{"id":6773,"date":"2015-06-15T10:54:44","date_gmt":"2015-06-15T09:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/music-matters\/?p=6773"},"modified":"2015-06-15T12:31:00","modified_gmt":"2015-06-15T11:31:00","slug":"summer-music-week-days-six-and-seven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/music-matters\/2015\/06\/15\/summer-music-week-days-six-and-seven\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Music Week: Days Six and Seven"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer Music Week<\/strong> came to a flourishing finale on Saturday, as the last two days of our week-long end-of-year celebration seemed to go in a flash.<\/p>\n

Friday afternoon saw the Music Theatre Society<\/strong> previewing their ‘Send in the Showtunes’ showcase on the foyer-stage at lunchtime, with some characterful renditions of parts of Little Shop of Horrors<\/em> and Cabaret. <\/em>The evening concert featured the Chamber and Cecilian Choirs<\/strong> in choral music from the Renaissance to the present-day – another opportunity to feature the new departmental harpsichord, in Monteverdi’s Beatus Vir<\/em> – including the premiere of Ringing Changes<\/em> by composer Matthew King<\/strong>, blending choral music with electronics.<\/p>\n

The foyer and concert-hall were in their decorative best on Saturday for Music for a Summer’s Day<\/em>, the traditional finale featuring the Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Choir<\/strong> bidding a final farewell to the musical year. There were tears, too, as final-year sopranos Kathryn Cox<\/strong> and Rowena Murrell<\/strong> stepped out from the Chorus’s bustling\u00a0West Side Story<\/em> medley\u00a0to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone<\/em>, and\u00a0also as all those performing with the department for the final time stood for their applause. The Chamber Choir moved from the atmospheric landscape of Chydenius’ Autumn<\/em> under final-year Emma Murton<\/strong> to lively pop and close-harmony jazz; Michael Sosinski<\/strong> handled his cork-popping solo in the Champagne Polka<\/em> with regal dignity; and the concluding chorus of ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ was conducted with great aplomb by Pro Vice-Chancellor, Keith Mander<\/strong>, a terrific champion of music at the University, for whom this was the last concert.<\/p>\n

The sunshine was also on hand as performers, parents and guests mingled on the Registry lawn for post-performance cream teas, and the opportunity to say goodbye.<\/p>\n