Music Takes Centre Stage: A Term Filled with Concerts, Competitions, and Workshops

The Music School has had another busy term with concerts, workshops and trips. Meanwhile, the numbers of students involved in music keeps growing: there are now 460 weekly one-on-one lessons across the Prep and Senior School and some 40 music ensembles.

Workshops with professional singers and instrumentalists are aimed at a cross section of the school to inspire as many students as possible. As a result, we have enjoyed hosting and learning from cellist Edward King, Harry the Piano, the Brass Funkeys and King’s Singer, Chris Bruerton. Next term we welcome Flautist Simon Desorgher and percussionist Daniel Gilmour.

Schola Cantorum travelled to Trinity Laban in Greenwich late in January, performing Evensong with their Conservatory choir. This holiday, Schola takes up a residency in Jersey for a weekend of rehearsals and concerts in preparation for another Evensong, this time at St Paul’s Cathedral, as well as their much-anticipated annual Cabaret evening early next term.

The annual Young Musician of the Year competition took place earlier this term. Now in three categories – Prep, Intermediate and Advanced – altogether a staggering 320 performances were undertaken during the audition round. The winner of the Prep category was Vanshika Koomar; Intermediate Category Mikyla Christian; and Advanced Category Mobi Floyd. Congratulations to these three young musicians.

The revered House Song/Ensemble Competition did not disappoint. Like the Young Musician, the competition was split into three categories: Prep, Lower School and Senior School, all sections obliged to choose a song from the “Rock n Roll” theme for their House Song. Thorne House won the Lower School with their rendition of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”; Woodard Girls once again took the title of the House Ensemble with another Queen classic “Somebody to Love”; and Burgess won the all-important House Song competition with their rendition of “Stupid Cupid” by Connie Francis.

The term’s music culminated in a concert at St John’s Smith Square in Westminster. 120 members of the Senior Chapel Choir and Symphony Orchestra combined forces to perform a wonderful concert with music including Vivaldi’s Gloria, Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo, Saint-Seans’ Bacchanelle, Vaughan Williams’ English Folk Suite and Mozart’s Horn Concerto 1 with Mark Wang as soloist.

All this, in addition to three concerts at local primary schools and four informal recitals including one “Unplugged” in the Café have made it a busy but most successful and exciting term with students thriving.