College Clubs and Societies

COLLEGE CLUBS AND SOCIETIES

BOAT CLUB

2020–2021

2021–2022 Captain of Boats:Tom Sharp Captain of Boats: István Bence Kovács Women’s Captain: Abby Robinson Women’s Captain: Molly Foxwell Men’s Captain: Toby Chesser Men’s Captain: Hamish Elder

Throughout this bizarre year, PCBC has remained a vibrant community with great successes on and off the water. Easter term saw ten full Pembroke crews training, racing, and having fun in the sun on the river but it was no smooth ride to get there!

I had never seen PCBC train as much over the summer vacation as we did last summer – Toby and Abby’s ‘Panvalencian Games’ gave rowers and coxes a chance to get fit and have fun while competing in teams for points. This got all our members ready and keenly anticipating a return to rowing in Michaelmas. We were proud to be the first college boat club to get eights back on the Cam after summer when we started our pre-season training in September. It quickly became clear that we would have plenty of strength and depth to the crews on both sides this year and soon we were planning to enter six senior eights into Fairbairn’s. New arrivals with previous rowing experience at their schools, previous clubs and even GB junior programmes joined our PCBC returners to produce some truly rapid senior crews for so early in the year. It was a real shame not to be able to race in the Fairbairn’s Cup but nonetheless it was a real joy simply to be back on the Cam and going fast.

PCBC’s head coach, Seb Matthews, has probably been up and down the towpath more than anyone else in Cambridge this year. Seb’s friendly and relaxed coaching style pairs well with a determination to see rowers of all levels in the club dig deep to find every last bit of speed they can muster. A quick, dynamic catch and a smaller tap-down to have blades closer to the water on the recovery are now distinctive hallmarks of the Pembroke rowing stroke that Seb has introduced to the club. Seb’s coaching is well supplemented by the return of PCBC alumni to coach crews throughout the year which not only makes our crews faster but really maintains the sense of community and longevity in the club that we all love so much.

Without swaps this year, members found new and safe ways to have fun together. Our new social secretary, Ben, did an awesome job of arranging activities in whatever formats were possible at any given time. In addition, group cycle rides brought members of different crews together and were made all the snazzier by PCBC’s brand new cycling kit. Once Fairbairn’s had officially been cancelled and the boathouse closed for lockdown, focus naturally turned towards Lent term and so our senior rowers started making good use of the outdoor ergs in the gazebo (fondly known as the Gazergbo) on the Red Buildings’ lawn.

Slowly but surely, it became clear that no rowing would be possible in Lent term. PCBC members kept busy with the Panvalencian Games II, Bewl Bridge Virtual Erg Regatta and, of course, the Pembroke Regatta which was held as a virtual running competition this year. It was especially good fun to have a good number of PCBC

alumni teams competing in the virtual regatta and we very much hope to welcome as many alumni crews as possible in Cambridge for next year’s regatta.

Through the long weeks of lockdowns, Pembroke Circuits Society (CircSoc) played a crucial role in the weekly training of many rowers with PCBC’s own Toby, Rob, Charles and Ben running weekly circuits sessions over Zoom. It now has members from various college boat clubs and even the Master joined for a session. CircSoc sports kit can often be seen on the river as a reminder of the unexpected and welcome phenomenon that CircSoc has become in Cambridge’s college rowing community.

April came, lockdowns eased, and the boat club roared back into action. Novice rowers and coxes finally got enough water time to get into ‘swing’ of rowing and the senior crews started training hard for a term of racing. Covid safety measures saw our members training a little differently and with more of an emphasis on water training. This certainly kept PCBC’s coxes busy and coxing captain Amy did an excellent job of helping the club’s many new coxes find their feet. Kevin, who had put in the long hours over successive lockdowns getting everything ship-shape at the boathouse, was pleased to see students back and we tried our best to not give him too much repair work to do over the term.

It has been another stunning year for Cambridge in the boat races, with Pembroke rowers Laura Stewart and Rob Harris contributing to their crews’ respective wins against Oxford at Ely in the women’s lightweight crew and Goldie crew. PCBC members and alumni were cheering the light blue crews on from their homes while following the races with PCBC’s boat race watching party at which we were treated to boat race insights from PCBC alumnae Cath Bishop (1989) and Georgina Charlesworth (1988).

With May Bumps cancelled for safety concerns, PCBC’s top crews instead focused on head races and regattas and picked up some great results. W1 were consistently one of the fastest women’s crews on the Cam, taking first place in the IV in Spring Head-to-Head and another first place in the Radegund Mile in the VIII. W1 were struck by Covid isolations for the June Eights Regatta but still managed solid wins over the Pembroke Regatta course against LMBC and Queens’. M1 took second place at Head of the Cam and second again at 99’s Regatta where they beat Christ’s and Downing before losing in the final to a rapid Magdalene M1. M1 could not quite replicate these results in the June Eights Regatta but M2 put in a fantastic performance in the regatta to win the second division.

For more race results, news and updates, please do have a look at our social media pages and newly refurbished website and never hesitate to get in touch, either by email or on the website. This year, PCBC is delighted to announce the launch of the PCBC alumni boat club for alumni and friends of the club to help those (like myself!) who wish to keep in contact and stay involved in PCBC long after their time at Pembroke. We look forward to seeing students and alumni alike involved in all things PCBC next year, from Pembroke Regatta to May Bumps and plenty more besides, and we look forward to another fantastic year at the boathouse. Row on PCBC!

CRICKET

Without students in Cambridge during last year’s Easter Term, the Pembroke Cricket team entered the summer with a squad composed primarily of players with no college cricketing experience.

We started the season with our first Cuppers match away against Girton College; batting first under some cloudless skies that would prove to be rare throughout the season, our team which included 9 debutants took the match to a last over finish, but unfortunately it did not end in our favour.

We then moved towards our first home fixture against 2019 Cuppers victors Fitzwilliam College. Despite our groundsman Trev’s tremendous efforts, the match was called off and we would have to wait to make our home appearance against Caius.

Our match against Caius was scheduled for the end of a rain-filled week, and fortunately we managed to play a full-length match. Despite a strong bowling performance, we fell well short with the bat and would have to continue to wait for our first win of the season.

In what would prove to be our final Cuppers match of the season, we played Corpus Christi College on a hot Thursday afternoon. Coming into the match 2 players short, we batted first and posted what seemed a low total of 75-All Out. Some impressive, consistent bowling and an excellent fielding performance made up for our reduced numbers and kept Corpus under control, bringing us into the last over with Corpus on 68–9. The third ball of the over struck the stumps and announced our first and only victory of the short season.

During this truncated season we had a very strong core of first year players, and we can look forward to a stronger Cuppers run next year with this year’s experiences aiding us. Sam Beer (Captain 2020–21, and 2021–22)

FOOTBALL (MEN’S)

2020–2021 1st XI Captain: Rob Wong Vice-Captain: Will Holmes Secretary: Tele Agusto 2nd XI Captain: Fred Holker 3rd XI Captain: Josh Cudby 2021–2022 1st XI Captain: Tele Agusto Vice-Captain: Ollie Reed Secretary: Matt Hawthorn 2nd XI Captain: Joe Steane 3rd XI Captain: David Moleski

Fresh off a successful title winning season in division 2 and an uncharacteristically early exit in Cuppers the previous year, the club had lofty expectations to meet in division 1 this season. With several strong players having left during the summer, this was no easy task and this year’s large fresher intake definitely came at the right moment.

Pre-season saw an outstanding 6–2 win against Robinson, most notably a memorable performance from fresher Jack Seery who, in his first game for the

club, arrived midway through the second half and scored a quickfire hat trick before subbing himself off. Unfortunately, our first two official fixtures were less successful – playing against two of the strongest teams in Cambridge in Caius and Fitz gave us little to no time to properly adapt to division 1. Our first league game at Caius ended in an undeserved 4–0 defeat, with our team creating good chances but unable to convert, hitting the woodwork on several occasions. This was followed immediately by a rollercoaster of a game against Fitz – a game in which we found ourselves 4–3 up with just five minutes to go, but ultimately ended up losing 4–5. Despite coming away with no points to begin the season, the raw talent in our team was clear to see and we all knew how good a team we had this year.

Rather predictably, Covid-19 threw the season into disarray and on the eve of our first Cuppers fixture, lockdown was announced. A temporary pause to the season snowballed into the entire league season being voided, leaving Cuppers as the year’s only competition. This suited us perfectly, given it is seemingly PCAFC tradition to show up for Cuppers games only, and our final game before lockdown showed exactly this. Going back to Caius for a rematch, a gritty performance saw some beautiful attacking football, exquisite defensive clearances, and phenomenal saves by Cam Keith with the score 3–3 after extra time, which meant the dreaded penalties were upon us. Cool and calm heads prevailed for the first two, but they managed to save our third, leaving us behind. A solid save by Cam brought us level, before their final penalty hit the bar. This meant that our next penalty was a chance to win the game – unfortunately, it was captain Rob Wong’s turn to take and he’s had an impressive run of penalty misses over the past years. Luckily, this time was different and he found the back of the net, providing all of us with a great high before going into lockdown

We started off Easter Term with the hunger of a team that had gone half a year without a match, beating Emma comprehensively 6–0 in the last 16 of cuppers. Haydn Francis and Rob Perry delivered particularly decisive performances with a hat-trick and two goals from centre back respectively. This set up an away fixture against John’s in the quarter finals. Despite a difficult first 15 minutes, we were able to dig deep and frustrate the opposition before clinical finishing in the second half gave a 2–0 win much to the dismay of the home crowd. The semifinal fixture against Fitzwilliam just four days later was a frustrating one. An early Fitz goal was quickly cancelled out by Gareth Morgan who continued his fantastic cuppers scoring streak. Despite stoic defending and some fantastic saves from Cam Keith we conceded twice more once in unlucky circumstances.

But ultimately, although we were unable to reach the final, we once again proved to be one of the finest college teams at Cambridge. Much like Italy at the Euros so far, our Easter term run was made possible by having fantastic players in every position and working together as a team, such that we didn’t rely too heavily on any one player. Cuppers provided a very welcome distraction this term – the return of football showed us how much we love this game and there’s no better place to play it in Cambridge than at PCAFC. Rob Wong and Tele Agusto

RUGBY

Captains: Max Murphy (Pembroke) and Tom Allen (Girton)

This is the second year that Pembroke and Girton have come together to create the best combined college rugby team in Cambridge: Pirton. Naturally, the pandemic made it a difficult season for us – especially given that rugby involves a lot of close contact. Nevertheless, we still managed to have a brilliant year.

During the summer, in light of the Black Lives Matter protests that were happening around the world, we decided to run 400 miles to raise money for Show Racism the Red Card – an anti-racism charity that focusses on getting rid of racism from sport. We ended up raising over £2000. Ensuring that we are an inclusive rugby team is something that we have continued to emphasise throughout the year.

By the time we arrived back in Cambridge, lots of new freshers from both Pembroke and Girton had joined the team. Because of Covid-19, the games throughout this term were non-contact – but to be honest when we saw the size of some of the players from other colleges, we weren’t really complaining. Our first tournament was at Girton. Having progressed all the way from Division 4 at the start of last season to Division 1 by the end of it, the pressure was on for us to show what Pirton were about. Despite not having trained together at all, we went on to win most of our games. Unfortunately, as Michaelmas went on, more and more of us ended up having to self-isolate which meant that we never really got the chance to play as a full team – but we did have a tournament towards the end of term (where we won all but one of our games).

In Lent Term we weren’t able to play any rugby – but come Easter term we were all ready and excited to go again. We started by playing a tournament where we beat both Emma and Fitz, proving ourselves as worthy Division 1 members. One of the highlights of the season, which took place a few weeks later, was the social touch tournament. We entered it with our first ever mixed men’s and women’s Pirton team. Thanks to the women from Pembroke and Girton – who knew the best strategies for non-contact rugby –we won several games.

To mark the end of the season, we entered the first contact tournament of the year. None of us had played contact for over a year. Our first match was against John’s. It turns out playing this college is much more difficult when tackling is required – the size difference between us and them made it look more like a Year 7 vs Year 11 school football game than a college rugby match. Five of us ended up in Addenbrooke’s – ranging from a split-open lip to a broken finger. Nonetheless, those of the team who survived the initial battering did very well to only narrowly lose to Caius and Robinson. With some training at the start of next season, we’ll be ready to go back to contact rugby which is what we all enjoy the most.

Overall, despite the circumstances, we had a great season – and we are very excited for new members to join Pirton next year. We’re very grateful to Trevor Munns, the groundsman, for keeping the playing fields in perfect condition

With Covid restrictions over-shadowing all College events, the afternoon quickly became much more complicated than anticipated. But with the solid planning of two engineers and with the good luck of some gorgeous weather, many came to play and enjoy strawberries and cream in bubbles of six throughout the afternoon.

PCTC had been re-born. That afternoon had produced three men’s teams, a women’s team and a growing list of avid social tennis players. James and I had also surreptitiously been on the scout for what later became ‘PCTC Heroes 2020/21’: more Captains.

It was decided that James would Captain the men’s teams, Hermione Wright would Captain the women’s team and I would arrange a new PCTC initiative –social tennis.

The world subsequently gave us three weeks before another Covid lockdown arrived. These weeks were some of the busiest for PCTC this year. They saw the strengthening of our women’s and men’s first teams with regular outdoor (astroturf) and indoor (Hills Road) tennis sessions, put into practice during matches against other colleges in the Michaelmas League. Social tennis grew rapidly with a regular Sunday slot where 20–30 Pembroke students of all years met and knocked about. We also had a week-long tournament ‘swap’ against Gonville & Caius College, which culminated in an evening of Covid-safe socializing across Cambridge.

The November lockdown sadly resulted in us no longer being able to organize tennis. Nevertheless, we were fortunate enough to be able to continue to play singles tennis on one of the courts as a form of daily exercise. To facilitate this, we set up a platform that enabled both our social tennis and team players to join a tennis ladder on an app, allowing them to challenge other players to a singles hit and us to safely provide some much-needed social interaction during this difficult period.

The new, tougher lockdown in the new year was another blow to the club’s ambitions. We were unable to play at all throughout Lent term. Good news came soon, however.

Tennis was back on for the Easter term. As students came back to Cambridge for exam term, our Cuppers run began and social tennis started up again. It was great to see tennis finally being played on the grass courts. For the weeks before the exam period, it really felt like life had returned to PCTC.

Despite a short hiatus as Cambridge suddenly went quiet and exam papers were written, our men’s first team continued to show their strength against other colleges in Cuppers, reaching the final! Our women’s and lower men’s teams also put in a valiant effort in their respective cuppers draws. Further, preparations were underway for a summer tournament in what would have otherwise been May Week.

PCTC came together on Sunday 20th June 2021 for a big summer tournament across our nine courts. It was a wonderful opportunity for our women’s teams, men’s teams and social tennis players to finally meet over our shared passion.

A week later, the men’s first team played Churchill College in the Cuppers final. We put in a very strong performance, but this was unfortunately not quite

enough to beat the even stronger team they put forward. I am sure the team would join me in saying what a delight and honour it was to play these matches on the beautiful grass courts under the sun, making memories that will last a lifetime.

Overall it has been an extraordinary year for PCTC. Despite the odds, we were able to build a thriving community of tennis players from all across Pembroke. It was a pleasure to see freshers meeting PhD students, completely unaware they were talking with someone many years older than themselves. My thanks goes to everyone that has made this possible, to name but a few: Hermione, James, Jovan and David for their work on the committee; Tibo and Jay for their continued advice as previous Captains; Trevor for his amazing work on the grounds; Lily for her belief in the club in the GAC allocation; and all our members who brought life and soul to PCTC 2020/21.

Igor Sterner

CIRCUITS SOCIETY

Pembroke College Circuits Society (CircSoc) came into existence in the closing weeks of Easter term 2019, but came into its own under the unprecedented circumstances of lockdown. In happier times CircSoc met weekly across from the college boat house to exercise together in wind, rain or shine. Burpees in the mud are not an attractive proposition at the best of times, so the societies’ committee were surprised when, during a global pandemic, the club took on more participants than ever before, from Pembroke and beyond.

The society began amongst a group of friends, gathered in the New Common Room for a leaving party. This small group dared to ask the biggest of questions: What if a well-worn collection of bodyweight exercises could be something more? What if instead of just spending time together, this group of friends could do exactly what they had been doing for months, but also be a ‘committee’ of a ‘society’? What if, and, if so, how much would stash cost?

From such noble beginnings, a committee of Charles Dudley, Rob Perry, Ben Hatton, Toby Chesser and Dan Shailer began holding circuits in much the same way they had done in the past, but now (crucially) under the auspices of CircSoc. In the early days of the society, few chose to turn up – to the extent that often the very same committee members who initiated the society forgot to set alarms or found themselves (by tragic but immovable coincidence) otherwise engaged.

All of this would change in March 2020, when students were asked not to return to Pembroke for Easter Term. Without lectures to sleep through and academic work to procrastinate, the committee found themselves in dire need of structure to give lockdown meaning and began to attempt ‘virtual’ circuits. At first, only a handful of dedicated circuiteers clocked onto Zoom every Friday afternoon, but soon a second weekly session was introduced for those locking down in different time zones. Before long students of other colleges began to join and – even after an unexpected second lockdown – the CircSoc community grew. This culminated in the one year anniversary of virtual CircSoc: a celebration of Zooming through circuits, introduced by the Master, Lord Chris Smith.

Over two years have passed since its inception and Pembroke College Circuits’ Society’s membership now stands at over a hundred students and academics from eight different colleges. It has a logo (a martlet so keen for circuits it grew limbs), a motto and, all importantly, stash to put them on.

In all that time has CircSoc lost its roots? If its roots are doing circuits, probably not. It is fair to say that after a bumper year, Easter Term ended with a whimper: over half of the committee self-isolating and no May Week Circuits (a tradition of CircSoc held the morning immediately following the Pembroke May Ball). Three of the committee have also now graduated from Pembroke, but we are hopeful that the legacy of CircSoc – virtually and in person – will live on in the burpees, sit-ups and spotty dogs of future circuiteers. Dan Shailer

MUSIC SOCIETY

PCMS President: Sam Barrett PCMS Senior Treasurer: Andrew Morris PCMS Secretary: Joe Beadle

The Pembroke College Music Society (PCMS) has taken on new life this year, steered with enthusiasm by Mr Andrew Morris and a committee comprised of Joseph Beadle, Owen Saldanha, Sam Weinstein, Lily Young, Lucy Holland, Anfu Wang, and Frank Huo. Committed to providing a supportive platform for musicians of all abilities to showcase their talents, PCMS revived its free, biweekly concert series at 2pm on Saturdays in term-time, at first held in the United Reformed Church (URC) on Trumpington Street.

Michaelmas Term began in style with a concert by the Freshers. Tom Myles performed a clarinet sonata by Saint-Saëns; Annie Brown a flute sonata by C.P.E. Bach; Fraser Gaffney a clarinet bagatelle by Finzi; Tom de Csilléry a movement from Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 2 for violin; Joseph Steane and Joel Penrose a Viotti cello duet; and Jonathan Bingham, Cameron Scott, Tamir Smith and Noam SolomonsWise joined forces as a jazz quartet. It was the promise of an exciting year to come for PCMS. For the second Michaelmas concert, we were most fortunate to hear current PhD student at Pembroke, Laurence Cochrane, together with fellow Cambridge PhD students Peter Asimov and June Park, perform Dvoˇrák’s Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, op. 90 (“Dumky”) and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, op. 66. The audience greeted their interpretations with rapturous applause.

A sure highlight of Michaelmas term was the Kenderdine Concert. Kenderdine Concerts are given by guest artists to commemorate the commitment to College music of the late Dr Sidney Kenderdine, past President of PCMS. This year’s Kenderdine Concert was an organ recital in the Chapel by Pembroke’s own Director of Music, Anna Lapwood, ahead of her live recording on BBC Radio 3. Anna offered a thrilling programme of works by Patrick Gowers, Owain Park, Maurice Ravel, Philip Moore, and Kerensa Briggs. It truly was most fitting that

Anna performed on the organ that Sidney Kenderdine was so instrumental in creating and on which he often played, and we remain grateful for her support of PCMS over the course of this challenging year.

PCMS was determined not to let the lockdown of November 2020 inhibit its renewed momentum, adapting swiftly to virtual concerts, whereby performers recorded their pieces individually and sent them to be compiled into YouTube playlists later circulated to the wider College community. The first of these featured Keyi Yu’s performance of Fraser Gaffney’s one man clarinet trio traditional Chinese songs on her guzheng (古箏 a Chinese plucked zither); Fraser Gaffney’s technical feat of a one-man performance of Mozart’s Divertimento III for three clarinets; Jonathan Bingham and Hamish Elder’s flute and guitar duet of the traditional tune ‘Marcin’s Mazurka’; Owen Saldanha’s performance of a dazzling piano etude by Kapustin; and Joseph Beadle’s performance of Frederick Stocken’s mysterious and turbulent ‘Archangels’ triptych for organ. PCMS’ final concert of Michaelmas Term, again broadcast online, was a delightful rendering of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A Major, K.581, given by clarinetist Tom Myles, first violinist Elizabeth Webb, second violinist Emma Paterson, violist Julius Kiln, and cellist Seth Collin. Countless College members, students and Fellows alike, voiced their gratitude to the society for continuing to provide a transient escape from the otherwise troubling times, and for fostering a sense of ‘unity in isolation’ in the College community.

Two more virtual concerts displayed PCMS’ characteristic perseverance and ingenuity in Lent Term, which the majority of students underwent virtually from home. The first, recorded in Hefei, China, was Frank Huo’s inventive piano recital of the music of Chopin and Fauré. Frank presented Frank Huo performing Chopin and Fauré three pairs of impromptus, nocturnes and barcarolles in the same key by each composer. The creative artistry and technical brilliance of Frank’s playing were unforgettable.

The second was a variety concert that featured Anfu Wang’s piano performance of ‘Colourful Clouds Chasing the Moon’ (彩雲追月) by Wang Jianzhong 王建中; Sam Weinstein’s interpretation of the first movement from Debussy’s Cello Sonata; Tom de Csilléry’s dramatic presentation of Ysaÿe’s ‘Ballade’ from Sonata No.3 for violin; Joseph Beadle’s jazz piano rendition of Hiromi’s ‘The Tom and Jerry Show’; and Owen Saldanha’s piano performance of Debussy’s ‘La Cathédrale Engloutie’ and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Major.

Following the return of most students for Easter Term, PCMS ushered in the joyful return of in-person music-making with four more concerts. The first was another variety concert held in the URC. Keyi Yu returned to perform and inform the audience about her guzheng; Frank Huo delivered an elegant reprise of two barcarolles by Fauré and Chopin; and Joel Penrose captured the emotional intensity of the first movement from Debussy’s Cello Sonata in D Minor, L.135, and Bloch’s ‘Prayer’ from ‘Jewish Life,’ B.54, accompanied by Owen Saldanha. The second concert was headlined by the JTN Trio, starring Pembroke’s very own first-year musician Noam Solomons-Wise on drum kit, Queens’ College musician Tamir Smith on double bass, and prospective applicant Jay Carlin on piano and vocals. The jazz trio welcomed guest soloist and first-year music student at Pembroke, Jonathan Bingham on saxophone. Their exhilarating programme delighted a foot-tapping audience that filled the URC to maximum capacity (according to social distancing measures). The third concert of Easter Term was a virtuosic solo piano recital by Pembroke’s outgoing Senior Organ Scholar and fourth-year engineering student Owen Saldanha, performed in the Master’s Lodge on a sunny May afternoon to a limited audience. Owen divided his programme into three parts: jazz/classical fusion, which featured works by Kapustin and Gershwin; French Impressionism, which presented pieces by Debussy, Ravel and Morel; and Romanticism, which showcased a Rachmaninoff prelude and a Chopin ballade. A choir of chirping birds in the trees outside made for an unexpected, tranquil accompaniment to Owen’s exquisite playing. The society remains most grateful to the Master for hosting Owen’s recital. PCMS’ 2020–21 concert series came to a truly beautiful end with a performance of Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet in B minor, op. 115 in the Chapel, delivered skillfully by clarinetist Tom Myles, first violinist Tom de Csilléry, second violinist Emma Paterson, violist Julius Kiln, and cellist Seth Collins. The committee and Director of Music, Anna Lapwood enjoyed a splendid barbecue to celebrate the conclusion of this busy and fruitful year for PCMS.

In a year in which cancellations have been many and disappointments inevitable, PCMS’ endeavour to let the music play on has been relished by its performers and audience members alike. For this, I end with sincere thanks to the committee for their dedication in overcoming the countless challenges of the Covid-era, all this year’s performers for their eagerness, and the audiences, both physical and virtual, that have supported them. Whether enjoyed in-person or virtually, this year’s dynamic concert series has provided solace and pleasure as we look back, and has promised variety and excitement as we look forward to those of years to come. Joe Beadle

Keyi Yu’s guzheng

THE COLLEGE CHOIRS

The past 12 months have, in many ways, been incredibly challenging. Trying to maintain the musical life and identity of the College through constantly changing guidance was no mean feat! It has, however, provide us with constant opportunities to innovate, rebuild, and reflect on what it is that is important to us.

We began Michaelmas term with the excitement of releasing our first choral album All Things are Quite Silent, recorded the previous year. The album, made possible thanks to a generous donation from Christine Hansen, brought together the chapel choir and girls’ choir to sing some of their favourite repertoire. The recording itself was one of the highlights of the previous year, but we were all excited and nervous to see how it was received! We were thrilled to receive some really positive reviews in Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, Classics Today and MusicWeb International with a five star review in Choir & Organ. The CD has now passed over two million streams online – copies can still be purchased online or from the Porters’ Lodge if you haven’t had a chance to listen yet!

Following the excitement of our album launch, we jumped straight into a busy Michaelmas Term. The newly-acquired United Reformed Church enabled both choirs to continue to meet and sing together in full, with a socially-distanced congregation. Over the past couple of years, the social impact of choral singing has become increasingly obvious and relevant. As such, we decided that chapel choir Evensongs would be followed by socially distanced pizza and the occasional Disney sing-a-long: really important moments for the students to momentarily leave all thoughts of the Pandemic to one side and have a vaguely normal student experience. As national and local cases increased we gradually pared back our forces, first moving to streamed, congregation-less services (sans pizza), then reducing the choir, and eventually stopping altogether. We have been very lucky not to have any outbreaks of Covid-19 in either of our choirs – it’s reassuring to know that all the measures put in place seem to work! Having had to stop all singing by the end of Michaelmas term we had one particularly moving moment just before all the singers went home: there were some fireworks to mark the end of the term in a positive way, and bring the college community together on the bowling green. Just as the fireworks finished, the choir stepped onto the lawn holding candles and sang Silent Night, the whole college watching on in total silence. We didn’t realise at the time that this would be the last in-person singing we would do in several months!

Our Lent Term was almost entirely virtual, mostly revolving around weekly zoom rehearsals. As a Director of Music, my challenge became trying to find ways to help the choirs retain a sense of identity and purpose – I was becoming increasingly aware that all their learning was taking place on zoom, so choir rehearsals had to offer something different. The girls’ choir had a visiting speaker come to answer questions at the end of every rehearsal, with guests including Jess Gillam, Georgia Mann, Katie Derham and Errollyn Wallen. In addition to their weekly rehearsals, the chapel choir had a weekly masterclass or talk on a whole range of topics from sightreading and tuning through to Renaissance polyphony with Peter Phillips and a more general Q&A with Roderick Williams.

In-person singing didn’t stop altogether, though! We were very lucky that two of our sopranos, Hannah & Zoe, had stayed in College and were in a household with Coco, chapel clerk. We worked with the Dean to make sure that there were at least two sung services coming out of the college chapel every week – a simple service of Compline by candlelight, and Sunday Eucharist. I’m extremely grateful to Hannah, Zoe, Coco and James for entering into these services with such positivity, and I think we all found them to be a bit of a lifeline throughout the Lent term. The streaming of the services was made possible by another very generous donation from Bobby King which facilitated the purchase of livestreaming equipment. We realised relatively early on that we were likely to have to fuse online and in-person music-making for the foreseeable future, and sure enough the livestreaming equipment has proven essential to the continuation of our activities this year.

Being forced online offered numerous other opportunities for innovation. Both choirs have been exploring composition over the past year or so, with the composer Ola Gjeilo doing a Q&A with the chapel choir about writing for choral ensembles. Several members of the chapel choir have now furnished us with new pieces which we were able to sing when we were finally back in the same room again. The girls’ choir, meanwhile, have been building on their collaborative composition project started last academic year, and were thrilled to hear the BBC Singers give the premiere of ‘The Pembroke Carol’ live on BBC Radio 3. The chapel choir have also been working alongside me and one of our sopranos, Ellie, in running the NHS Chorus-19, a virtual choir made up of over 1,000 NHS staff from across the UK. Our Pembroke choristers have helped support the choir in recording for various projects and events over the course of the year, including singing the National Anthem for the Caraboa Cup Final at Wembley Stadium. Singing at Pembroke is certainly varied…!

One positive of not being able to meet in person during Lent term was that when we finally were all allowed to sing together at the start of Easter term we appreciated it so much more. We took a cautious approach throughout the term, starting off with small groups of singers in rotas, and not permitting a congregation other than those people involved in the service itself. The small group singing was a valuable chance to rebuild the sound of the chapel choir step by step after such a long break, but I have to say it was a wonderful moment when, halfway through the term, we were allowed to bring the whole choir back together again. With stringent measures in place (including 2m distancing, masks, and the singers all taking a lateral flow test before every rehearsal), we were able to have the full choir singing together for the last few weeks of term. At the same time, we were allowed to bring the Girls’ Choir back into the college chapel having kept them separate in the URC for the rest of the year. The easing of restrictions was also marked by a very special concert in the URC, given by our College-musician Joseph Middleton alongside mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly. The recital sold out within an hour of tickets going on sale – the appetite for live music-making has certainly not gone away – and it was a really extraordinary occasion.

Whilst we still couldn’t have a congregation in the chapel, we found ways to bring the college community together for the traditional end of term events. The

final Compline of term took place outside in the chapel cloister with a congregation standing around the court, accompanied by an incredible sunset and the sound of a blackbird singing along. A team of choristers then worked hard to decorate the cloister for our May Week Evensong, covering all the pillars with flowers. The congregation sat outside and the choir sang half of the service in the chapel and the rest of it outside. By the end of the service, a small crowd of students and staff had gathered to hear the final piece of music which proved to be an emotional way to end the year. The service was followed by a choir dinner in the Dean’s garden: an opportunity to say goodbye to our outgoing choir members and our senior organ scholar, Owen Saldanha.

The end of term was also marked by Pembroke College Bach-a-thon, now in its fifth year. This year we had 92 organists from all across the world performing the complete organ works of Bach in 24 hours, all raising money to support our musical colleagues in Zambia through the work of the Butterfly Tree and the Muze Trust. People in college often joke that once something has happened three times in a row it may as well have been written into the college statutes – I have a feeling the Bach-a-thon will be an institution for many years to come! Before winding up for the year, we managed to fit in one last hurrah: a new CD recording with the girls’ choir. The recording took place in the chapel and was a wonderful chance for the choristers to work with each other intensively over the course of several days. The sessions were long, with 7 hours of recording on the final day. I think it says it all, though, that when we finished that final session early, the girls asked if they could sing through as many settings of the Magnificat as they could remember.

As we look to the future, I hope for the sake of the students that choir might start to look slightly more normal. I think we’re all excited for the day when we can finally stand shoulder to shoulder, take a collective breath, and blast out a hymn in a completely full chapel. Anna Lapwood

JUNIOR PARLOUR

President: Lily Young Vice-President: Elise Goddard Women’s and Non-Binary Welfare Officer:

Safa Al-Azami

Treasurer: Aakash Gupta

Ents Officers: Lucy Giarnese and Welfare Officer: Lily Olliver Georgie Warner Women’s and Non-Binary Welfare Officer: Food Officer: Matthew Perry

Izzy Greig Publicity Officer: Pippa Meek Men’s and Non-Binary Welfare Officer: Access Officers: Rosie Bridgwater and

Joseph Edwards James Brownsey BME Officer: Tami Olorunfemi Charities Officer: Joel Penrose Disabled Students Officer: Green Officer: Grace Blackshaw

Alex Parnham-Cope Accommodation Officer: Lucy Hyde

International Students Officer: JP and Bar Officer: James Roy

Muhammad Syed Sports Officer: Anna Gardner LGBT+ Officer:

Callum McKenzie-Finnigan

It is fair to say that this year has been like no other for the Junior Parlour Committee. Michaelmas brought its challenges in the forms of planning a socially-distant Freshers Week, navigating a second national lockdown and supporting a rising number of students in self-isolation. Around half the undergraduate population did not return to Cambridge for Lent term, so once again our business was conducted online. This provided an excellent opportunity to hone in on our college committee work. Much work was done behind the scenes during what turned out to be a very busy term for us, and a conscious effort was made to work more closely with the Graduate Parlour Committee. In the Easter term we enjoyed hosting in-person events once more, taking advantage of the easing restrictions and pleasant weather.

Without having ever experienced Cambridge in ‘normal’ times, the 2020 matriculation year group has dominated the JPC in numbers and led the way in supporting students and enacting long term change. It is impossible to list all the work done by each officer, but I hope to mention a few highlights.

A wide range of events have been put on to foster the lively community at Pembroke. We’ve hosted a bottomless brunch at Revs, a Halloween treasure hunt, a charity quiz which raised £367 for Doctors Without Borders, a virtual halfway hall and a variety of online competitions. I am sure the Ents, Food, JP & Bar and Charities Officers are looking forward to holding more in-person events soon. Look out for JP & Bar Officer James Roy’s college cocktail competition over the summer!

Our Welfare Team, elected this Lent term, have done a great job in providing a wide range of activities and support. With tea breaks by the orchard on Friday afternoons in exam term, care packages for female and non-binary students, the provision of sexual health supplies, a menstrual cup scheme, a gender expression fund, an emergency contraception fund, Pride gift sets in June, daily Zoom study sessions in Lent (‘Lockdown Library’), online Zumba sessions and the creation of a collaborative Pembroke Spotify playlist, there has been no shortage of welfare initiatives!

Welfare officers also serve a representational role. Actions include working with the GPC to ensure Pembroke signed up to AccessAble (an auditing scheme to enhance the provision of accessibility information), revising the Student Misconduct Procedure to provide greater transparency and support for the students concerned, and conducting a diversity and inclusivity survey to inform discussions next year. Celebrating Black contributions and legacies, then-BME Officer Maya McFarlane’s programme of events for Black History Month was a highlight of Michaelmas term and Women’s and Non-Binary Officer Safa AlAzami followed this superbly with International Women’s Week in Lent.

Led by Green Officer Grace Blackshaw, Pembroke Orchard Green Society has had a very successful year. Meeting with senior members of college staff,

lobbying fellows and collecting signatures from students and alumni they successfully campaigned for the College to commit to full divestment from fossil fuels by the end of 2023. Green Week too was a success; challenges and activities involved sustainable cooking, thrifted clothing, room heating, nature photography and composting food waste. The Access Team has also been incredibly busy, running a shadowing scheme and meeting prospective students, producing a variety of video content for the Pembroke YouTube channel (including accommodation tours for both prospective and current students) and organising a student-led focus group with PhD candidate Melissa McCreery. With the first cohort of Foundation Year students arriving in October 2022, we will be watching the scheme closely to see how Pembroke could be involved.

Looking ahead to next term, we are very excited for Freshers’ Week to welcome our new students. We look forward to planning a fuller-scale event, but anticipate that some restrictions may still be in place and Covid-related anxieties will not have disappeared. Recognising the growing importance of providing training, this year the Equality and Diversity and Consent Workshops will be outsourced to a professional provider. Though the JPC will remain involved in shaping the content of these workshops, paid professionals will offer their expertise and relieve the JPC and other student volunteers from the task of delivery. To welcome our new students we will also see the return of the Freshers Squash, tours of Cambridge, mingle-sessions, Feminist Society and Green Society events, college family night, drinking and non-drinking events and more. Provided it is safe to do so, we look forward to holding the first Pembroke BOP since January 2020!

I would like to thank all the Pembroke staff who have worked side by side with us during this exceptional time; those in the Tutorial Office, in the Porters’ Lodge, in Catering, in Finance, in Maintenance, in Housekeeping, in the Library, the College Nurses, the Tutors, the Fellows who sit on many committees and the Master. Working cooperatively has never been more important and I believe the Pembroke community has come out stronger as a result. Finally I wish to thank each and every JPC member for their resilience and dedication. This year has been challenging to say the least, but they have risen to the occasion and I am very proud to lead them. With strong foundations I look forward to another productive year of representation, collaboration and community-building.

Lily Young

GRADUATE PARLOUR

President: Eoin Elliott/ Coco Huggins Graduate Parlour Steward: Vice-President: Panos Doudesis James Cunnison Secretary: Bella Boyles International Officer: Gillian Samios Treasurer: Vasileios Frantzis Women’s Officer: Natalie Wallis Welfare Officer: Iona Cuthbertson LGBTQ+ Officer: vacant Events Officer A: Ira Shokar BAME Officer: Ghaneassha Nadarajan

Events Officer B: Charity Officer: Molly Rowlands

Savannah Robisch-Chandler Housing Officer: Sarah Gonzalez External Events Officer: Lori Kregar Environmental Officer: Kate Brockie External Representation Officer: IT Officer: Jan Blumenkamp

Cristina Santos 4th Year Representative: Tek Chung

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic blighting the social and academic landscape this year, Pembroke’s Graduate Parlour has continued to evolve and thrive under the everchanging conditions. The academic year saw rapidly shifting tiered restrictions, two national lockdowns and several waves and variants of the coronavirus, but also some great cooperative efforts and achievements in the most difficult of circumstances.

Full of hope and anticipation after a summer of easing restrictions and low case numbers, the committee went all out with a very successful ‘blended’ Freshers’ Week 2020, consisting of mixture of in-person and virtual events. The usual subject suppers were replaced by an admittedly far less fancy series of zoom sessions, but the staple Pem favourite of tea and cake was retained, alongside some socially-distanced drinks receptions in the recently acquired United Reform Church (URC) building on Trumpington Street. In-person BAME and LGBTQ+ meet and greets were also able to continue, as well as a College Family night and tours of the college.

Michaelmas Term saw the advent of ‘The Household Night’ as a new phenomenon, with themed events packages being sent out to graduates to use with their housemates, sometimes with an added online element. This proved to be a real hit and continued throughout the year. Green hats, shamrocks, gold coins and Guinness in a box accompanied an online playlist of Irish songs for St Patrick’s Day, alongside a take-away cheese and wine tasting bag and an adornment of European regalia for the Eurovision song contest. As well as Household Nights, the GPC instigated virtual Harry Potter movie nights in Lent term, where GP members could join a virtual call and chat whilst watching the films with some popcorn! In Michaelmas, the committee were also able to host socially distanced film screenings at Halloween and Christmas time, which were a great opportunity to meet new and old friends over some classic movies and drinks.

As well as Household Nights and (virtual) movie nights, Covid saw the evolution of the regular tea and cake sessions into a Support Group which was able to continue throughout the various lockdowns, providing an invaluable place for grads struggling with isolation, perhaps living alone, to come and meet others outside in Ivy Court. The ‘Welfare Walks’ scheme, started by Events Officer and incoming GP President Ira Shokar, also proved to be hugely popular; graduates could sign up every week to be paired with someone at random from the GP to go for a socially-distanced walk, giving them a valuable opportunity to meet others in the community. This project soon extended to other colleges, including Queens and Jesus, allowing for some welcome inter-collegiate interaction during lockdowns when the only legally-sanctioned form of extrahousehold social-contact was socially-distanced exercise duos… International

Officer, Gillian Samios, also began a language exchange scheme with a similar format, allowing native speakers and/or language learners to be paired up with someone else to practise on walks. This had significant uptake, including a few more challenging requests like Welsh and Hebrew! Weekly virtual yoga classes were also offered to all GP members, as well as a bi-weekly Tuesday zoom quiz in Lent term and an Among Us games night on Wednesdays. The well-loved Pembroke Papers continued with a temporary zoom format as indeed, did all committee meetings. The usual Burns’ Night bonanza was replaced by a Black Watch bagpiper processing around the college grounds, which was a real excitement in the depths of January lockdown. Green Week and International Women’s Week, organised by Kate Brockie and Natalie Wallis in collaboration with the Junior Parlour, were incredible feats of Covid-compromise and included a host of speaker events, initiatives and activities, from new composting bins to Upcycling sessions.

Easter welcomed the gradual easing of restrictions and my appearance as the Pembroke Easter bunny, hiding copious amounts of chocolate eggs across the Pembroke College gardens and grounds, accompanied by a set of 12 clues which, if solved, revealed the eggs’ locations. The first team to solve all the clues also received a rather larger chocolate egg as a prize delivered to them, enabling those staying away from Pembroke during the pandemic to also participate and be in with a chance of glory! Easter term also saw the proposed introduction of two new committee positions, Access Officer and Disabilities Officer, designed to boost inclusivity and diversify representation. Joint lobbying by the JPC and GPC also saw Pembroke commit to the Access Able scheme and the infamous KFC (Kitchen Fixed Charge) being reformed to a new Student Facilities scheme.

As restrictions have eased, the GPC have successfully hosted an LBGTQ+ garden party and a Prosecco afternoon tea on the college lawns. Grads have also enjoyed a series of formals and BA dinners this summer, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Catering Team. The committee continue to work with the college to make the graduate community a safe and happy place, despite the myriad of issues which continue to befall us in Covid times. I am confident that incoming President Ira Shokar and the rest of the new team will make a success of the next academic year, however difficult the road ahead. Coco Huggins

C. THE COLLEGE RECORD