Girton is unique among Cambridge colleges in the richness and diversity of its musical life
Girton is one of the top colleges for music. With exceptional expertise among its music staff, strong results in the Music Tripos and a vibrant and varied performance culture, it offers unusually rich opportunities to students wishing to study Music or to pursue musical interests alongside another subject. The college has particular specialisms – notably in early music, jazz, performance and composition – but we welcome applications from musicians of all types.
With six professional musicians among the college’s fellowship, as well as five distinguished musicians-in-residence and three world-class honorary fellows (in musicology, piano and composition), we cover an extremely wide range of music. Most of these musicians are regular visitors to the college, engaging with students and often performing alongside them.
Girton has one of the most active music societies of any Cambridge college. In a typical year, we put on an opera, two or three orchestral concerts, over 25 classical concerts, at least four jazz concerts, and a weekly series in ‘Deep Schlub’, an underground space used for more informal performances (mostly popular genres). The college’s prizewinning choir can also be heard regularly in Chapel.
Facilities for music are also very strong. We have an outstanding range of instruments, including four Steinway grands, two dozen other pianos, two harpsichords, a magnificent Swiss organ (described by one international soloist as the best of its type in Cambridge), a chamber organ, and various other instruments. What’s more, every Music student, as well as some other students who contribute to music at Girton, gets a piano in their room.
Girton is unusual in organising at least half a dozen coaching each year. These are sometimes led by our own musicians, sometimes by leading professionals from the UK or abroad. In recent years, we have run classes on, among other things, improvisation, Alexander Technique, conducting, chamber music, piano, composition, and arranging music for close-harmony groups.
The college is highly supportive of innovative musical projects and, with a new fund designed to support student music-making, we can often provide funding for them. Last year, the college gave vital funding to two early-music groups, to a student who needed studio time to record his own songs, and to a student who wished to bring in an outside professional for a side-by-side concert of vocal music. In future years, we expect to make further substantial grants to ambitious musicians.
All in all, Girton has an enormous, perhaps an unparalleled amount to offer to anyone interested in music.
Click below to view upcoming music events
Events
