Music

Musical Notes...

The Musical year opened with both the full Senior Choir and Year 13 leaver Jessica Ryan performing at the Presentation Evening. Following on from that, our Year 7 girls prepared a medley of songs from Frozen that brought the Year 7 Concert in the Great Hall to a rousing finish. The year group also took great pride in performing the medley alongside the School Song for the Old Girls. In October, preparations turned to the Autumn Concert, which was held in the Girls’ Division Great Hall and featured a number of the Schools’ joint ensembles. A particular highlight was the Joint Senior Orchestra’s performance of Bizet’s Farandole. At the end of term, the Great Hall was then the venue for a moving, nature-themed Ceremony of Carols and School Carol Service. As we moved into the Spring Term, the Second Senior Girls’ Music Festival took place with outstanding solo and small ensemble performances given by the girls. The adjudicator was impressed with the level of participation, the mature and confident performances and particularly the way in which our students supported each other. During this time, preparations were already well under way for the performance highlight of the year: the spectacular Bridgewater Hall Gala Concert. On Tuesday 10 March, students from Years 2-13 travelled to the Bridgewater Hall for a long day of rehearsing and performing, and represented the school impeccably throughout the occasion. From outstanding offerings by some of the smaller ensembles to massed items featuring hundreds of performers, the concert was a real tour de force that will be remembered for many years. At the start of the Summer Term, the May Serenade offered an opportunity for some of our newest ensembles, including the Middle School String and Guitar Group, to perform. It was also a chance to say farewell to the Year 13 students who have all made a significant contribution to Girls’ Division music during their time at Bolton School. Katie Hurt, Isobel Faulkner and Polly Adams stood out in particular for their excellent solo contributions as well as their participation in a number of ensemble items.

There have been a number of Recital Evenings throughout the academic year, allowing girls to perform repertoire learnt in lessons and to gain valuable practice in preparation for GCSE and A Level performance examinations, as well as external examinations. The recital evenings have been more popular than ever and in January an extra event was put in the calendar to ensure all students who wanted to perform could be included.

Congratulations to all girls who have sat external music examinations this year. Particular congratulations to those who have been awarded Grade 6 and above on their instruments:

Caroline Fairclough, Emma Hailwood, Vasudha Marthi, Than Dar, Chandrani Gupta, Kiran Cheema, Katie Hurt, Hannah Rayner, Stephanie Higgins, Daisy Forshaw, Charlotte Mellor, Zoe Stirzaker, Alisha Maini, Helen Morris, Lorna Stirzaker, Isabel Harper, Seren Davies, Abigail Naylor, Bethany O’Donnell, Anu Jain and Lucy Stiles. This year, there have been more external performances and competitions for ensembles than ever before. The Middle School and Senior Choirs enjoyed singing “Carols on the Cobbles” for the Coronation Street Christmas launch, the String Quartet and The Accidentals performed for Armistice Day and Holocaust Memorial Day and the Jazz Band, Training Orchestra and Intermediate Concert Band all performed in Music for Youth. Other ensembles have also taken part in a variety of community music events. Congratulations to the Jazz Band who were awarded a place in the National Finals of Music for Youth and the National Concert Band Festival.

Summer sees the Saxophone Choir and Saxophone Quartet travelling to Strasbourg for the SaxOpen World Saxophone Congress and Festival, where the Saxophone Choir will be performing and the Saxophone Quartet competing in the finals of the International Quartet competition.

Thank you to the Music Prefects for 2014-2015, Than Dar, Isobel Faulkner and Katie Hurt, who alongside our Year 11 Prefects, Vasudha Marthi and Zoe Stirzaker, have been wonderful ambassadors for the department. Middle School Piano Grades 1-4 1st Ria Bansal 7C 2nd Nicola Li 9D 3rd Shreya Kamath 7B Middle School Piano Grades 5+ 1st Lucy Stiles 8C 2nd Sally Cowling 8G 3rd Ella Bolton 9G Senior School Piano Grades 1-5 1st Abigail Naylor 10A 2nd Su Sam Tham 10D 3rd Jessica Stiles 10A Senior School Woodwind Grades 6+ 1st Zoe Stirzaker 11E 2nd Vasudha Marthi 11E 3rd Polly Adams 13A1 Middle School Orchestral Strings 1st Katie Couriel 7C 2nd Sally Cowling 8G 3rd Amara Vijayadurai 8G Highly Commended Alice Higginbottom 7D, Annabelle Boulos 8B Senior School Orchestral Strings 1st Khamillah Mohammed 13G1 Middle School Brass 1st Antigone Blackwell 8G 2nd Emily Rajbhadari 8S 3rd Anabel Nuttall 8S Middle School Guitar 1st Phoenix Khan 7C 2nd Laylia Alikhasi 7D 3rd Saira Hussain 7D Highly Commended Fay Roughley 7S Middle School Percussion 1st Sally Cowling 8G 2nd Rachel Care 8D Senior School Piano Grades 6+ 1st Chandrani Gupta 11D 2nd Zoe Stirzaker 11E 3rd Alexandra Hopkinson 12A1 Middle School Woodwind Grades 1-4 1st Charlotte Hughes 7B 2nd Rachel McGinty 8D 3rd Cassia Drummond 8D Highly Commended Claudia Barnes 8S, Maya Parmar 7S Middle School Woodwind Grades 5+ 1st Lucy Stiles 8C (saxophone) 2nd Lorna Stirzaker 8B 3rd Hannah Rayner 8G (clarinet) Highly Commended Seren Davies 9G Middle School Voice 1st Jacqueline Jones-Humphrey 9C 2nd Hannah Holt 9S 3rd Santina Hundle 8D Highly Commended Rachel Care 8D Senior School Voice 1st Riya Kalhan 12H2 2nd Caroline Blair 10A 3rd Jessica Willcock 12E1 Highly Commended Helen Morris 13G2, Eilidh Gibson 12F2 Senior School Brass 1st Isobel Faulkner 13E2 2nd Jessica Willcock 12E1 Ensembles 1st Clarinet Choir 2nd Clarinet Quartet 3rd Piano Duet (Sana Riaz & Shreya Kamath) Highly Commended Three’s a Crowd

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Emily Rajbhandari 8S Trumpet 4 Merit Alisha Maini 11A Flute 7 Merit Rachelle Sidoli 8D Viola 1 Distinction Abigail Naylor 10A Piano 4 Pass Roxanne Asumu 7G Piano 1 Distinction Vanessa Wong 6P Piano 2 Merit Shreya Kamath 7B Piano 4 Pass Sana Riaz 7C Piano 4 Pass Georgia Forester 9G Flute 2 Merit Jessica Kay 8D Flute 2 Merit Lois Ho Sze Mok 11B Flute 2

ABRSM Examination Results Autumn Term 2014

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Natalia Bromilow 6P Singing 1 Pass Santina Hundle 8D Singing 2 Merit Anika Maini 5H Flute 2 Distinction Katie Hurt 13F1 Cello 8 Distinction Amara Vijayadurai 8G Violin 5 Pass Janani Velayutham 4H Clarinet Prep Awarded Phoenix Khan 7C Guitar 2 Merit Saira Hussain 7D Guitar 2 Merit Genevieve Storey 6W Piano 1 Pass Letitia Sermin Reed 11F Piano 3 Pass Antigone Blackwell 8G Trombone 4 Distinction Faye Clarkson 5LF Cello 1 Merit Ellen Masterson 6P Cello 2 Pass Helena Lintott 6W Cello 3 Pass Annabelle Boulos 8B Cello 4 Pass Chandrani Gupta 11D Piano 6 Merit Elspeth Harper 7C Piano 2 Merit Maisy Ferguson 7D Piano 2 Pass Nicola Li 9D Piano 3 Distinction Caitlin Foster 6W Piano 4 Distinction Katherine Devine 13C2 Piano 5 Pass Kiran Cheema 10B Piano 6 Distinction Shreya Kamath 7B Flute 1 Merit Eleanor Haighton 6P Flute 3 Distinction

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Ria Bansal 6P Singing 1 Merit Gemma Howard 7C Singing 1 Pass Ananya Agarwal 4H Violin 1 Pass Isabelle Du Plessis 4T Violin 1 Pass Martha Brennan 4H Violin 1 Distinction Isha Nunkoo 5LF Violin 1 Merit Anabel Nuttall 7S Trumpet 2 Merit Rosie Alice Allen 6P Singing 2 Pass Carla Law 7S Violin 2 Pass Jessica Kay 7D Singing 2 Merit Anna Clark 7B Violin 2 Pass Anita Cardozo 7G Piano 2 Pass Ani Sastry 5LF Piano 2 Pass Amy Chicken 7B Trumpet 2 Merit Amerleen Hundle 5LF Piano 2 Merit Jessica-Rose Curtis 6P Piano 3 Pass Santina Hundle 7D Piano 3 Pass Isabel Kate Harper 8C Piano 4 Pass Sally Cowling 7G Piano 5 Pass Laura Daly 12A2 Piano 5 Pass Lucy Stiles 7C Flute 5 Distinction Caroline Fairclough 10D Piano 6 Pass Lauren Hope Amerna 3J Singing Prep Awarded

London College of Music Exams Summer 2014

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Sara Crompton 10D Pop Vocals 5 Distinction Millie Liptrot 9C Pop Vocals 3 Distinction Maisie Kennedy 9D Pop Vocals 2 Distinction

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Helen Morris 13G2 Singing 6 Merit Lorna Stirzaker 8B Clarinet 6 Merit Isabel Harper 9C Clarinet 6 Merit Cassia Drummond 8D Clarinet 4 Distinction Rebecca Parkinson 6P Clarinet 1 Distinction Sêren Davies 9G Saxophone 6 Distinction Abigail Naylor 10A Saxophone 6 Merit Bethany O'Donnell 12G2 Saxophone 6 Pass Eleanor Winter 11A Saxophone 5 Distinction Charlotte Hughes 7B Saxophone 4 Distinction Nina Simon 9D Saxophone 4 Distinction Abigail Hughes 7G Saxophone 3 Merit Ella Bolton 9G Saxophone 3 Merit Ellen Masterson 6P Piano 3 Distinction Rosemary Crowther 5LF Piano 1 Distinction Holly Fowler 5LF Piano Initial Merit Rhianna Jones 10f Piano 3 Distinction Anu Jain 10E Piano 6 Merit Emily Man 10B Piano 2 Distinction Jasmine Curtis-Walker 5H Piano 1 Merit Lucy Stiles 8c Flute 6 Distinction

Trinity Exams, Autumn Term 2014

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Hannah Rayner 8G Clarinet 6 Distinction Stephanie Higgins G2 Clarinet 6 Merit Siân Rowlands 9B Clarinet 5 Merit Ashna Patel 11f Clarinet 4 Pass Maya Drummond 10E Flute 5 Distinction Zoe Stirzaker 11E Saxophone 8 Distinction Sasha Cooke 10B Saxophone 5 Distinction Claudia Barnes 8S Saxophone 3 Distinction Ananya Darshan 8G Saxophone 2 Distinction Ella Thompson 7B Guitar 3 Distinction Lorna Stirzaker 8B Piano 4 Merit Kareena Singh 5H Piano 1 Merit Charlotte Kennedy 5H Piano 1 Merit Holly Stevenson 6P Piano 1 Merit Nicola Shaw 4H Piano Initial Merit Charlotte Hughes 7B Piano 3 Distinction Daisy Forshaw 11C Singing 6 Merit Hannah Holt 9S Singing 2 Merit Angelie Chitre 4T Piano 1 Distinction Reet Kaur 6P Piano 1 Distinction Isabel Brennand 6W Piano 1 Merit Alice Morgan 5LF Piano 1 Pass Natasha Williams 4H Piano Initial Distinction Amy Scoble 6P Saxophone 1 Distinction Charlotte Mellor 11B Flute 7 Distinction Kate Hailwood 7B Flute 2 Distinction Matilda Rodriguez 10A Flute 3 Distinction

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Isobelle Gore-Ward 13A2 Singing 6 Merit Vasudha Marthi 10E Clarinet 8 Distinction Eleanor Pickard 13D2 Saxophone 8 Distinction Lucy Stiles 7C Saxophone 6 Distinction Mary Aiken-Wood 11F Saxophone 6 Merit Hannah Rayner 7G Saxophone 5 Distinction Charlotte Hughes 6W Saxophone 3 Distinction Rachel McGinty 7D Saxophone 3 Merit Cassia Drummond 7D Clarinet 3 Merit Daisy Taylor 5LF Clarinet 2 Merit Ariella Tanfield 5LF Saxophone 1 Distinction Lauren Hilton 5H Clarinet 1 Merit Jennifer Pearson 13B2 Saxophone 8 Distinction Sarah Richards 12C2 Piano 5 Distinction Estelle Pass 5LF Piano 3 Distinction Ellen Masterson 5H Piano 2 Distinction Jessica Crompton 4H Piano Initial Merit Than Dar 12B2 Piano 8 Distinction Jessica Ryan 13A1 Piano 7 Merit Emily Bibby 12D2 Singing 5 Merit Nicole Williams 7B Piano 2 Merit Lucinda Butterworth 7B Piano 2 Merit Emilie Reilly 4H Piano 1 Distinction Emily Man 9C Piano 1 Distinction Bethany Shum 4T Piano 1 Merit Angelie Chitre 3Ma Piano Initial Distinction Emma Hailwood 11F Clarinet 6 Merit Chelsea Twist 9G Flute 5 Pass Amelia Myatt 10A Flute 4 Merit Rhianna Taylor-Birch 5H Flute 3 Distinction Isabel Harper 8C Flute 5 Merit