I saw recently that the Kings Men have been in existence for over 50 years. Ironic then that this week there was a breathtaking concert at Kings College Cambridge celebrating 50 years of women as students at Kings. The Kings Men have been there longer than women have been at the college and yet up to now there has been no Kings Women or choir for women on the same basis! For a forward thinking college this is a bit of a huge oversight.
It was very fitting that debuting at that concert was a new choir. There seems to have been a bit of resistance to them being called the Kings Women , so the KWMG (Kings Women and Marginalised Genders) choir took the floor for the first time to a packed Wilkins Hall. This is a choir led not by an employed choir master but two students. This is an inclusive choir, so very fitting for the world we now live in. Most of all, this was a choir to equal that of the Kings Men . It’s time for them to shuffle quietly over to one side and let this amazing choir be heard on an equal basis.
They were opening this fantastic concert showcasing women at Kings. Pieces played by the orchestra included works by Judith Weir (Master of the Kings Music) who was in the second year of women at Kings ; Dawn Erridge, a current student , and Amy Beech.
This felt very much like a concert making a place in history. The orchestra were stunning and would not be out of place at the Proms, the choir however? Watch out for more from this choir. In a world where equality is on everyone’s minds (or should be) let’s see this choir be treated and looked upon as it should be alongside the Kings Men. Perhaps it is even time 50 years on that women and girls become part of the chapel choir. Move over boys…make room and let these stunning voices be heard.
Listening to and seeing music being played / sung is inspiring and I find it hugely emotional (just ask my daughters!) perhaps that’s why I link my art to music as I do. Even if a piece doesn’t have music in the background I listen to music as I work and I’m sure it still influences what I do in much the same way as a landscape may inspire someone to paint it.
Lets hope that when 100 years of women at Kings is celebrated a further work by Dawn is performed , KWMG choir has a list of many recordings (including jointly with the Kings Men!) and that the Kings orchestra have been to perform not only at the Proms but many places around the Uk and the world !
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