40 Forever Surrey / anniversary issue
Alumni Achievement Award: Dr Kathleen McGuire
MMus Music 1995
International musician Dr Kathleen McGuire has conducted at some of the world’s finest venues (Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House), but, ultimately, it’s the outcomes from her musical projects of which she is most proud.
She first saw how music could change hearts and minds when she conducted the choir at annual memorial services in Melbourne in the early 1990s, honouring those who had died as a result of AIDS/HIV.
She said: “I witnessed how the music we offered helped family members to cross boundaries of homophobia and misunderstanding. The music also offered solace and hope.”
Australian Kathleen went on to found the Singers of the Street (SOS) choir
in San Francisco, many of whose members were homeless.
More recently, she composed, collaboratively, two major choral works with social justice themes that have had national and international impact: Street Requiem, a cantata dedicated to those who have lost their lives on the street (which has been performed more than 20 times since 2014), and No Excuses!, a choral suite for women inspired by true stories of family violence (which was shown on national TV in Australia with the findings of a Royal Commission Into Family Violence).
She said: “Raising awareness, educating children from a young age to stop the cycle of violence, and sharing real stories are ways in which cultural ‘norms’ are starting to shiſt in Australia. I continue to be surprised by the power of music to help with this.”
Going viral Going viral
“I witnessed how the music we offered helped family members to cross boundaries of homophobia and misunderstanding. The music also offered solace and hope.”
Alumni Achievement Award: Polly Risbridger
BA Dance and Culture 2002
Watching a group of 200 older people from east London take over the South Bank Centre to celebrate dance is one of the highlights of Polly Risbridger’s career.
As Director of East London Dance, this event, inspired by the London 2012 Olympic Games, captures the ethos and vision for which the charity was founded – to create dance projects and experiences for the people of east London and beyond.
Polly has led East London Dance since 2013. Its projects have encompassed working with 100 young men with emotional and behavioural difficulties, taking the ‘Big Dance Bus’ out to underprivileged areas, and a programme
of dance participation and performance for young Newham residents with emerging mental health difficulties.
Polly said: “I have a real passion for giving a voice to the people who don’t get recognition, to nurture hidden talent. Each perspective is valuable and makes art richer and I love seeing the impact it has on people’s lives.”
This will be achieved on a grand scale next summer when East London Dance joins forces with world-renowned choreographer Hofesh Shechter to produce East Wall, a spectacle of dance and live music in the moat at the Tower of London.
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