A delightful collection of folk songs with a jazzy treatment by the jazz pianist George Shearing, set to words by Shakespeare, form the core of the programme. In addition, a choral setting by John Rutter of a suite of folk songs in "A Sprig of Thyme" with a sparkling piano accompaniment features traditional songs of the British Isles, drawing together long-standing favourites such as 'Willow Song' and 'The Miller of Dee' with lesser known gems as 'O Can Ye Sew Cushions' and 'The Sprig of Thyme'.
Works by female composers, Sarah MacDonald and Anna Semple are also being introduced as Cantata Choir feature sacred music by women composers.
Local pianist Helen Crayford provides the stunning , rhythmic accompaniment and the small , auditioned chamber choir of Canterbury Cantata Trust is conducted by Emily Renshaw-Kidd, local soloist and head of music at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys.
The trust has at its heart the ambition to provide "Caring through Singing" and offers many opportunities for singers to participate in groups run by the charity from those with Parkinson's and other conditions such as Long Covid. Recently celebrating its tenth anniversary as a charity, it is now collaborating with a centre for integrated therapies in Canterbury to offer singing there, the first in the country to offer many therapies all under one roof.
Tickets will be available on the door or through the link below.
Event date: Saturday, 10 June 2023 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm Ticket Prices: Adult £10, students £5
The Launch of the groundbreaking new Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy
Sing to Beat’s flagship Parkinson’s group, Canterbury Skylarks, were delighted to participate in the launch of the groundbreaking new Parkinson’s Centre for Integrated Therapy on World Parkinson’s Day. Based in the Kent MS Therapy Centre at the University of Kent, the new Centre will provide a range of evidence-based non-pharmacological treatments and wellness resources, so that multiple Parkinson’s symptoms can be managed all under one roof. In addition to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mental health support and speech and language therapy, the centre also offers wrap-around support including group singing, nutritional guidance, massage and ground-breaking neurostimulation techniques.
The all singing all dancing centre is now launched !. Ever since I first heard about it I thought the Parkinson Centre for integrative therapy in Canterbury was a good idea. But visiting it in person convinced me it is a brilliant one pic.twitter.com/lM2P7Myo7V
From April 25th, Canterbury Skylarks will relocate to the centre, which is located very close to Simon Langton School for Boys. This will enable Skylarks to continue under the wonderful stewardship of Emily Renshaw-Kidd and sixth-form students from the school, as well as opening up the potential for participation, observation and research from University of Kent students.
Dear friends of Canterbury Cantata Trust,
We held the AGM on the 25th February at St. Paul's church with all trustees present and Grenville, Matt Shipton and Emily Renshaw-Kidd also. I presented the Chair's report and information on the sponsors and donations during 2022 as detailed in the newsletter.
There was a very low turnout but we were extremely pleased to be able to present the annotated accounts summary, prepared by Joanna Heath, and to announce that the position of Artistic Director will be passed to Emily Renshaw-Kidd, now that Grenville is standing down after his establishment of the trust and ten year guardianship of the position. We all believe that this offers wonderful continuity for the Trust due to the long established musical relationship between Grenville and Emily, and over the next few months they will work together to ensure a smooth handover. Emily is already truly embedded in the Trust, running both Skylarks Canterbury and Cantata, fully exemplifying the ethos of the Trust. The liaison between SImon Langton School for boys and the new PCFIT (Parkinson's Centre for Integrated Therapies) centre nearby will soon be cemented, offering further opportunities to extend the reach of the "Sing to Beat" programme to those with MS who use the centre.
Thanks as ever were given to all the facilitators, accompanists, trustees and volunteers who keep the wheels of the Trust turning to ensure singers can continue improving their wellbeing.
The accounts summary and newsletter will soon be uploaded to the CCT website to accompany the full accounts that are already there in the governance section.
Wishing you all a healthy spring and the rest of 2023,
Roshna Ahmad.
MUSIC for HEAVEN and EARTH July 2nd 2022
Canterbury Cantata at St Paul’s Church, Canterbury
Our summer concert featuring the challenging Bach motets Singet dem Herrn and Jesu Meine Freude, contrasted with the serene Mawby Ave Verum Corpus and Shearing’s delightful collection of jazzy interpretation of Shakespeare Sonnets, Music to Hear, brought our choral year to an end.<
We were very lucky to be joined by pianist Helen Crayford, Emily Rossiter on cello and Robert Rawson on double bass to complete the ensemble under the baton of Emily Renshaw.
The concert also featured from within the choir, soprano, Anna Clare Bartlett as soloist in the Handel aria Meine Seel Hört im Sehen, Diana Gabriel on oboe and Stephen Barker performing the Stanford Prelude on the organ.
A French friend commented afterwards,” A beautiful evening by a very talented and generous choir”.
Do look out for our concerts next year, which will be featured on the website and our facebook pages… hope to see you there.
With thanks to Emily Renshaw for her direction and encouragement, the committee and Tim Kidd for the photographs.