8 minute read
Music
KGS Music has seen a delightfully busy year, with lots of opportunities for performances which the students gladly embraced.
October 2021 saw three of our Music Scholars invited to perform at the Thames Concert launch event in Surbiton: Emma Stoner (trumpet and voice) performed Allegro con anima from Hansen’s Trumpet Sonata and sang Gluck’s O del mio dolce ardor, accompanied by Mr Laflin. Jemima Jordan (violin) performed Konzert in G by Haydn, and Sam Kelly (saxophone) finished off the night with the jazz standard Song for my Father by Horace Silver. A wonderful way to start the term.
November saw the first event with an in-person audience since the start of 2020. It was wonderful to see so
many students jumping back into co-curricular music and the Autumn Concert was the perfect opportunity to showcase all their hard work. The evening started with a beautiful performance from the Third and Fourth Year Choir who performed their two pieces, both unaccompanied and off copy. This was executed brilliantly and set the bar high for the rest of the evening. Following this, we heard from both the Junior and Senior Symphony Orchestras. The Junior Orchestra, directed by Mr Tierney and led by Chloe Jackson, gave a marvellous rendition of John Williams’ Jurassic Park. Mr Laflin conducted the Senior Symphony Orchestra in their performance of Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, led by Jemima Jordan. The brass soared across the hall with their brilliant fanfares, and the winds and strings demonstrated technical expertise in Handel’s tricky, virtuosic passages. Following this were the Wind Band and Senior Guitar group, each displaying wonderful musicianship.
Attendance at First Year Choir has been really excellent this term, with nearly 40 students performing in the concert! Needless to say, the choir produced an outstanding sound, finishing with a ‘mash-up’ of Wade in the Water and Hit the Road Jack. Fifth Year students Miri Scott and Rosie Higham then treated the audience to a graceful duet of A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman, accompanied by Mr Tierney on the piano. The final choral offering of the night was our Sixth Form Choir who gave a lively performance of Robbie Williams’ Angels, and Kander and Ebb’s Theme from New York, New York, made famous by Frank Sinatra. The jazzy harmonies of the latter were brilliantly executed and the whole performance was delightful to watch. We finished the concert with tunes from the Jazz Band and Jazz Ensemble, directed by Mr Canniere. The students exhibited virtuosity in their solos and ended the night on a high.
Before we knew it, it was the end of term which was celebrated musically with our annual Carol Service at All Saints Church. The service began with an impressive organ voluntary from Stephen Westrop, followed by a candlelit procession to Once in Royal David’s City, led by soloist Jamie Scott. It was wonderful to hear everyone singing together again after such a long time. There were performances from each choir, all directed by Mr Laflin and accompanied by Mr Tierney on the piano. Emma Stoner from the Lower Sixth accompanied the congregation on the trumpet for a number of carols and the descants in particular sounded wonderful in the acoustics of the church.
The start of 2022 was a busy one with regular rehearsals for the musical Made in Dagenham, a collaboration with the Drama Department and the KGS Choral Society Choir. It was a particularly special event and Mr Laflin was really impressed with all the students involved: Luis Knowles, Emma Stoner, Imogen Marinko and Sam Kelly.
Although we were unable to have students take part in the KGS Choral Society Concert, the 80-strong singers delighted the audience with Vivaldi’s Gloria and selections from Handel’s Chandos Anthems. Directed by Robert Mingay Smith, the choir was joined by professional soloists Emily Dickens – Soprano, our very own visiting music teacher Charlotte Brosnan – Soprano, Rebecca Leggett – Mezzo Soprano, Sam Dressel – Tenor and Hugo HermanWilson – Bass. Another truly wonderful event which the members of this community-based choir thoroughly enjoyed.
The Jazz Night was slotted in between these significant events and we were very fortunate to welcome the internationally renowned saxophonist Will Vinson to KGS where he led an inspiring workshop and performed in concert with his quartet. Will is an Englishman, now living and working in New York, and we were delighted that he was able to include a visit to KGS as part of his UK tour.
In the afternoon, students learnt about various techniques and, in particular, how rhythm is such an important feature of jazz and were able to improvise together using their instruments. The evening saw Will’s group performing alongside the KGS jazz ensembles and it was, as ever, a wonderful evening of varied, high quality, music. Special mention should go to our soloists, Emma Stoner, Miri Scott and Sam Kelly who produced wonderful performances on the night and, in Sam’s case a top-class arrangement for the band as well. As ever, the whole event was coordinated by our jazz teacher, Andre Canniere, who does a superb job preparing rehearsing and preparing our students.
The beginning of March saw competition successes when four of our First Year students were selected for the Pro Corda Festival. Coached by Ursula le Huray, a parent and professional musician, the quartet managed to reach the semi-finals of this well-respected competition that was established exclusively to promote and celebrate chamber music within schools. It is available to all instrumental ensembles between three and nine players. KGS was represented by First Years Clarissa Cheng (violin), Lui Kim (viola), Connie le Huray (violin) and Jemima Mack (cello). After their performance of Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik their performance received very positive feedback from the adjudicator including the comment ‘This was a really stylistic playing – beyond your years. Well done’.
The Spring term culminated with our Spring Concert which saw a total of fourteen different choirs, orchestras and ensembles perform. Although a longer concert than normal, we did not want to miss out any of the groups who had a desire to perform as we fully appreciate that with the pandemic performance opportunities with a live audience has been scarce.
The Summer term saw the return of the Lovekyn Recital series. These informal recitals are an opportunity for students at any level to have some performance experience and offers the opportunity to invite friends, parents and family to attend.
Although these recitals have been running for a number of years, the new flexibility that working from home offers enabled more parents to attend and it has been wonderful to see them enjoy the performances.
In May it was time for the Music Scholars to excel in what they do best at our Music Scholars and Chamber Music Concert. With 21 solo performances and three chamber groups performing, the full capacity audience were delighted by a diverse range of music from baroque to 20th century repertoire. Congratulations to the solo performances of Sophie Bailey (oboe), Chloe Jackson (violin), Oscar Darbyshire (piano), Anya Taylor (trumpet), Jemima Jordan (violin), Jasmine Levell (piano), Tom Price (piano), Imogen Marinko (clarinet), Xan Cairney-Leeming (oboe), Luis Knowles (guitar), Kiki Zhang (clarinet), Lizzie Clark (piano), Yuri Rim (cello), Zoe Crooks (violin), Ralph Hassan (cello), Emma Stoner (voice), Lila Skeet (piano), Max Taylor (piano), Sam Kelly (saxophone). Sophie, Ralph, Yuri and Chloe also performed in the Chamber Groups along with Chauhan Fang (violin), Clarissa Cheng (violin), Maxim Dythtchenko (violin), Connie le Huray (violin), Lui Kim (viola) and Jemima Mack (Cello).
After such an uncertain couple of years, playing once again to a live audience has been fantastic and certainly makes all the difference. We have appreciated such a warm response from the audiences that have been at all our events; thank you for your support! Mr M Laflin, Director of Music
