Prestigious performance for King's composer
On Wednesday 12 May the music of John Browne, composer in residence at the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing & Midwifery at King’s College London, was performed by the Westminster Abbey Choir at a memorial service at the Abbey to celebrate the life and work of Florence Nightingale in the centennial year of her death.
John composed a piece of sacred choral music that is inspired by the words of Florence Nightingale and St John: "Little children, love one another. Remember we are not so many small selves, but members of a community. A real nurse sinks self." The music was performed by the Abbey’s Choir as the introit, or opening, to the service.
The service featured an address from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who chaired South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and also a King’s alumni. Staff and student representatives from the School will also take part in the service in the Procession of the Lamp, alongside student nurses from the Armed Forces.
John Browne spoke of his involvement in the service and the music he composed: ‘This was my first time composing a piece of sacred choral music and I found it a significant challenge to get the tone just right. I’ve been taking into account the full history of that glorious tradition including developments in Eastern European of the last few decades but also the achievements closer to home of Tavener and MacMillan. All very inspiring.’
John’s one-year residency was made possible by a significant grant and expert advice from the PRS for Music Foundation (PRSF), the UK's largest independent funder of new music. The PRSF led the drive to find a suitable composer and advised the School on best practice for running a musical residency. Additional funding was provided by the National Lottery through Arts Council England (London). The residency project marks the Florence Nightingale School’s 150th anniversary and is part of its unique and innovative Culture in Care programme, offered to both staff and students, which explores the role that the arts, and in particular music, can play in the professional development of nurses.
Vanessa Reed, Executive Director of the PRS for Music Foundation, said: ‘Creativity is the lifeblood of a residency such as this, and we’re delighted that John’s involvement with the School has enabled him to respond to words which are core to the School’s founding principles. This is the first of many results from this innovative collaboration between composer and health practitioners and we look forward to the year ahead.’
Professor Anne Marie Rafferty, Head of the Florence Nightingale School said: ‘We are thrilled that John has composed music for the Westminster Abbey service and that the School has played such an important role in this prestigious occasion.’
John’s involvement with the service is one of a number of collaborations he has been working on for the School’s 150th anniversary. He has composed choral pieces for the King’s College London Chapel Choir to sing as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music on 25 May. On Sunday 8 August the School’s Nightingale Choir will perform John’s work as part of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Sunday Worship’ programme broadcast from St Thomas’ Chapel at St Thomas’ Hospital, where Florence Nightingale originally opened the Nightingale Training School, of the which the current School is directly descended.