Music

Sidney Sussex rose from the ruins of a Franciscan Friary in 1596 and, while historically not one of the ’traditional’ musical establishments in Cambridge, it has long been a nest for professional musicians. One of the earliest was the Royalist pamphleteer, author, and violist Roger L’Estrange (1616-1704), whose family were patrons of the composer John Jenkins. Earlier still, the great Elizabethan composer William Byrd would have been well-known to the foundress, Lady Frances Sidney, and indeed two very fine elegies by Byrd survive for her nephew, the poet and courtier Sir Philip Sidney. The College’s twentieth-century musicians include the jazz-blues saxophonist Dick Hecksall-Smith (1953), the composer/conductor/percussionist James Wood (1972), and bass/baritone Andrew Stewart (1997). Currently resident in the College is Dr Christopher Page (1991), founder and former director of the multi-award-winning Gothic Voices, and Dr David Skinner (2006), the College’s first Director of Music.

The College also prides itself in being an open and friendly environment for music-making at all levels, and for those reading a variety of subjects, and has a lively Music Society. A regular chamber music series takes place on Wednesday evenings during term time. In addition to organ and choral scholarships, the College awards a number of music bursaries annually, including one for choral composition (The Kennedy Pritchard Prize) and another for music performance (The Larkum Prize).

A new multi-functioning auditorium is currently under construction (for completion in 2009), which will house a Steinway grand piano, a French double-manual harpsichord, and music practice rooms. The 90-seater Mong Hall (built in 1999), with a Bechstein grand, is also an ideal venue for chamber music. The College Chapel, too, has a grand piano and will soon be acquiring a chamber organ to supplement the main organ.

Contact the Director of Music for further information, or follow the links below: