Lunchtimes can be lonely in Cambridge. I usually spend them at my desk with a bowl of soup, gazing out of the window and quickly getting so bored of my own company that returning to the library doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. But there is definitely more to lunch than this, and it comes in the form of a lunchtime concert.

As President of the Cambridge University Lunchtime Concert Series, for the past year I have been organising and running lunchtime concerts every Tuesday at West Road Concert Hall. The concerts are completely free of charge and showcase some of the very finest student musical talent in the university. Perhaps the best thing about these concerts is that they last 45 minutes, a perfectly acceptable and healthy amount of time to take out of your working day. You can sit back, switch off from the world and enjoy some of the best music Cambridge has to offer, before returning to your work feeling refreshed and (hopefully) culturally satisfied. It is tempting to spend the entirety of exam term inside the library. Taking a break in the middle of the day and doing something completely different – maybe even enjoyable – is allowed, and often extremely beneficial.

Classical music isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But lunchtime concerts offer the perfect opportunity to dip into the classical world if you’re curious: if you love it, you’ve made a new discovery, and if you don’t, you’ve only lost 45 minutes of your time. What’s more, classical music is so hugely varied that the next week’s concert will be entirely different; at risk of sounding cliché, there really is something for everyone. Variety is something I particularly tried to reflect when designing this year’s programme: the concerts feature a diverse range of composers and a vast repertoire, ranging from Ockeghem, Schütz, Brahms and Beethoven to an entire concert of jazz music, a new music concert featuring works by student composers, and even a short Mozart opera. Next week’s concert (3rd May) is a showcase for the Cambridge University Percussion Ensemble, which is certainly something you won’t hear very often, in or out of Cambridge.

The quality of student performance is often astonishing. This year’s programme featured the Gesualdo Six, an up-and-coming vocal sextet who are currently Young Artists at St John’s Smith Square and gave a ten-concert tour around the UK last summer. When groups like the Gesualdo Six are performing on your doorstep – for free – why not make the most of it? Witnessing the star performers of the future seems like a better alternative to staring at your Facebook wall with a sad, lonely sandwich.

This year I’ve also attended four lunchtime concerts with the Britten Sinfonia, a professional and highly innovative orchestra who perform at West Road Concert Hall throughout the year. Students can attend these for just £3, and the programmes are always extremely well thought-out and masterfully executed. Most excitingly, each concert features a brand new work, so is guaranteed to introduce you to something new. There are plenty of other concert venues to explore: numerous churches offer lunchtime concert series, not to mention the majority of Cambridge colleges (and, if your fellow students are performing, you earn points for being a supportive friend, too). One of my favourite lunchtime concert experiences has been performing in the Fitzwilliam Museum with my wind quintet; we played in one of the galleries, surrounded by paintings and statues.

Of course, there are other ways to brighten your lunch break like taking a stroll around Cambridge, or meeting with friends. But for me, there is no better form of escapism than music. Forget revision for 45 minutes, open your mind and come to West Road Concert Hall on Tuesday for a lunchtime to remember. There really is nothing to lose and plenty of incredible music to discover.

Some upcoming concerts:

Tuesday 3 May – Cambridge University Percussion Ensemble – West Road Concert Hall – 13.10 (Free)

Sunday 8 May – Luca Luciano, clarinettist – Gallery 3, Fitzwilliam Museum – 13.15 (Free)

Monday 9 May – Sarah Assaf, pianist – Clare College Chapel – 13.15 (Free)

 

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