure you’re following @Unikent_music or @Studio3Gallery for event details, or visit the Music department’s What’s On or the Studio 3 blog page.
The annual Music Prizes were awarded last week to a selection of students who have made an outstanding contribution to the musical life of the University this year; and what a year it has been!
Marina receiving her award from Rosie Turner
The Canterbury Festival Music Prize, awarded to a final-year student who has made an outstanding contribution to music was awarded to Marina Ivanova, in her final year reading Economics. Since coming to Kent as a Music Scholar, Marina has participated in Chorus, Chamber Choir, Cecilian Choir, Lost Consort, as well as being a soloist in the Colyer-Fergusson Cathedral Concert, Vivaldi Gloria; she also took part in the Dame Anne Evans masterclass in the autumn, and many other recitals. The prize was presented by the Director of the Canterbury Festival, Rosie Turner.
Alex Turner receives her award from Jonathan Monckton
The Colyer-Fergusson Music Prize, which is awarded each year to a student who has made a major contribution to organising music at the University, was presented to Alex Turner, a second-year student reading Biomedical Science. The prize recognises her exceptional all-round behind-the-scenes organising and admin skills as Concert Band/Big Band assistant (and flautist, and sax player), and in other music activities including the Symphony Orchestra (flute and piccolo), Dance Orchestra, the flute ensemble, as well as playing in the pit-band for this year’s Musical Theatre Society’s production of Hair. Alex received her prize from Jonathan Monckton, Chair of the Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust.
John Craven presents Gordon Wood with his award
The John Craven Music Prize, which goes to a returning student who has made a major contribution to music at Kent, this year went to Gordon Wood, in his second year reading Philosophy. A Music Scholar, Gordon plays double bass in Symphony Orchestra, Camerata, String Sinfonia, Dance Orchestra, tuba in Concert Band, Double bass/bass guitar in Big Band, and at various Watch This Space and jazz gigs. John Craven himself was there in person to make the presentation.
Matthew Bamford receives his award from Dan Lloyd
The University Music Awards Committee Prize, for a student who has made a special contribution to music, was awarded jointly to two final-years students; Matthew Bamford, reading International Business, and Carina Evans, reading Accounting and Finance. Matthew’s award was for his all-round contribution to music-making this year. Student conductor of Chamber Choir, MD for Musical Theatre Society’s production of Hair, sings in Chorus, Chamber Choir, Cecilian Choir and Treasurer of the Music Society.
Dan Lloyd presents Carina Evans with her prize
Carina’s prize recognises her contribution, as a University Music Scholar, to music over three years as timpanist and percussionist with the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, Camerata and many recitals on marimba. Both students received their award from committee-member, Dr Dan Lloyd.
Finally, the First-Year Prize, awarded if appropriate to a student who has made a significant contribution to music-making during their first year of study, went to Joe Prescott. Reading English Language and Linguistics, Joe has made a significant impact on music as a University Music Scholar since arriving in September, playing jazz trumpet in Big Band and Dance Orchestra, Trumpet in Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band, as well as singing tenor in Chorus, Chamber Choir, Cecilian Choir.
First-year Joe Prescott receives his award from Keith Mander
The musical life of the University is nothing without the commitment, enthusiasm and participation of its student community – our thanks and congratulations to all the prize winners for their outstanding involvement in, and contributions to, what has been a memorable year. Here’s looking forward to the next!
As I’ve written about several times previously,the employability of our students in Life After Kent is important, both to us as an extra-curricular department – the range of disciplines being studied in combination with musical pursuits at the university is extraordinary – and to the University itself, with its Employability Points Scheme and the Careers and Employability Service.
With this in mind (and with only a slight changing of ‘music students’ to ‘musical students’), here’s a useful article in The Guardian recently, focusing on the employability of music graduates and the range of skills they can offer that make them highly desirable in the employment sector.
The experience of organising, hosting, and performing in events that are open to the public provides them with skills beyond those on other degree programmes.
I’m pleased to reveal that an interview with Yours Truly and the Director of Music, Susan Wanless, appears in the latest pages of The Teacher Training Journal.
Just published over on Storify, a snapshot of a week in the musical life of the University, including a lunchtime concert, weekend rehearsal, and tweets about timpani-parts and chocolate.
Yesterday’s Open View event, hosted by architects Tim Ronalds, saw the new Colyer-Fergusson Building come alive with music, visitors and guests, as musicians performed in all the available spaces throughout the building.
Guests in the new foyer
Between 3-8pm, the entire place was abuzz with jazz, choral music, solo percussion and piano, acoustic guitar and string quartet music, an aural backdrop as invited guests toured the new facilities, and saw (and heard!) it in action. It was also the first opportunity to test-drive the new performance stage in the foyer, which proved to be a fantastic space with terrific acoustics, ranging from the delicate close-harmony singing of vocal trio ‘The Canterberries’ to the liquid soprano-sax improvisations from sax teacher, Peter Cook. There was even a guest appearance from Ned, the acoustic consultant from the firm Arup Acoustics, on sax (and congas) as well; truly an occasion in which music could be made by many.
Percussion Scholar Carina EvansPianist Scholar Sharon Yam puts the Steinway through its pacesSaxophonist Scholar Tim Pickering and your loyal correspondent try out the new foyer-stageGuitarist Andrew KitchinPianist Scholar Susan Li gets to grips with Rachmaninov in the concert-hallThrough a glass; darkly: string players in one of the upper rehearsal roomsThe Canterberries in ‘All I Want for Christmas’Second-year Emma Murton rehearsing the Chamber Choir
With thanks to all the musicians who took part, and brought the entire building to life.
Because it does. Doesn't it ? Blogging about extra-curricular musical life at the University of Kent.
and keep an eye out for printed programmes around Canterbury. It all starts next weekend…
Read for yourself 
