The second week of term concluded with our first major Chapel concert of the term, celebrating the ensemble talents of our Chamber Orchestra and Concert Band, alongside a sequence of performances drawn from the winners of last term’s popular Singing and Piano Duet Competitions.
These prize-winners presented a hugely enjoyable opening to the concert, interspersing five piano duet performances from the Higher and Intermediate Grade classes with vocal performances by the Winner (Henrietta) and Runner-Up (Evie) from the Singing Competition. As a contrast, Archie also shared a taste of his recital lunchtime recital performing, playing Roger Boutry’s entertaining Tubaroque on the bass trombone. Our senior string players in the Chamber Orchestra concluded the first half of the programme with lyrical performances of string works by Respighi and John Ireland, under the direction of Mr Williams.
The Concert Band took to the stage for the second half of the concert, and their conductor, Mr Foster, rightly paid tribute to their notable achievements this academic year. As always, they performed a diverse mix of music, including the challenging Berceuse and Finale that concludes Stravinsky’s famous ballet score, The Firebird. In marked contrast, their two extended medleys paid tribute to a host of terrific songwriters, opening with an extended sequence of music from The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Longly Hearts Club Band before finishing with Goff Richards’ jam-packed arrangement of favourite Broadway hits.
Thank you to all our pupils for putting on such an enjoyable concert so early in the term, setting the tone for the fantastic weeks of music-making ahead in the Summer Term.
