The Peter Chase Award: Charlotte Broadbent, singing

The Peter Chase Award gives financial support to talented young musicians in Sowerby Music’s catchment area.

January 2008

I have just completed my first semester of my second year at the University of East Anglia and I am beginning to realise just how much work has to go into a degree. This is the first semester in which my work and grades go towards my degree so obviously the pressure is on to do my very best.

Having said that I actually love all the work that I’m doing, it’s wonderful to really enjoy working. One of my units was called ‘the actor and the text’, I felt right at home. Many students felt daunted about getting up and performing in front of the group but I was always keen to get in there, first up every week to perform.

Another unit I was lucky enough to do was actually a music unit called, simply, ‘music performance’. My assessment was a 15 minute recital in which I could perform anything I wanted! It was the unit made for me! I chose to perform Verborgenheit by Wolf, Una Donna Quindicianni by Mozart and Cradle Song by Britten as I felt this was quite a diverse and demanding repertoire which could put me in good stead for a high mark.

It hasn’t all been work work work however. I’m still heavily involved with the University of East Anglia choir; we recently performed the Fauré and Stravinsky mass (to be honest I felt a bit more comfortable with the Fauré!). And I have been asked for the second year running to join Cantaria, the chamber choir at University of East Anglia.

During Easter I will be heading off with the National Youth Choir for another fantastic course! I’m already excited and ready to do some real singing but for the moment a degree is quite enough to keep me busy!