Musicmembers

Music for Change is an organisation that promotes awareness, understanding and respect for cultural diversity through music and performing arts. We work with skilled artists originating from countries across the world. Their art forms include West African (djembe) drumming, Indian Kathak dance and Chinese folk dance. The role of the organisation is to encourage people to celebrate cultural commonality and diversity whilst challenging preconceptions and prejudice. We develop cutting edge projects in collaboration with schools and communities, and in consultation with artists and participants. We can provide live workshops as well as interactive resources.

A Male Voice Choir of 40+ singers. Formed in 1929 by miners who had come to work in the new Kent coalfield, we now draw our members from all over S.E.Kent and from all walks of life. Based at Aylesham, we practice every week and sing 20 concerts a year, in S.E England, and on the near the Continent.

Sounds New … it's exciting, challenging, invigorating AND it's NEW! SOUNDS NEW - ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF NEW MUSIC. Sounds New is THE Contemporary Classical Music Festival in the South East of England, based in the famous Cathedral city of Canterbury, promoting music in various genres, providing platforms for outstanding musicians and presenting music by the best composers of our time as well as up-and-coming composers of the next generations. After a tremendously successful Sounds New 2008 celebrating the Music of Messiaen and his legacy, Sounds New 2009 went on to a different league when they welcomed the world renowned Polish composer Krzystof Penderecki and celebrated his masterworks and the music of his homeland with works by Gorecki and Lutoslawski amongst others, finishing off with one of the greatest concerts ever to take place in Canterbury Cathedral with Penderecki himself conducting his monumental St. Luke Passion with the Warsaw Boys Choir, the Camerata Silesian, the Polish Radio Choir Katowice and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra! Sounds New strives to provide excellence - and excitement - and fun! This year's theme for Sounds New is a number - The Number SEVEN! SOUNDS NEW CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2010 SYMBOLISM AND NUMEROLOGY IN MUSIC: THE NUMBER SEVEN May 7th – May 16th Composers love to tell us about their beliefs, their passions. They tell us their profoundest thoughts using symbolism and numerology is a means of encrypting such expression. We cannot forget Bach’s structures based on the shape of the cross in his Passions or Berg’s expressions of love for a younger woman in his violin concerto. The number seven is a number that has many connotations, be they astrological, astronomical, religious or as seemingly mundane as the number of days in a week. This year’s festival takes you on a journey of symbolism, allowing you the chance to discover more about the mysteries the number seven holds. With music that stretches from 20th century masterworks such as Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Xenakis’ Pleiades to new works specially composed for this festival such as Jack Hues’ response to Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross and the UK Conservatoire young composers’ new compositions based on this number. In case all this sounds very serious, let me remind you that Sounds New likes fun! So we look at the number seven in amusing ways. Did you know that the harp has seven pedals? Of course, there is the famous big-bang theory about creation. So, we have invited the great Ronnie Scott’s Big Band to recreate the Atomic Mr. Basie! And if you have a penchant for ‘naughtiness’, why not enjoy Kurt Weill’s highly-charged interpretation of The Seven Deadly Sins. Sounds New brings you the world’s leading performers. Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern and Cantus Ansambl are the leading contemporary music groups of their respective countries. The Aurora Orchestra, the CBSO Chamber Players and the Ronnie Scott’s Big Band contain the UK’s finest talent. We invite some of the world’s best young artists, notably the outstanding Polish prize-winning pianist Barbara Drazkowska and Concertgebouw Prize-winning harpist Lavinia Meijer. We also celebrate the influence of Gustav Mahler in this special anniversary year. A major new development for 2010 is the International Composer Pyramid - a collaboration between Sounds New [UK] and Coups de Vents [France], which, over the coming years, will promote the best composers of the new generations. We thank INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeën – European Union for funding this project. With films, workshops, a massive variety of education projects, a major international conference, a residential course for contemporary music aficionados, installations, lunchtime events, outdoor events, evening concerts and late-night gigs, Sounds New has something for all tastes, be they seemingly conservative or just plain wild! Professor Paul Edlin ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Open Choir for female voices, focussing on process, development and discovery.
Why not dip your toe in the water?

Whitstable Choral Society is a mixed choir of 100 plus members who meet weekly on a Tuesday evening in St John's Church Whitstable. We aim to perform four concerts each year in local venues which include Canterbury Cathedral and St Alphege Church Whitstable.The music we sing is varied and we are always looking for new members. Our Musical Director is David Flood the organist and choirmaster at Canterbury Cathedral. We have many social events.