Tag Archives: String Sinfonia

Notes on Music

Bring me sunshine: Summer Music Week

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Our annual Summer Music Week festival to celebrate the end of another musical year at the University is now published online, with all the details of what’s coming up.

Deal_BandstandRunning from Sunday 7 to Saturday 13 June, the week kicks off with a seaside visit to the Deal Bandstand with the Big Band; some of the singing Music Scholars will present a programme of Operatic Heroines in Love on Monday 8; the Lunchtime Concert on Tuesday 9 from some of this year’s Music Scholars, followed by the Music Awards ceremony; Wednesday sees the Concert and Big Bands coming together in the evening; Thursday features an informal lunchtime performance from the String Sinfonia; on Friday the Music Theatre Society performs on the foyer-stage at lunchtime, whilst in the evening we present our choral commission from composer Matthew King, poet Patricia Debney with projected photos by Phil Ward, performed by the Chamber and Cecilian Choirs; and the week comes to a festive conclusion with the Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Choir on the Saturday afternoon, followed by cream teas on the lawn and many fond farewells.

summer_music_flowerRelive the memories of last year’s festival on our Pinterest board here: full details of all the events are published online here, or you can collect a brochure for the week’s events from Colyer-Fergusson soon.

Don’t forget to follow @UKCSummerMusic on Twitter in the build-up to and throughout the festival. Bring me sunshine…

Notes on Music

Two concerts, five ensembles over the next few days

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There’s no let-up in the frantic pace of music-making here in Colyer-Fergusson over the next few days; tomorrow night sees our own ‘Three Choirs’ concert as Invicta Voices, the Chamber Choir and the Cecilian Choir come together for a programme celebrating the richness of choral music from Monteverdi to the present day, for which they will also be joined by the String Sinfonia; and on Sunday, there’s a bonus concert from the Symphony Orchestra featuring movements from Sibelius’s Katelia Suite and Dvorak’s New World Symphony, again featuring the String Sinfonia.

Details of both concerts can be found online here. It’s going to be fun…

Notes on Music

Forces assemble for Monteverdi

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The University Cecilian Choir and String Sinfonia have each been quietly preparing for the concert at the end of the month, at which they will come together to perform Monteverdi’ brilliant Beatus Vir and a motet by Hassler.

CecilianChoir_Sinfonia_rehearsal - Copy

The two forces came together for the first time yesterday to unleash Monterverdi’s dramatic piece in the hall, with fantastically exciting results. It’s not an easy work; dialogue between the various sections of the choir, and between the choir and the strings, means that there’s no respite – you can’t lose concentration for a moment, and need to be poised constantly for the next entry.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed the digital piano to the fore, which with its harpsichord patch is currently standing in for the genuine article, which is being built and which we hope will be arriving in time for the concert.

Well done to the assembled team; the final performance will involve yet more musicians who were unable to make yesterday’s rehearsal, bringing the combined forces to just under fifty students, staff and alumni. Choir and Sinfonia will be performing on Friday 27 March in a programme shared with the University Chamber Choir and the launching of the new Alumni Chamber Choir, Invicta Voices. The concert is free to attend: more details here.

To whet your appetites, here’s the piece in a vivacious performance from the excellent Collegium Vocale Seoul.

Notes on Music

Summer Music Week: events now online

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And with the sound of heralding in the distance, the clarion-call of trumpets and a celestial choir, we are delighted to announce that the full line-up of events for Summer Music Week has now been published online.

summer_music_flowerThe annual music celebration of the end of the University year starts with the University Big Band beside the seaside, performing at Deal Bandstand in support of Porchlight on Sunday 8 June at 2.30pm. Events then continue throughout the week – choral music, jazz, Big Band Gala, Music Scholars‘ recital, period-costume with the Dance Orchestra, foyer-stage gigs and more – culminating eventually in Music for a Summer’s Day on Sunday 15 June at 3pm, in which the combined forces of the University Chorus, Orchestra, Concert Band and Chamber Choir bid a rousing farewell to the end of another musical year.

Venues this year range from the seaside at Deal to the historic venues of St Thomas’ Hospital and the ancient St Peter’s Anglican Church in Canterbury, as well as the lively foyer-stage and the Colyer-Fergusson concert-hall.

Explore the complete programme online here: plenty to look forward to in this, the last term. Follow #SummerMusicWeek or @UKCSummerMusic on Twitter.

Now Hear This!

Just because it’s June…Summer Music Week

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I’m delighted to say that the details for Summer Music Week (Mon 3 – Sun 9 June) have just been published live.

The week-long events programme opens in rousing style with music for brass and percussion at lunchtime on Monday 3 June, and continues throughout the week with a recital from some of the Music Scholars; a day of jazz, culminating in the annual bun-fest that is the Big Band Gala with special guests; string music is the theme on Thursday, including the String Sinfonia; Friday celebrates choral music with a lunchtime of a cappella vocal music, whilst the University Chamber and Cecilian Choirs come together in the evening concert; and the whole week, nay, the whole musical year, reaches its climax on the Sunday, in a combined afternoon concert with the University Chorus, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Band and Chamber Choir.

summer_music_flowerFind out all that’s happening that week, including many free events, on the website here.

Just because it’s June…

Building for the future

A week of firsts…

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So far, it’s been a week of firsts.

Moving into the new building on Tuesday, Tuesday night saw the first Chamber Choir rehearsal in the new concert-hall.

University Chamber Choir

Yesterday, Day Two of the move, saw the Sirocco Ensemble meeting for the first time this year in one of the upper rehearsal rooms:

Sirocco Ensemble

Following this was the inaugural rehearsal of the newest departmental ensemble, the University String Sinfonia, which became the first instrumental ensemble to use the new hall.

Strings attached: the String Sinfonia

And finally, in the evening, Concert Band and Big Band came into the new building for each of their first rehearsals here.

Band substance: Concert Band

Today is Day Three, which will see the Cecilian Choir rehearsing in the hall this afternoon, followed by the Symphony Orchestra tonight. Which will leave Chorus to meet in the hall on Monday of next week for the first time, and we’ll have run the gamut of all the current ensembles trying out the new building. Plus the development of the building’s social spaces as its furniture is installed.

What an amazing week; and it’s not over yet…