Music

Following the pandemic, my ambition for this year was to return to the glory of having hundreds of pupils involved in a wide variety of ensembles, concerts, and events. If the 300 singers and large instrumental ensembles on display at the Grand Summer Open Air Concert is anything to go by, I feel happy that we achieved our aim! Some may have been wondering if the high standard of music Churcher’s College has become known for in recent years, had dipped at all during the pandemic, but the Open Air Concert demonstrated that Churcher’s music is very much riding high.

At the start of the academic year, we resumed all of our large and smaller ensemble rehearsals, and it was a great feeling to be able to rehearse all together once again. A large part of the enjoyment of music making comes with being able to join together with many other people that share the same passion. It is a tribute to our musicians that they were soon making the most of all the opportunities on offer and showing a remarkable standard of playing and singing.

Soon into the new term, our Rock School was once again encouraging the runners up the Butser Hill course, the music A Level students were enjoying a conducting masterclass, various soloists and ensembles were producing high quality concerts in St. Peter’s Church and the Assembly Hall, and it was fantastic to have the Remembrance Concert back at St. Peter’s - a highlight of the year for many people.

Then came the moment just before Christmas that we had all be waiting for - the opening of the new music school! I will never forget the look on everybody’s face as they entered the new building, looking into the auditorium for the first time. It really is an awe-inspiring sight, and it meant that, finally, the whole Music Department was under one roof. Walking along the instrumental corridor, with music seeping out from all sides, brought the wonderful realisation that music was entering a new era at Churcher’s College. We haven’t looked back since then and both staff and pupils alike have been enjoying the wonderful facilities. Gone are the days of setting out 90 seats ready for a choir rehearsal – the seats now move out at the touch of a button! Demonstrating our enthusiasm to perform in the new auditorium, the Senior Recital in November took place even before the rest of the department and equipment had moved in. It was a joy to hear our Senior musicians perform in a wonderful acoustic, to have the audience sitting on tiered seating, and for the first time we had room for the Senior Wind Band to perform in an evening concert. Since then, we have enjoyed numerous concerts in the auditorium, including a Rock Showcase evening, a Brass and Woodwind evening, in which, for the first time, we were able to have both the Junior and Senior Wind Band’s performing in the same concert, a Strings and Piano evening, and a Junior Concert to showcase our amazing musicians in the First to Fourth Year. We have continued to use St. Peter’s Church for our lunchtime concerts, a fantastic evensong by the Senior Chamber Choir, and the annual Spring concert, which this year featured a performance of the Mozart Requiem, sung by the Senior Choir.

Cabaret nights have been a popular evening on the calendar for a number of years, and to kick start this wonderful event after a hiatus, we had

not one, but two Cabaret’s to enjoy this year. It is heart–warming to see so much talent on display! To complement their studies, our A Level musicians have attended several enrichment events, including attending a conducting workshop with distinguished local conductor, Robin Browning, followed by a trip to Poole Lighthouse to hear the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) perform, analyse, and discuss two of the A Level set works. A fantastic day in London in March started with a piano masterclass at the Royal College of Music, followed by evensong at Westminster Abbey, and concluding with a ‘Classical Spectacular’ Concert featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, complete with a laser light show and pyrotechnics. The GCSE pupils also joined the A Level pupils for a trip to Portsmouth to hear the BSO play an entire concert devoted to the music of John Williams’ film scores, from the excitement of Indiana Jones to the thought–provoking Schindler’s List.

All these rehearsals, concerts, and events through the year were building up to a Summer Concert like no other. Two previous Open Air Summer Concerts in 2011 and 2014 had been lucky with the weather and we were fortunate once again, enabling a fantastic evening to take place! The concert was a celebration of the Tercentenary, together with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, combining both elements into a ‘Last Night of the Proms’ style event. Whether you were a pupil or adult on stage, this would have been a once in a life time experience, performing on a truly massive stage of Glastonbury proportions to an audience of 1,650. There was a real festival atmosphere amongst the audience, with food and drink outlets serving throughout the evening. The concert featured our large ensembles, from the professional sounding Senior Wind Band, to the lively Jazz Band, the talented Junior Orchestra (Junior Wind Band and Junior Strings), the entertaining Rock School, and the main college orchestra, with Jonas Flohr playing a flute concerto amongst other popular pieces such as the ‘Superman March’ by John Williams.

The Tercentenary Chorus consisted of four different choirs. It was a delight to welcome our youngest singers from the Junior School, who joined with our Junior Choir, Senior Choir, and Adult Choral Society, making around 300 singers in total. Accompanied by a professional orchestra, some of whom were OC musicians, the choir sang entertaining choruses from The Pirates of Penzance. The evening would not have been complete without a performance of Carmen Collehii Churcher’s (the school song). Other classics such as, ‘O Fortuna’ from Carmina Burana, the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ from the Messiah, and Parry’s ‘I Was Glad’ were accompanied by flames and sparkles, adding to the grandeur of the evening. The audience were in fine voice as they joined the performers to sing the National Anthem, Rule Britannia, and finally ending the evening with ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, accompanied by some stunning fireworks. The concert marked the end of an era for some of our musicians, with 30 of our Upper Sixth musicians on stage taking part in their final performance. I would like to pay tribute to them and thank them for seven glorious years of music making.