What a wonderful year of music we have had and last week’s Celebration of Music week was no exception.
Music Competition
The week began with instrumental and vocal classes which were open to all students in Upper III , Lower IV, Upper IV, Lower V and Lower VI. There were performances from a huge variety of instrumentalists and vocalists, and the audiences were extremely appreciative. A number of students from each class were invited to perform again in the finale concert on Wednesday evening where we were delighted to welcome Hannah Drury as our adjudicator. Hannah has a wealth of musical experience and training in voice, trumpet, piano and academic music and, before venturing into teaching, pursued a professional solo vocal career working across the UK and Europe. She was extremely impressed with the fantastic musicians who performed in the concert and after much deliberation, awarded the trophy for the outstanding performance of the evening to Louisa on classical guitar.
Barbara Salisbury trophy
During the evening the Barbara Salisbury trophy for outstanding contribution to the musical life of the school was presented by Barbara herself, to Jennifer (Lower VI) who is a stalwart member of the music department, performing with numerous ensembles as well as playing solo works on the clarinet and supporting and encouraging our less-experienced musicians as they get to grips with playing in the various groups.
Celebration of Music
The week culminated with a day of sheer joy in music with the non-competitive Celebration of Music where students performed solos, duos, trios and even bands to the delight of the audiences present throughout the day. The Hardcastle Hall rang with the strains of The Beatles and Queen to the more mellow tones of Mozart and Rossini.
Next week we are off on our first annual music tour since 2019, taking a range of chamber ensembles to give concerts in various venues on the island of Jersey. As a department, we would like to thank each and every student who has performed with us this year and look forward to an even brighter, musical-filled year next year.
