news & views from bablake school issue 47 autumn 2008
in this issue ‘Chen-sational accolades for Bablake’s academics 2 Tough tour to the Cape 4 All quiet on the Bablake front 5 Drawing inspiration 6 ‘The Talented Bablake Students’ 7
New York, New York
Designers of the future? 9
After the usual three days of rehearsal prior to the trip, Bablake’s group of dedicated musicians braved the eight-hour plane journey to New York.
Channel hopping 10/11 D of E 12 Playing the game: sport at Bablake 14
Bablake_news_aut08.indd 2
The first morning’s rehearsal went well and as this day was ours to spend around the city, we decided to check out New York’s music scene. After first taking the subway to find the next day’s concert venue, the group visited various music shops and saw the Julliard School of Music before taking a tour of the Lincoln Centre, where we later took in a very enjoyable Mostly Mozart concert, consisting of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde.
The next day was the day of our first concert at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. The programme consisted of several choral pieces, along with the recorder trio, and solos from Sarah Barnard, Josh Sood, Chris Starkey and Matt and Sam Lewis. The rest of the day was spent locating our next concert venue and visiting Central Park, also seeing the Statue of Liberty at dusk and then after nightfall, as viewed from the ferry. On the penultimate day of our tour we sang at St. Paul’s Chapel,
directly opposite Ground Zero. We had an especially warm response from a kind stranger, who asked for an encore of Amazing Grace and who saw fit to bless our whole group. Later the same day, repeated demands to see the Broadway version of Phantom of the Opera paid off, and the majority of the group went to see the show which at $100 per ticket was fairly expensive, but all agreed it was worth the price. We then went to the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State building and got there just before closing time. The view at night was incredibly beautiful and well worth the trip. The next day, the musicians made their way to the airport where there was a last chance for souvenirs, and the airport lounge presented itself as the perfect place to hold the 43rd annual ‘Bernie Awards’ while we waited, and after one final rendition of Amazing Grace in the lounge, we boarded our flight back to Heathrow. Thanks go to Mr. West and Miss. Hall, who graciously gave their time to transport us from Bablake to Heathrow, and a special thanks to Mr. Sutton and Mrs. Tatum for organising such a wonderful tour.
3/11/08 17:04:59