Category: Music
-
Explaining Lucia di Lammermoor
Our Opera Group met on Thursday 28 November 2024 for an entire performance of the opera by Gaetano Donizetti based on the novel by Sir Walter Scott. The plot revolves around the control of a young couple by their two families, although this story is based in Scotland rather than Verona! As with Shakespeare’s tale,…
-
Opera Lovers Overture Gets Ovation!
On Thursday 26 September 2024, our new Opera Lovers Group had its first meeting and there was an ovation from those present for what had been achieved! Zsuzsanna, who is the Group Leader, had wisely chosen a light comedic opera for our start, and some 20 people were present for the first meeting. The chosen…
-
Singing for Pleasure in Usual Room!
After a couple of months having to manage in various locations, our Singing for Pleasure Group were back in their usual location on Monday 02 September 2024. There have been extensive refurbishments taking place at the Harrow District Masonic Centre (HDMC) over the past couple of months, and many of our groups have had to…
-
Singing for Pleasure gets under way!
Our new Singing for Pleasure Group had its first meeting on Monday 13 May 2024, and as you can see, this looks like it is going to be a popular group at Kenton & District u3a. We are lucky in having Pauline to lead the new group, as she is able to conduct the singers…
-
Record Breaking Record Collection?
Our Jazz Appreciation Group met on Tuesday 26 March 2024 with a guest speaker Peter who has a very impressive collection of Jazz music on some 10,000 vinyl records. His 23 visits to the USA to scavenge in the many downtown record stores has resulted in him holding some very rare discs indeed. Peter had…
-
How Jazz Divided and Developed
Our Jazz Appreciation group were treated to an afternoon that analysed and described how the Traditional Jazz Bands in Great Britain divided, reformed, split and developed in the post-war period. Our guide on the subject, Ken, had a wealth of material and was able to illustrate the changes with a number of recordings. We were…
-
The History of Early Recorded Sound
Our Monthly Meeting on Wednesday 24 January 2024 featured a familiar face – Herbie Goldberg – as our speaker. His subject was The History of Recorded Sound. Whilst many people believe that the first recorded sound was Thomas Edison reciting a nursery rhyme about a girl and her little lamb, Herbie was able to correct…
-
Examining Jazz’s Roots in Classical
On Wednesday 11 October 2023, we enjoyed a new session that examined the roots of jazz in classical music with two presenters, one concentrating on the jazz influence on classical music, and the other looking at interpretations of classical music by jazz musicians. Herbie introduced us to the music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. Gottschalk was…
-
Exploring the Big Band Sound 1926-45
Our Jazz Appreciation group explored the Big Band Sound on Tuesday 22 August 2023 with Ken providing a series of recordings that illustrated the development of the sound. Starting with the music of Fletcher Henderson and his Orchestra in about 1926, a new sound was developed using the Swing form of Jazz. The new sound…
-
Jazz Appreciation Tours the World
Our well-attended Jazz Appreciation Group made a tour of the world of Jazz at their meeting on Tuesday 27 June 2023. Starting in the USA with ‘Fats’ Waller playing “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, then to France for Django Reinhardt, then to New England for Bing Crosby singing “Now you has Jazz”. Back to France for Claude Luter…