A question I’m often asked, whether from colleagues, friends, my neighbours’ endlessly curious granddaughter: What do you do, Dan ? What does the extra-curricular music department do; what’s it all about ?
I would usually start by saying, well, we get lots of musicians together from both within the University and beyond, create ensembles, have a weekly rehearsal schedule, and give public performances each term. We have a small group of Music Scholars and Award Holders who take a prominent role amongst the ensembles, and it all comes to a glorious flourishing conclusion with our annual Summer Music Week festival, bringing many of the ensembles and performers together for a final time before the end of the year.
And that’s all true.
But it’s not quite everything.
And it’s not perhaps what’s the most important aspect of what we do.
What I’ve started saying instead, is that we build a community. Every year. From scratch. We’re an extra-curricular provision, so entirely dependent on who walks through the doors of Colyer-Fergusson each September – students and staff alike. And some of our ensembles are also open to alumni and members of the local community, too. And our job – perhaps the most vital aspect of our activity – is to bring all these musicians together and build a community to which they can belong, in which they can participate.
This is especially important when it comes to welcoming first-year and international students, people who might be anxious about being away from home, wondering how they will find a group of friends, how they are going to fit in – and for overseas students, even more so. For those who are worried about making social connections, about finding their feet, the music-making community here at Kent offers a ready-made opportunity to do all those things.
And for students returning in their second or third year, who were involved the year before, it’s a chance to get back to rehearsing and performing with the group of friends they made last year, and meet new ones. Music is open to staff, too; you’ll find members of administrative staff or heads of departments sitting alongside students amongst the strings or woodwind sections in the Orchestra, or sat alongside them on the choral-risers each Monday night when Chorus meets. Along with external members of the community, who come from Folkestone to Faversham, from Whitstable to Wye, and elsewhere, all these musicians come together in the shared endeavour of rehearsing and performing, that creative odyssey that impacts so much on people’s wellbeing.
On my desk as I write, I have all the thank-you cards that we received a few weeks ago, from students who are graduating, for whom the recent Summer Music Week has been the final opportunity to be part of it all. Similar sentiments echo throughout: ‘Thank you for making me so welcome;’ ‘the experience of making music here has changed my life;’ ‘being part of the musical community has been a rewarding experience for me;’ ‘thank you for creating such a nurturing environment;’ ‘thank you for making a safe space for everyone.’ They talk of transformative experiences, opportunities that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, memories they will value, friendships formed.
So, yes; thanks to the marvellous generosity of the Music donors and benefactors, we bring musicians together to rehearse and perform; we offer a Music Scholarship programme to support and develop particularly talented students; and we have regular performances throughout the academic year, both on and off-campus. But that doesn’t reflect the true essence of community-building that lies at the centre of it all, and what is really the beating heart of the vibrant provision we create each year that energises the University community, its campus, its region, and beyond.
See all that’s to come
Former Pro Vice Chancellor and current Chair of the Board of Canterbury Festival, Professor Keith Mander, presented the 
Together with the Music Scholars’ Lunchtime Recital which precedes the award ceremony, the two events are an excellent opportunity to highlight some of our outstanding performers and participants who have made such a vital contribution through participating in extra-curricular music alongside their studies, taking the opportunity to engage in rehearsals and performances as part of their cultural life whilst at Kent.
