The Music Department Summer Concert
A fantastic end to the school year with performances from our talented students in the annual Music Department Summer Concert. With the whole range of year groups represented, this was a feast of music from Drumming club to piano solos, Beethoven to Barlow.
The performances included our extra curricular ensembles starting with a lively performance by Jazz Workshop led by Mr Tansley, and our Year 7 and 8 saxophonists performing with great confidence and skill.
James (Year 8) was the first of our soloists, performing the technically demanding 3rd Movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata with gusto. Drumming club led by Mr Craggs, raised the roof with their performance of Chameleon, with boys from a range of year groups. Mr Pearce led the Senior Guitar ensemble with a fantastic group of students playing the joyful ‘Un Echo d'Amérique du Sud’.
At this point, the Junior boys took centre stage, with a fantastic two part harmony performance by Junior Boys with Voices with the contrasting Cantate Domino and African anthem, Shosholoza. This was very ably accompanied by pianist Farren (Year 12) and our trio of drummers, Leo, Cameron and Leo.
The whole of Year 7 were involved in performing their class performances of ‘Strings’. This is a curriculum based initiative to give all students the opportunity to experience learning a new instrument and live performance as part of an orchestra. Each form group demonstrated their fantastic progress from just one lesson a week for a term to perform music from the Can Can to samba and the blues. Congratulations to all of the Year 7 students for their progress - they certainly did themselves proud in their first public performance!
Progressive Strings, directed by Mrs Henshall, performed ‘Adventure’ with an uplifting performance accompanied on the piano by Cian (Year 10).
Next we had the solo talent from boys across the year groups, starting with Luo-Tau (Year 9) showing immense skill in his demanding performance of a theme inspired by Paganini, accompanied by Mrs Henshall. Henry (Year 10) and Henry (Year 9) performed on guitar, acoustic number followed by a rock take on Flight of the Bumblebee on electric guitar. James (Year 10) and Leo (Year 7) performed their clarinet duet with a toe tapping arrangement of Duke Ellington to round off the soloists for the evening.
Brass ensemble gave us visions of trips to Alton Towers with the well known theme tune by Grieg, ‘In The Hall of the Mountain King’, directed by Mr Wainwright. Finally for the extra curricular groups, Senior Strings performed two movements from the famous Mozart Divertimento in D directed by Mrs Henshall.
We had a warm welcome for the members of the staff band, and huge thanks go to Mr Elliot, Mr Anning, Mr Tansley and Mr Lynch forming the accompaniment to the massed Year 7 choir to perform ‘Rule the World’ by Take That. Year 7 raised the roof with their harmonies and it was a joyful way to end a fantastic concert of performances.
Many thanks go to all the staff and students involved in running the concert. This included Ms Jenkins and her team running the refreshments, Ms Turner on Front of House and supporting the administration of the event, the many peripatetic music staff who were there on the evening, and those who support the students in their weekly instrumental lessons. Thank you to all the parents who attended and for your endless encouragement to the students to support them on their musical journey!
Written by Mrs Henshaw