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Spring Concert

Big School, Tuesday 30 March 2010

143 pupils ranging in age from 11 to 18 took part in a varied and exciting concert in Big School on Tuesday 30 March.

As the audience entered the venue the Samba Band played the Samba Batucada, a rousing prelude to the concert. The opening item on the programme was the ever-popular “Palladio” by Karl Jenkins, performed by the String Sinfonietta. This group of pupils in Years 7 to 9 was able to demonstrate an excellent improvement in their ensemble playing and variety of bowing since they came together in September. The energy continued with the Junior Choir’s (Years 7 & 8) singing of “The Rhythm Of Life” by Cy Coleman. The choir sang in three parts, with a wide variety of dynamics and excellent unanimity leading to a gripping performance.

The Reiche Brass Quartet next played Contrapunctus I from J. S. Bach’s “The Art of Fugue”. The counterpoint came across very clearly, with a good sense of balance between the four parts, not forgetting the drama of the piece itself. As a contrast to Bach’s piece, the five-strong Percussion Ensemble performed “Sticking together” by Glenn Clarke on snare drums; it lived up to its name very suitably. A Cappella, a 16-strong group of singers then sang “Versa est in luctum” from Victoria’s Requiem, a meditative and solemn motet; its character and text were conveyed very effectively. The final chamber music item was an arrangement of the G-minor fugue from the second book of Bach’s Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues for saxophone quartet. This complicated piece was brought off very well by the group (consisting of one pupil in each of Years 8 to 11).

The first half of the concert concluded with a performance of the “Magnificat” and “Nunc Dimittis” movements from Rachmaninov’s Vespers, sung by the Chorale, with Benjamin Gerrans (Year 12) singing the tenor solo in the second piece. These unaccompanied works, divided in up to 10 voice-parts, were sung with great assurance by the mixed group of pupils and provided a tranquil moment before the interval.

The second half of the concert there was only one piece: “Where the bee dances” by Michael Nyman, a concerto for solo soprano saxophone and large ensemble of 21 players. Max Davidson (Year 13), who had won the School Music Competition in October, performed the challenging solo part; the ensemble played their equally challenging parts with great conviction. The work is one not normally performed except by professional musicians, and it is testament to the hard work of the staff and pupils involved that they were able to give such a secure performance. The great deal of hard work put into this final piece was recognised by the audience, who greeted the end of the performance with a standing ovation.  LSSF

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