Featured article #2
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Music in Thanet: links
Some links for those interested in listening to or playing live music in and around Thanet. Eventually it would be good if each of the groups had an entry in the wiki here…
General:
- Thanet Classics - Facebook group (full list of forthcoming concerts in and around Thanet: needs Facebook ID)
Playing groups:
Orchestras:
- Thanet Light Orchestra (amateur group [with many pros] playing anything from Bach to the Beatles; meets in Ramsgate; new players welcome)
- Bradstow Symphony Orchestra (symphony orchestra, originating from the Bradstow Singers - see below)
Wind bands:
- Thanet Concert Band (amateur wind band)
- Broadstairs and St Peter's Concert Band
- Birchington Silver Band (since 1930s; frequent concerts)
Choirs:
- Thanet BIGMOUTH Chorus (no audition, Tuesday evenings in Margate, ages 14+; run by local composer/sound artist Emily Peasgood)
- Bradstow Singers (rehearse in Reading Street under Jacob Bride a.k.a. James Cook; often perform with full orchestra)
- Thanet Big Sing Community Choir (no audition, Tuesday evenings in Broadstairs; 60+ members)
- Thanet Male Voice Choir (Broadstairs)
- Thanet Festival Choir (Ramsgate)
- Seventy Choir (since 1944; Broadstairs)
- Cantate (professional chamber choir; Minster/Ramsgate)
- Coastal Voices (small chamber choir concentrating on early music)
- Phoenix Singers (directed by Adrian Perkins, organist at Holy Trinity Broadstairs - now defunct)
Operatic societies:
- Margate Operatic Society (founded in 1907; one show, one pantomime each year at the Winter Gardens)
- Ramsgate Operatic Society (founded in 1960; two-three shows per year at the Granville, Sarah Thorne, etc. - but ceased in 2023)
Chamber groups:
- Impromptu Ensemble (string quartets and larger groups, playing at weddings and similar events throughout East Kent)
- Thanet Sinfonia - baroque ensemble
- Thanet Clarinet Quartet (a.k.a. Chalumeaux Sounds / Thanet Concert Clarinets; wind group playing regularly in Margate Old Town and Minnis Bay URC church)
Schools/teachers:
- Thanet Music Centre (a.k.a. Thanet Community Music) run by Kent Music (a.k.a. 'Kent Music School'). Tuition, junior string group, etc. Thanet Youth Orchestra used to be based here.
- Thanet Youth Music Action Zone (at Pie Factory Music; a.k.a. Kent Music Scene)
Venues:
- Theatre Royal (Margate venue)
- Winter Gardens (Margate venue)
Music societies
- Music at York Street (high-brow chamber concerts; formerly known as Broadstairs Music Recital Society)
Miscellaneous:
- Thanet Music & Drama Festival (annual amateur competitive festival; includes a dance section)
- Broadstairs Folk Week (very popular event in August)
- Dave Corsby (jazz composer / arranger / performer)
Some links not limited to Thanet:
Wind bands
- Invicta Concert Band (based in Herne Bay)
- Kent Coastal Concert Band (also based in Herne Bay)
- Beverley Big Band (yet another based in Herne Bay; formed 1994, around 22 members, focus on jazz / dance events)
- Herne Bay Concert Band (based in Kent!)
- Railway Swing Band (based in Deal; formed 1992, 40+ players aged 16 to over 80)
- Betteshanger Brass Band
Choirs
- Snowdown Colliery Male Voice Choir
- Maridadi Singers & Drummers (vocal/hand drumming global music choir based in Canterbury)
- Canterbury Choral Society (long established amateur choir)
- Kent Opera (Medway-based group, unconnected with previous Kent Opera)
Orchestras
- Amateur Orchestras throughout the southeast
- Canterbury Orchestra (long-standing amateur group)
- City of Canterbury Sinfonia (short-lived semi-pro group around 2007)
- Kent Concert Orchestra (professional group)
- The Becker (professional Sandwich ensemble)
- Astor Palm Court Orchestra (professional group based around Wingham/Deal)
Music societies
- Whitstable Music Society (regular chamber concerts with professional musicians)
Shops
- Crowthers of Canterbury (music shop, including sheet music, instruments, repairs, etc.)
Schools
- Thanington School of Music (near Canterbury)
- Kent Organ School (tuition, demonstrations, etc.)
Venues
Miscellaneous
- Organ Recitals in Kent (searchable database)
- Canterbury Festival (annual professional festival of the arts)
- Arts Council South East
- National Federation of Music Societies (t/as Making Music) has lists of local affiliated groups
- Amateur Chamber Music Players (international network)
Some pieces connected with Thanet
- Royden Barrie (pseudonym of Richard Rodney Bennett's father) and Kennedy Russell wrote a song praising St Nicholas-at-Wade in 1924
- Bill Worland wrote a suite of light music called Broadstairs in "1960-2000" (!), which was recorded by the City of Prague Symphonic Orchestra. Thanet Light Orchestra then gave its Broadstairs premiere, in the presence of his surviving relatives, in 2014. He also wrote other pieces connected with e.g. Leeds Castle.
- Thomas Dunhill wrote a choral piece called "Thanet" which was rediscovered and performed by Cantate Chamber Choir a few years ago
- H. Carey wrote "Six cantatas humbly dedicated to the Rt. Honble Sackville Earl of Thanet"
- Alfred Wall wrote a "Thanet Overture" whose London premiere took place at the Proms on 26 September 1922.