Kent Music Summer School 2019!
Held in July, the Kent Music Summer School brought together county musicians together to perform in various ensembles, led by leading professional musicians in the heart of the Kentish countryside at Benenden School.
I was privileged to have been invited to join the Kent Youth Wind Orchestra (KYWO) as a guest flautist for their Summer School course at the prestigious Benenden School. Conducted by Wing Commander Duncan Stubbs OBE, the musicians performed repertoire ranging from the Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune and Guy Woolfenden’s Gallimaufry. Founded in 1976, KYWO is one of the country’s leading wind orchestras with many musicians following up to play in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the National Youth Wind Orchestra, and has performed in venues including the Colyer-Fergusson Hall and more.
With the five-day residential music course being held at Benenden School, advanced musicians had the experience of rehearsing together, both in sectionals and also in the orchestra altogether. Not only was the accommodation and food fantastic, the state-of-the-art facilities allowed for many games of tennis, dodgeball and rounders in which I greatly enjoyed after intensive yet rewarding days of rehearsals.
The experience concluded through the concert which allowed us to showcase all that we had learnt in the past five days performing at Benenden School. My inaugural experience performing 1st flute and piccolo with KYWO is one to be cherished; it has definitely been one of my favourite musical ventures this year, with lifelong friendships made with many as well as my performance and general musicianship skills galvanised.
I would definitely recommend young musicians to apply for the courses available – some other courses that I would recommend include the Summer Singing and the Musical Theatre course.