University College Chorus performing Handel's Messiah at the Sheldonian Theatre.
I have been involved in music since I was a child, taking piano exams through The Royal Conservatory of Music until I got my ARCT Piano Teacher certificate in 1989. I also played trombone in my school band and stage band throughout high school. Once I started university I drifted away from music altogether, much to my regret. Coming to Oxford represented a great opportunity to rediscover this love.
One of the first things I did was to try to relearn how to play piano. After a 9+ year hiatus it was shocking how much I had forgotten! Nevertheless I have persisted with practice and at times have improved to the point that some of the pieces could be performed in public (well, for a small group of friends). Unfortunately I now maintain too hectic a schedule to practice much more than haphazardly at best and am now rather out of form again.
I have always enjoyed singing along with the radio, but had never done much singing in choirs. The University College Chorus, being a non-auditioning chorus, seemed like the perfect starting point for me. I started singing tenor for Chorus during my first term and have enjoyed it so much that I have continued to sing with Chorus throughout my time at Oxford. My highlight concert with them was held in the Sheldonian Theatre on Wednesday, 1 March 2000, at which we performed Mozart's Requiem with the Oxford Millenium Orchestra. We played to a packed house and the atmosphere was absolutely electric. It was definitely the most fantastic concert in which I have been involved.
In Hilary Term 2001 we were back performing in the Sheldonian Theatre. The piece was Handel's Messiah. Although the house wasn't full it was still a good concert with a bit of a buzz in the air. Highlight of the night was the "Hallelujah" chorus for which the entire audience stood up (as per tradition).
Although I've decided to audition for a few other choirs this year, I'll be back for a fourth year with Chorus as well. Look for our annual Sheldonian concert when we are slated to sing Handel's Creation.
I also felt the itch to become involved in orchestral music as well. I found out about the Fidelio Orchestra when I first arrived. It, like Univ Chorus, was non-auditioning, perfect for my skill level. The only problem was that I hadn't brought my trombone along with me. I had to wait a year and ask a couple of friends to bring it out when they came out for a tour of Europe. I had not played for over 8 years so naturally my abilities had atrophied, but not nearly as appallingly as piano. In fact, after a bit of practice I was back to a reasonable if not fabulous level, although I always have to be reminded what a "crochet" and a "quaver" are. Unfortunately quite a few orchestral compositions do not have trombone parts, so in concerts I have sometimes doubled as a French horn (still played on the trombone) or played percussion, triangle to be specific. While some of rehearsals have been absolutely dire, the concerts have generally pleasantly surprised me with their quality.
For my last concert we played Mozart's "Overture to The Magic Flute", Elgar's "Salut d'Amour" and "Chanson du Matin" (I didn't have a part in these two), and the first two movements from Mendelssohn's 2nd Symphony. This was the best Fidelio concert I've been involved in. It also marked a personal high in terms of notes played (B-flat above middle C multiple times) during a concert, although my overall performance wasn't near my best. Still, I came in correctly at all of the key places, which is all that mattered.
This year Fidelio Orchestra has morphed into the University College Orchestra in a bid to get a fresh start on life. I took this as a sign for me to move on as well, so I auditioned for the university orchestras. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, I was unsuccessful in my bid as I had not practised all summer. This means that I will be taking a hiatus from orchestra this year.
Both the Univ Chorus and the Fidelio Orchestra are run by the University College Music Society.
For the past couple of years I also sang tenor (and the occasional fill-in as bass) with the Somerville College Chapel Choir. Singing with the chapel choir represented a different challenge from Univ Chorus with its greater emphasis on sight-reading ability. This sharpened my skills to the benefit of this choir as well as Chorus. I found my second year in chapel choir easier as we repeated several of the pieces from term to term. It helped to have more support from new recruits as well. I enjoyed both the singing and the congenial company, and the free dinners afterwards weren't bad either!
This year the Chapel Choir has a new director with a grander vision. Unfortunately I cannot devote the time required to achieve this vision so Chapel Choir is another activity that has fallen victim to my hectic lifestyle.
That's not to say that I don't have grander visions (or are they delusions of grandeur?) for myself. I finally got up the ambition to audition for a couple of choirs this year. Although I was accepted into the Oxford Bach Choir, I decided to withdraw because it was a little too serious for my tastes. I eventually settled in with the Oxford Student Chorus (formerly Oxford Univerity Chorus). It is a smaller choir than Univ Chorus, but everyone is a capable singer so the OS Chorus can tackle more difficult pieces with greater attention to detail.
For our first concert we teamed up with the Oxford University Orchestra and an off-stage band recruited from Cambridge University to perform Mahler's Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection". With a projected full house in the Sheldonian Theatre, it promised to be an electrifying performance. The orchestra was fabulous, and, despite having a scant four rehearsals to master a challenging piece, the chorus did an admirable job as well. As predicted the house was packed and appreciative, and while the chorus was not the main attraction of the night, it was still a great event to be a part of.
For our main concert of the term we moved to the intimate confines of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin where we performed the "Stabat Mater" from Verdi's Quattro Pezzi Sacri and Faure's Requiem. Attrition had taken its toll during the term and the choir was understrength on the night. We were also hampered by a misunderstanding with the publishers that resulted in the "Stabat Mater" not arriving until two weeks before the concert. Despite that we soldiered on gamely, but we were not able to live up to our full potential during the performance. An unresponsive audience didn't help the atmosphere, and I must sadly confess that the experience was underwhelming.
Having concentrated on the classical genre up until now (and having mastered the art of counting 200+ bars of rests), I decided to branch out musically by joining the Inter-College Jazz Band, also known in some circles as the Hertford College Jazz Band. The name is a bit of misnomer since it's more of a swing band, and I did play in a stage band at school for four years so it wasn't all entirely new. It's a great deal of fun as we play all the classics of yesteryear.
Last term we played a couple of gigs. The first was at the Merton Winter Ball where we were the opening act, providing a bit of light entertainment as people arrived for drinks. We started playing to an empty house, and while it did fill up by the end of our set we only ever got a bit of very scattered applause. Our second gig was at a Hertford entz event, where the band has quite a following. The crowd warmed up to us in short order, and as the drinks flowed the masses were dancing along enthusiastically to our numbers. With a couple of stormin' improv sessions thrown in, it was fabulously fun night.
I will be performing in Gilbert & Sullivan's Princess Ida with the OU Gilbert & Sullivan Society.
I've also sang in a number of one-off events courtesy of my links with the Somerville Chapel Choir and University College Chorus.