ABOUT CADENZA VOCAL
Cadenza Vocal is a youth based singing group for 8-18 year olds in and around Swale. It is based in Sittingbourne, where rehearsals take place termly, every Thursday evening 6:30-7:30pm at Sittingbourne Methodist Church. Although we rehearse at this lovely venue, Cadenza Vocal is not a church choir, and anyone in the age range can come along for a good sing song! Cadenza Vocal properly launched in March 2022 after not being able to get going as planned in February 2021, due to Covid. Our members have grown in number, and they have a beautiful loyalty to stay due to loving the sessions and the feeling of being part of a community group. Cadenza Vocal prides itself on being a safe place for the youth in the community, giving them an affordable, fun, and confidence-boosting ‘club’ to be a part of.
We refreshed our logo and added a slogan, which we are very happy with - based on reviews and feelings from our #cadenzafamily. Our slogan is ‘Build confidence. Make friends. Sing together”, and we believe all three of these are true by being part of Cadenza Vocal.
CADENZA VOCAL:
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Laura Williams
Hi! I’m Laura and I am the Musical Director for Cadenza Vocal – Swale’s Youth Community Choir, whose slogan is to ‘Build confidence. Make friends. Sing together’. This encompasses the purpose of this group, and it is something I am extremely passionate about. The highlight of my week is without a doubt, meeting every Thursday evening at Cadenza rehearsals and seeing the journeys every individual member goes on; seeing them smile; building their confidence; and singing together in a safe and fun environment. Giving these opportunities to the young people of Swale is the driving factor for doing this and it is so rewarding to see the growth of all the members! It really is the best (voluntary) job ever!!
Outside of this labour of love, I am a Music teacher and currently work in the Performing Arts department at Bethany School, in Goudhurst where I am lucky enough to lead the school’s Music Scholars. My passion for music teaching came from my inspiring A Level teacher and the wealth of extra-curricular activities that were on offer in the department. I studied Music at Canterbury Christ Church University before completing the Graduate Teacher Pathway to gain QTS. I then completed my NQT year at Welling School, Bexley before deciding to take the opportunity to go travelling before ‘settling down’. I travelled all over South East Asia, starting in China and moving onto Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, and went on to Bali, Fiji and finally Australia. This was so life enriching and Laura would highly recommend travelling and exploring the world to anyone! One of the most incredible experiences of my life!
I then went on to become Head of Music at Westlands School in Sittingbourne in 2016, where I was able to make my mark by introducing a wealth of extra-curricular opportunities single handedly, mostly vocal based, giving the pupils lots of performance opportunities, whilst building a great rapport with my pupils, something that I must say I am quite proud of.
Outside of work, I live with my very hard-working husband, Luke and we have two beautiful young children. Both children have also clearly got the ‘performing’ and ‘musical’ gene, which I am obviously thrilled about!! Aside from family life, work and Cadenza, I am also involved with music related aspects at church and most recently have joined a Theatre Production company as the Musical Director. It is safe to say I keep very busy, and I live and breathe music!
Cadenza Vocal meet termly every Thursday at 6:30pm for all 8-18 year olds and anyone who comes along will be warmly welcomed
Cadenza Vocal Member
"Cadenza Vocal has not only boosted my confidence in the last 6 months of joining but it has really given me friends I can call my vocal family. When we are in rehearsals, we are not divided into groups such as the younger ones together and the older ones together, we are just one big group of kids that have a passion for singing. As well as the concert, there are no words to describe how amazing it was! I genuinely haven't felt that happy singing with such talented people before and I can't wait to do it again in all of our next concerts!!"
Cadenza Vocal Member Parent
"Thanks for giving this wonderful opportunity to X. I can see her confidence is gradually building up and her stage fear is beginning to settle. I am very grateful for giving all the children this wonderful support. Once again, it was an amazing and memorable concert."
Cadenza Vocal Member Parent
"The concert was amazing and quite emotional. Love the song choices too. From my personal perspective I cannot thank Cadenza enough!! X suffers with anxiety, low self-esteem, lack of confidence and self-belief. Through all the counselling etc we have had, I truly believe Cadenza helps her the most. She pushes herself way out of her comfort zone to sing, especially in front of others. To see my daughter take part in a wonderful singing group and stand on a stage in front of an audience and sing, let alone do a solo part, filled me with so much pride and gave her the confidence boost she really needed. She has made some great friends there and it truly felt like you were all a "family" when singing. I can't thank you enough for that".