The Sound of Spring Music
Music has filled the air this week with concerts and performances from pupils in both senior and junior school.
For the senior school, the Spring Concert was held in the splendid surroundings of St James’s Church, Piccadilly, with an uplifting programme that included Vivaldi, Chopin and Strauss. The evening saw magnificent performances from brass, string and piano soloists, trios, quartets and ensembles, as well as a Senior Chamber Orchestra accompaniment to a lead viola concerto. The Folk Ensemble, Senior Choir and Chamber Singers performed a varied repertoire from traditional folk song Along the Ocean Shore and John Ireland’s Ex ore innocentium to Dan Forrest’s poignant Good Night, Dear Heart. The evening ended with a joyful finale from the Senior Orchestra of Grieg’s Holberg Suite and Offenbach’s Can-Can Festival.
Back at school, families of pupils from Years 2-6 enjoyed a Teatime Concert in the senior Recital Hall, featuring solo and ensemble recitals in flute, violin and piano as well as performances from T-Choir and Show Choir. With a programme ranging from the suitably seasonal Edelweiss to the dance hit Titanium, the concert was the first experience some of the children have had of performing in front of an audience.
On the first official day of spring, Year 1 filled the senior hall with the joys of the season with an energetic Sing Me a Story concert. Based on the recent book week theme, the children delighted parents with their confident performance of numbers including Books Are Amazing, the Enormous Turnip, The Magic Tree and an animated finale of There Was an Old Lady.
Year 5 brought a flavour of the Caribbean with a lively, upbeat concert that included such catchy numbers as Sloop John B and Jamaican Farewell. The concert gave an opportunity for pupils to showcase what they have learnt in their music classes with ensemble pieces on ukelele, flute and oboe, as well as featuring solo performances on piano, guitar, saxophone, violin, trumpet and double bass. The evening ended with a vivacious and energetic performance of Fruit Canon that even involved parent participation – and the audience were more than willing to join in, as one parent commented:
“It was fantastic to see all of the pupils involved playing instruments that were new to them, as well as incredible solo performances. It was all lots of fun especially the audience participation!”
