A Celebration of Musical Talent in Year Eleven
by Lucas Reid, Year Eleven
“I was very pleased to be involved in Wednesday evening’s Year Eleven Tea Time Concert, which was exceptional, with a range of fantastic songs and pieces throughout.
“We began the concert with Ben Fisher (and his great big smile), brilliantly performing the jazz piece Film Noir, by Mike Cornick, on the piano. This was followed by saxophonist, Daniel Foster playing the unaccompanied piece Fake Five, James Rae’s variation on the piece Take Five, before listening to Edith Wise beautifully singing a moving song from the movie of ‘Cats’, Beautiful Ghosts by Taylor Swift.
“Charlotte Abbotts’s clarinet playing of Grovlez’s Sarabande et Allegro was fast, yet showed really clear articulation, followed by Introduction and Theme from ‘Fantasie Brilliante’ by Arlan was performed by Toby Alexander on the cornet. I thought both pieces were truly wonderful to listen to.
“Up next it was my turn to play Cossack Dance by Timothy and Natasha Kramer. I enjoy this piece with its strong character and vivacious melodies, it was great to play it to an audience. I followed this with The Earth Prelude, by Einaudi, with a relaxing quality.
“Jack Hay was next to perform, bringing a change in dynamic and mood along with his excellent drum playing of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. Our second saxophone piece of the evening was meticulously played by Sophie Jackson, performing Gipsy Songs by Jozsef Balogh. Isobel Hadley passionately sang Memory from ‘Cats’, which certainly was memorable to the audience with her pure tone and confident delivery.
“Annabelle Howarth then took to the stage playing Viva la Vida by Coldplay on the cello, before Isaac Chan melodiously performed a duet by Debussy on the piano called En Bateau with his piano teacher. It was impressive to see two pianists share the keyboard and make the piano sing so well. Elizabeth Crookall performed the emotive Allegretto malincolico from ‘Poulenc’s Flute Sonata’, before an incredible end to the concert, Ivan Innocent’s confident and spectacular performance of Kit Morgan’s Mind the Gaps, on the drums.
“As usual, the accompanists were brilliant and we thank Mrs Jordan, Mrs Spencer and Mr Soman. It was great to see such a supportive audience, comprised of parents, teachers, students and fourteen Year Three – Six students from RGS Springfield. After the concert some of the Springfield pupils spoke to the performers, asking Ivan how drum music is written down.
“The concert was a great celebration of music talent in Year Eleven, enjoyed with a biscuit or two whilst listening to the remarkable performances.”
