JAM on the Marsh

JAM is back in July with another JAM on the Marsh festival on Romney Marsh, with concerts and events between 9 July and 19 July 2015, curated by composer Paul Mealor. And for those not able to get to the area, one or two key concerts are being done in London too. 

Contemporary music plays a strong role on the festival, with the Chapel Choir of Selwyn College and Onyx Brass, conductor Nicholas Cleobury,  performing Paul Patterson's The Fifth Continent and giving the premiere of Thea Musgrave's The Voices of Our Ancestors which is a festival commission and is Thea Musgrave's first work for choir and ensemble since 1996. The concert, at All Saints, Lydd (11/7/2015) also includes music by Paul Mealor, Eric Whitacre, and Morten Lauridesen. And the ensemble Animatronic (organists Michael Bonaventure and Huw Morgan) will be exploring music for organ and live electronics with music by Michael Bonaventure and Huw Morgan (St Mary in the Marsh, 18/7/2015). The Mousai Singers, conductor Daniel Cook, team up Durufle's Requiem (with organist Simon Hogan) with James MacMillan's Tenebrae Responses and music by Faure, Parry and RVW. (All Saints, Lydd, 18/7/2015)

Other music includes Sounds Baroque directed by Julian Perkins, with soprano Claire Seaton and counter-tenor Andrew Radley in Bach and Pergolesi, organist Daniel Cook playing Brahms, Whitlock, Alain, Heiller and Schumann, and the Festival Chamber Orchestra of Canterbury, conductor Anthony Halstead, in Mozart, Albinoni, Bach, Corelli, Morricone ad Walton. Other events include a family concert as part of JAM's education project Singing Playgrounds, a visit from Sabotage Theatre, Jonty Driver reading his poem Requiem, art and photography exhibitions, and a Romney Marsh Churches tour.

For those stuck in London, the chapel choir of Selwyn College performs its Patterson and Musgrave programme on Thursday 9 July, at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street, and the Mousai Singers performs its Durufle and MacMillan programme on Thursday 19 July at St Bride's Church.

Full details are available on the JAM website.