2012 Annual Report - Jesus College - University of Cambridge

COLLEGE NEWS I Jesus College Annual Report 2012 71
December saw the College Choir fly off to Ukraine at the invitation of the Dmitry
Firtash Foundation. Mr Firtash has been responsible for the establishment and
sponsorship of a course in Ukrainian Studies at the University and invited the Choir to
travel to his homeland after hearing them sing at the Senate House earlier in the year.
Two sell-out concerts in Lviv and Kiev were greeted with standing ovations and the Choir
took part in a number of other engagements, including a musical soirée hosted by the
British Council in Kiev and attended by visiting MPs and Peers, the British Ambassador
and members of the Dmitry Firtash Foundation. Keen to encourage cultural exchange
between the UK and Ukraine, the DF Foundation organised a joint musical workshop
with students from the Boris Grinchenko University in Kiev which proved to be a fruitful
and humbling experience. Never shy of publicity, the Choir enjoyed considerable media
coverage with articles appearing in the Ukrainian and Russian press and a notable
appearance on the country’s leading TV chat show.
The Lent Term began with a memorable performance in King’s College Chapel under
the baton of Sir Mark Elder, Principal Conductor of the Hallé Orchestra and Cambridge
alumnus. A week of intensive rehearsals with the maestro and the chorusmaster (none
other than JCC’s own Director of Music) led to a concert which saw CUMS I and CUCO
joined by the chapel choirs of Clare, Gonville & Caius, Jesus, King’s and Selwyn in
Debussy’s La Damoiselle Elue and Act III of Wagner’s Parsifal. Sir Mark insisted on the men
of the chorus singing from memory as they processed through the building, the sound
of the orchestra swelling underneath them, building to a shattering climax that few will
ever forget – it’s not often that choral scholars have the opportunity to sing Wagner! As
usual, the Choir played its part in the College’s celebrations of Candlemas, St Radegund
and St David in addition to special services for Ash Wednesday and the Commemoration
of Benefactors. Joint services with the choirs of Clare College Cambridge, Worksop
College and of Bedford School were much enjoyed by Jesuans and visitors alike, and we
were delighted to welcome Dr Peter Hurford, former Organ Scholar and Honorary
Fellow to Evensong in February to present a set of volumes of the newly-commissioned
‘Choirbook for the Queen’. February also saw Jesus choral scholars draw plaudits for
their organisation, direction and performance in the CUOS production of Die Fledermaus
The Dean of Chapel meets Dmitry Firtash in Kiev